distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
full cast at IMDB
The newest superhero origin story from Marvel Studios may not be the studio's best effort, but it's a thoroughly enjoyable watch all the same.
Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is a thief who's become estranged from his family after his time in jail. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) was formerly the superhero Ant-Man, and has gone through hoops to keep his work a secret. When Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) replicates Hank's work, however, he selects Scott to succeed him. There's a whole lot more to the story than that, but ultimately it's not actually all that important. That Scott was chosen as Ant-Man instead of Hank fits the contemporary time frame of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but as a consequence, Hank's backstory is barely glanced over. Scott doesn't fare so much better despite comprising a large chunk of the film, partially because the real meat of it is something that happens before the events of the film. While we do get large stretches explaining his current whereabouts and his relationship with his family, these often don't feel like part of a superhero movie, though they do provide motivation for the character and become important later. Ultimately, the story is about Hank, his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly), and Scott breaking into Pym Laboratories to destroy Darren's formula, and everything before that is just sorta there to provide context. The setup and some of the action are interspersed with one another, but unfortunately that has the side effect of making the buildup drag considerably. For an action movie, it starts rather slow, though when it gets going it really does pick up.
In fairness, though, Ant-Man is less like your usual superhero fare and more akin to a heist movie, making for an intriguing hybrid that shows various unique stylistic touches. It's not exactly Edgar Wright's sure hand, but Peyton Reed replaces him amicably, as the movie is still often strange, and both looks and feels different from any of the other Marvel films. It's this genre blend that provides most of the freshness in the film, as much of the superhero portion is starting to get stale, given that it's effectively the same thing seen in many other Marvel films. Someone makes invention, other person uses it for evil, original guy objects. This has been seen since the Iron Man films, and Scott's relatively standard family drama doesn't really help matters. This certainly doesn't drag the film down too far, but having a less interesting plot means that it's up to other things to keep the film interesting.
Thankfully, these other things definitely deliver. As is usual in Marvel films, the script is filled with humour, and there's no shortage of funny moments. In fact, compared to the attempted seriousness of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man is much lighter in tone and consequently a lot funnier. There's plenty of quips, but this time around the visual humour is considerably more prominent. Some particularly fun scenes come when we see silly things blown up to ludicrous size, and there's many touches that make it clear the film doesn't take itself particularly seriously. Now, the goofiness does make the film itself harder to take seriously, but in a way that makes it more enjoyable, because whenever it's not ridiculous it's a bit forgettable. Especially entertaining is the cartoonishly clichéd antagonist Darren Cross, who's thoroughly generic but so incredibly over the top that he's an utter blast to watch. It's clear that Corey Stoll is having fun playing him, even in comparison to the other performances.
On that topic, there isn't a bad performance in Ant-Man, and though they aren't necessarily brilliant, all the actors are likable, especially Paul Rudd as Scott. It helps that there's a reasonable amount of depth to each of our protagonists. Scott wants to see his daughter, but can't because he doesn't have a job or the money to pay child support; Hank is haunted by the sacrifice of his partner; and Hope has a rocky relationship with her father. It's not truly exceptional, but it is nice, and it keeps the film from being shallow. Also, compared to Age of Ultron, Ant-Man is far less overstuffed, clearly having less stuff included because of executive meddling, though there are some unnecessary scenes involving the major organizations of the Marvel universe.
Ant-Man is another thoroughly entertaining entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and while it's still not up to par with the best of the franchise, it's the most entertaining Marvel movie of the year and is a blast to watch even in spite of its faults. It's not absolutely brilliant, but it is fun, and that's worth a lot.
7/10
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