Paul Rudd in a Marvel movie? Ant-Man getting his own movie? Really? I mean really? Why yes, that’s what happened. And you know what? It worked out quite well. Here’s my review…
The previews made the movie look good and of course I wanted to see it, but I wasn’t sold on Ant-Man. I know he was one of the first Avengers and Yellowjacket really was one of his bigger bad guys but it seemed like too obscure of a choice. Sure, most Marvel fans knew who he was, but comics hadn’t been showing him a lot of love. Last time I saw him was in a Fantastic Four comic and only mentioned a few times in recent Avengers titles. But none the less the powers that be (or PTB if you’re a fan of Angel) at Marvel , writer Edgar Wright (yes, the Edgar Wright from the Cornetto trilogy), and director Peyton Reed (Yes Man, Bring It On) got the perfect script with the perfect cast and created a memorable movie.
It’s been a while since I could type these words, so let me savor it. *clears throat* Let’s talk about the acting. Ah, that felt good. It was cathartic. Anywho, acting. I love Paul Rudd. He has an impressive ability to disarm what could be racy and even offensive comedy, but Rudd as a superhero? Yes, Rudd as a super hero. He actually pulled it off while being able to keep his funny charm. I think we also have Edgar Wright to thank for half of that and Rudd’s acting for the rest. Rudd made Scott Lang a relatable ex-con with a heart of gold. His comedic timing is spot on and I can’t wait to see how they use him in Captain America: Civil War.
Michael Douglas was, well, Michael Douglas. He’s a great actor but these days he seems to play different levels of Michael Douglas. Luckily the role of Dr. Hank Pym was right up his alley. Evangeline Lilly (Lost) was good as Hope van Dyne but not much was done with her character. There was some growth, which was nice, but I feel like there could have been more. Corey Stoll did a great job as Darren Cross. If you haven’t seen it already then do yourself a favor and watch him in Midnight in Paris as Ernest Hemingway. He stole the movie. Speaking of stealing movies, Michael Pena was in Ant-Man as well and was hilarious. I wish he had more screen time because his delivery, quirks, and facial expressions were amazing.
The plot for Ant-Man was a very stereotypical superhero story, more so than a lot of the other Marvel movies. It was also very predictable. When the big climax happened I wasn’t surprised at all. I even felt a little disappointed that it was all so easy to see coming. Marvel movies have always been predictable, but to a point. But apparently no one told Ant-Man about that. I’ve seen World War II documentaries with more surprises. But even with that glaring downside, Ant-Man was still a great movie. It’s another prime example of being able to easily look passed some negatives because the film was so fun. I had a fear that the use of the ants was going be too gimmicky as overused super powers tend to be, but I think they used the ant controlling part of Ant-Man’s powers just right.
I need to at least mention the CGI, don’t I? It was okay. Nothing amazing. It was everything I’ve come to expect form a Marvel movie. Maybe the CGI is really really impressive and I, as an avid movie goer, is just spoiled. Either way, the effects were good. None of the effects were Hobbit… I’m sorry, slip of the tongue. I meant, bad. What else can I talk about… There were some nice cameos besides the always humorous Stan Lee one. I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll just say that the cameos were a pleasant surprise.
Let me wrap this up by saying that Ant-Man is worth a watch. The mix of great casting and hilarious dialogue formed and enjoyable movie that’s worth both watching in the theaters and buying on DVD/Blu-ray. It may not have been as good as a lot of the others but that doesn’t mean it was bad. It may not have been Avengers but at least it wasn’t Fantastic 4 2.
Ant-Man gets a 8 out of 11