Directed by Peyton Reed
Characters:
Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd)
Hank Pym (Michael Douglas)
Hope Pym (Evangeline Lilly)
Luis (Michael Pena)
-Unnamed cameo (no spoilers)-
Darren Cross/Yellow Jacket (Corey Stoll)
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of the Marvel reviews listed on the left, and I’ll run out of time before I’m done procrastinating. So, here’s the final film review, before I get into the dual/trilogy reviews.
Ant-Man is a 2015 superhero/heist film. How often do you read that? Not that often. This movie’s protagonist is Scott Lang, who is the second Ant-Man, although Hank Pym, the first, does have an important role in this movie. Ant-Man is the 12th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
What sets Ant-Man apart from other comic book movies, is that it was different. It was fresh. It had to be small scale, and the movie knew that. The way it was marketed was insane too, with mini billboards put up all over the place. Don’t believe me?
The movie even had funny posters released to signify how small the hero and the movie would be, with the tagline: “No shield. No armour/hammer. No problem.”
This movie knew what it had to be, and it became that. It was so small scale, that the final fight takes place in a place that would make you laugh.
Ant-Man’s story is a little bit complex though. Not Thor: The Dark World complex, but a deep, meaningful complex. It explored character relationships more than anything else – between Hank Pym and his daughter Hope, Hope and Darren Cross, Hank and Cross, Hank and Scott, Scott and Hope, and quite a few more. It showed the different sides of everyone and focused in on how that matters. I don’t think this movie gets enough credit for doing this. The scope of the movie wasn’t as much as any Marvel movie, but the depth was. Even more so than quite a few.
There are a couple of issues, the first of which being the pacing. There isn’t a point where the movie stands still, but I feel like a few moments could have received a little more time. My second, and main issue, is the villain. The Marvel curse, as I like to call it. He isn’t explored, or deepened, or really given any character. He’s just a bad guy. The Kingpin on Daredevil was done so well, and in comparison this is like a background character. It might be a little unfair, comparing something that is nearly thirteen hours to something that is two, but it really needed more.
Coming back to the positives. Ant-Man is a gorgeous looking movie. It has to get the world of such a tiny man right, and it is stunning. Every micro-scene is perfectly shot, and the world actually looks big, despite being really small.
Above all, though, Ant-Man is a really fun movie. Not everything has to be downright serious. This movie certainly isn’t. It has a great tone to it, and is genuinely funny, especially Michael Pena’s character. Having a comedian play the lead role helps too.
On a scale where M is the lowest, and R is the highest possible rating, with the highlighted letter being the rating:
Ant-Man: MIHIR
The Geeky Critic 