Ant-Man (2014) Directed by Peyton Reed. Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll. IMDB says: “Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.”
“Baskin Robbins always finds out…”
Ant-Man has been the only Marvel film I’ve been hesitant to see. Not because I don’t like Paul Rudd (I do) or because Edgar Wright left the project (though that did bum me out). Not even because I know nothing about Ant-Man, cause I knew nothing about the Guardians of the Galaxy and was still excited to see it. (Maybe it was the music?) There was just something about the trailer that made me hesitate. As I walked out of the film, huge smile across my face, it only reaffirmed that Marvel can do no wrong (aside from the first Captain America film, but we don’t talk about it)
Ant-Man is the story of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) a just released convict who’s looking for a new job and clean life so he can spend time with his young daughter. His friends Luis (a hilarious and scene-stealing Michael Pena) Dave (rapper T.I. who I wish had a slightly bigger role) and Kurt (David Dastmalchian, you know, that weirdo Joker henchman from Dark Knight whose dressed as a cop and has Rachael’s name as his nametag. Yeah, he’s in this movie. And has a Russian/eastern European accent.) convince him to go back to his old burglar ways and make some real money. He ends up robbing Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) but rather than call the authorities, Pym takes Scott under his wing and begins an adventure to save the world. He gets help from Pym’s daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lily), and even runs into… well, I don’t want to say. What I will say, is the way they’ve tied Ant-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe is pretty damn cool. All of this is done in order to stop Darren Cross (Corey Stoll, you know, that bald guy from the first season of House of Cards). Cross has developed a new kind of super suit and rather than use it for good, he’s selling it to some pretty shady guys and MUST be stopped.
Ant-Man is hilarious and super goofy. It’s more in line with Guardians of the Galaxy than other Marvel films and it has to do that. There are elements within this film where you really need to suspend your disbelief. Every Marvel film so far has been grounded in some sort of reality where it looked like everything we saw on the screen was a possibility. But with Ant-Man, they introduce a new reality. Not only can people and things shrink to very small sizes, they can also enlarge to very big sizes. You’d think that would pull you out of the film or that they would use that as a crutch, but damn it Marvel, they make it work. Really well. Almost to a point where you begin to ask yourself, “why didn’t they introduce this sooner?” The effects work continues to be top notch even with all of the interaction Scott has between ants and other objects of varying sizes. One thing that surprised me about the film was its lack of score. Avengers has its own little themes we hear every so often, Guardians obviously had a wonderful soundtrack, but this film is very minimal in that sense. It doesn’t bog you down with music to make you feel a certain way and it doesn’t throw in a random song to add to a potentially weak scene. The good thing is, you’re having too much fun and laughing too hard to realize it.
My only other complaint of the film is pacing. This a superhero origin story, so I’ve come to learn and accept the fact that the beginnings of these films tend to run a little slow. But this one doesn’t do that. Instead, the first act of the film flows very quickly: almost too quickly. It breezes by some moments they could’ve lingered on to get you more invested in these characters. At times, it also feels like some scenes were quickly thrown together just so they can get you to the montage where Scott learns how to be Ant-Man and then goes off to fight Cross and stop his evil plan. I’m not against it, I guess I was looking for a bit more substance in those first minutes. The film doesn’t suffer because of it, but I can see a few viewers getting lost in the translation before all of the action begins.
Look, the real take away is that they did it again. Somehow, in some way, Marvel has taken a character and property you know nothing about and knocked it out of the park. Ant-Man may possibly be the funniest Marvel movie yet. Stop reading and get out to the theaters and see this movie! (OH! And make sure you stay til the VERY END of the credits)
