Ant-Man Review

                                

Well, here I am, eating my words. I posted a piece a few months back about how I was not excited for the new film Ant-Man because I was unhappy with all the creative decisions that were being made behind the scenes of the movie. Not only did the movie succeed in being a fun time, it succeed on standing out amongst the onslaught of superhero films that we have been subjected to in the cinema in the past few years. Not only is Ant-Man arguably better than Avengers: Age Of Ultron, it rivals some of the best that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had to offer in recent years. The film stars Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, and Evangeline Lily and is an introduction to the characters of Scott Lang and Hank Pym. Pym is the creator of the Ant-Man suit, which can shrink a man down to the size of the insect while increasing his strength. Lang, an ex-con trying to go straight, is recruited by Pym and his daughter Hope to pull off a heist that could have major implications for the world we live in. One of the reasons why I wasn't excited for this movie was because the original director Edgar Wright, director of such films as Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of The Dead, left the project, which had been a passion project of his. Wright is one of the more unique comedic directors working in the industry today and his direction and oddball script would have done wonders in terms of making the Cinematic Universe feel fresh and exciting again. Instead, he left the project and Peyton Reed, director of Bring It On, was brought on to helm the movie and Adam McKay, director/writer of The Other Guys, rewrote parts of Wright's script with star Paul Rudd. I am very happy that most of Wright's script remained in the final product, as there were sequences that could have very easily been featured in any of his other films. His mark on the film is undeniable. What sets the movie apart, however, is just how likable and relatable Paul Rudd is. He is very reminiscent of Chris Pratt in Guardians Of The Galaxy as the guy that you just want to root for. He has great comedic timing and fantastic chemistry with all the characters he interacts with on the screen. Michael Douglas is great as Lang's mentor Pym, Evangeline Lily is good as Pym's daughter, and, surprisingly, Michael Peña almost steals the show with his hilarious performance as one of Pym's thieving buddies. Another very notable aspect of the movie is the effects work of industry giants Industrial Light and Magic. The effects in the movie are flat out fantastic, as I continually was buying into the sequences where Lang shrinks down and interacts with the various ants that Pym has command of. The action sequences were genuinely fun and entertaining, with the camera constantly switching between Lang's shrunken point of view and the point of view of his various normal sized opponents. It was made even more fun by the fact that Lang is constantly shrinking and growing in size during these sequences, making for an unpredictable turn of events. One weak spot in the movie, sadly, lies in Corey Stoll's villain. It's not his performance that is the problem, it's that his character doesn't have unique motivations that we haven't seen in the Marvel movies yet. He exists purely to give Lang an adversary and is written fairly blandly. Stoll is a great actor and his presence elevated what could have easily been a worse villain played by another actor. I am very happy to admit that my initial impressions about the film were wrong. I had a blast watching Ant-Man and I think it is very much worth the price of admission, matinee if possible! It makes up for the disappointing Avengers: Age Of Ultron and introduces a great new hero into the Marvel canon. It's very easy to look at this hero and say "Wow, this is freaking stupid!" I know, the concept is inherently dumb, but so is a boy scout called Captain America. This is a superhero movie that is fun as hell, which is just about all we can ask for as cinema-goers. While the market is becoming over saturated with the superhero movies, it's the oddball ones like Ant-Man that keeps them feeling fresh and exciting. It's a great surprise and sure to be fun for the whole family!

Ant-Man gets a score of 8/10