This review is spoiler free (or at least as much as
possible). Feel at ease to read it even
if you have not seen the movie yet.
Dear Marvel Studios,
Twice now you have taken a property no one really knew or
cared too much about – Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man – and weathered the
amount of skepticism thrown at you. I
admitted in my review of Guardians of the Galaxy that I was a skeptic and you
proved me wrong with GotG.
I was a skeptic of Ant-Man; especially after following the
trials and tribulations you faced with the rotating doors in the director’s
chair. Also, I thought the continuity
was a bit off placing Ant-Man at the end of Phase II thus ensuring we never see
the character in The Avengers (2012).
Some other critics might even have complained about Hank Pym not being
the creator of Ultron, but instead allowing the spotlight to once more shine on
Robert Downey, Jr.’s, Tony Stark aka Iron Man (I was not one of those; I
understood the direction you were taking).
Well, just like I had after watching Guardians of the Galaxy,
I came home tonight after watching Ant-Man, pulled up to my dining table, and
feasted on crow. Bravo Marvel! Bravo!
Sincerely,
The Comic Book Guru Who Eats Crow…
Ant-Man accomplished once more the same level of fun
watching cinema that I felt when watching Guardians. Yes, the story of Ant-Man was well-written,
well-paced, and flowed smoothly. Yes,
the special effects were spectacular and pulled off the illusion of shrinking
men alongside ants. Everything we have
come to expect from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies were there. However, just like Guardians of the Galaxy,
Ant-Man took it one step further; it felt refreshing.
Michael Douglas plays an aged Hank Pym, battle-hardened and
grieving over personal and professional loss.
After learning his technology – the Pym Particles – is about to be
replicated by his former protégé-now-turned-rival Darren Cross, Pym reaches out
to struggling to reform cat burglar (not robber because that entails violence)
Scott Lang played wonderfully by Paul Rudd.
Aided by Pym’s daughter, Lang is trained in the skills of being
Ant-Man. His mission: break into the Pym
Industries building and steal the Yellowjacket suit Cross has been working on.
When I mentioned I had to eat crow earlier about the movie,
I also had to have an extra helping of it due to my feelings when Paul Rudd was
announced as Ant-Man/Scott Lang. I had
seen Rudd in other movies like Role Models and figured him to be one of
those “stoner”-type actors. Leave it to Marvel
to take an unassuming person to be a superhero like Rudd and actually make him
into one. Rudd fits Lang perfectly;
however, based on that assumption that neither seem fit to play their part. However, they soon prove their doubters
wrong.
I thought the action scenes were excellently done and the
effects of the Ant-Man suit were on brilliant display. Executing the motion of Ant-Man charging
another person in his normal size, and then shrinking instantaneously before
making contact, and then reverting back to normal size to finish the attack was
exciting to watch. Not since Honey, I
Shrunk the Kids have we truly experienced the sensation of actual shrinking
and seeing the bigger world through smaller eyes. The Thomas the Train scene shown in the
trailers was every bit as fun to watch as the previews made it out to be. Marvel’s light-hearted tone was present
particularly highlighted by Rudd’s comedic chops.
As always stay tuned for the mid-credits scene and the
post-credit scenes. The mid-credit
scenes sets up the Ant-Man sequel (hopefully); while the post-credits scene
sets up the start of MCU Phase III with Captain America: Civil War.
Some of my fellow moviegoers have been debating where Ant-Man
ranks when compared to the rest of the MCU entries. While it is always debatable and while I
cannot give it an exact rank, I can easily put Ant-Man in my MCU Top 5. It was fun, it was a great story, the
characters were believable, and every element used in the movie was utilized
correctly to give the impression that a man could really ride on top of an ant.
I would recommend this movie as a family outing. Take the kids. It had minimum cussing (I think maybe two or
three curse words were used), and the whole movie focuses on a man trying to
find redemption in order to be a better father for his daughter; so kids and
parents can relate to that.
Now that Phase II of the MCU is over, what were some of your
favorite Phase II films? Least
favorite? Can we all agree that Iron
Man 3 felt a little flat?
As always, leave your comments letting me know your
thoughts.
Until next time…
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