[yasr_overall_rating]
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.
When Marvel announced plans for an “Ant-Man” movie, like so many others, I was very apprehensive and skeptical. Not really being a comic-book lover, I have come to appreciate the movies that Marvel has produced over the years and they just continue to get better and better. However, with “Guardians of the Galaxy” last year, I felt like Marvel may have had their first stumbling block, introducing new characters and storylines that had not previously been a part of “The Avengers” or any other Marvel iteration but those fears quickly dissipated when the movie opened and proved all the naysayers wrong. Cut to one year later and we have “Ant-Man,” Marvel’s newest incarnation who made his first appearance in comic-book form back in 1962. In all honesty, the only aspect of the entire project that kept me excited, was the fact that filmmaker Edgar Wright (“Shaun of the Dead,” Hot Fuzz”), would be directing. And then he left. Under mysterious circumstances.
Enter Peyton Reed, the director of such films as “Bring It On,” “The Break-Up” and “Yes Man.” I know, not exactly confidence inspiring but in all honesty, he proved me wrong as “Ant-Man” is nothing but pure fun and another welcome, and quite possibly, successful addition to Marvel’s ever-growing assemblage. After having just been released from prison for computer hacking, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), is determined to go straight so he can see his young daughter again and be a part of her life. After a brief stint at Baskin-Robbins, he is recruited by Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), a scientist who created a suit that would allow a human to alter his size to that of an ant. After his former protégé, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) creates a similar suit called the ‘Yellowjacket,’ Pym suspects that Cross has diabolical intentions so he and Scott must team up to retrieve Cross’ prototype suit and all of his plans.
Naturally, things aren’t as simple as that and along the way, Pym’s daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) insists on partnering up with the duo as she already works with Cross and has gained his trust. From the very beginning though, Hope feels that Scott is the wrong person for the job but Hank refutes her as he believes Scott is very much the right person as he too has a daughter that he loves and very much wants back in his life and wants to do right by her and believing in second chances, the adventure begins! I think Paul Rudd was inspired casting, not because I think he’s one of the best actors around but because for the longest time, I felt like he always played himself in movie after movie but here, along with director Peyton Reed, he makes a believer out of me as he brings the right balance of gravity and humor to a role that in the hands of a less capable actor, could have been disastrous.
“Ant-Man” is very much a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and one of the best scenes in the movie, has him trying to break into one of Tony Stark’s old warehouses so he can retrieve a piece of hardware that Pym hid there a long time ago but before he has a chance to enter the building, he comes across one of the Avengers, Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and they end up having a brilliantly executed brawl that leaves Falcon embarrassed and upset that he was beaten by a man the size of an ant. As with all Marvel movies, “Ant-Man” has a post-credits scene which involves Falcon and Captain America on a solo crusade and when Cap informs him that they cannot call on the other Avengers, Falcon mentions Ant-Man and this leaves the door wide open to the fact that he may very well appear in the upcoming “Captain America: Civil War” and quite possibly “Avengers: Infinity War – Parts I & II,” as well as any other stand alone movies.
As much as I enjoyed “Ant-Man,” I have a nagging feeling that the movie could go either way; it could be the next “Guardians of the Galaxy” or it could be a catastrophic flop. With Marvel, and to the same extent, DC movies, there’s already a built-in audience, fans who know the characters and the stories from the comic books but in each universe, there are superheroes that are not as popular as some of the behemoths like Superman, Batman, Iron Man and Thor, characters like The Green Lantern and Ant-Man and Marvel’s difficult task here is going to be appealing to the non-believers to part with their hard-earned cash to see a movie about a man whose greatest allies are not the Hulk, or Hawkeye or Black Widow, but an army of ants. Granted, while an army of ants can cause annihilative devastation, they just don’t have the same heroic appeal to them as their human counterparts.
In theaters July 17th
