Ant-Man Reviews

Having enjoyed a vast majority of Marvel's superhero output (more so than most) without worshipping them, 'Ant-Man' is a minor effort from them but there is still a good amount to like about it.

'Ant-Man' manages to be a better film than expected. The character is not exactly a household name and is always tossed aside in favour of other superhero characters like Spiderman that have had longer longevity and perhaps have more compelling origins and stories, hence why they are adapted more. Also wasn't sure what to make of the trailer, which made the film out to be rather bland and too reliant on humour.

Seeing it for myself finally a year on, 'Ant-Man' could have been better. While the humour mostly works wonders, there are a few instances where it's not so funny and not very well placed, like in emotional scenes that are actually quite poignant and then interrupted by a joke that is not only forced and unfunny but also not belonging in the scene. The family scenes are a mixed bag, sometimes they are sweet and touching while at other times they're a little flat and predictable, contributing towards a few rare dull stretches. Corey Stoll also goes through the motions as the rather generic and under-characterised villain.

On the other hand, 'Ant-Man' is a great looking film, it's beautifully shot, very atmospheric, is very slick and the special effects, mostly the rapid size-changing and with the ants, are clever and of the usual high-quality Marvel standards. The music avoids being over-bearing, one-note, too quirky or too bombastic, fitting well tone, mood and pace-wise. Direction is more than competent, keeping the story going at a solid pace and the telling of it interesting enough, though maybe a little more flavour may have been more welcome. While the action is not as much as most Marvel films, it is fun, thrilling, nicely choreographed and tautly shot and edited, especially towards the end. Admittedly there are a couple of cheesy parts towards the end too, but kind of in an endearing rather than jarring way and it doesn't jar with the rest of the film.

There is some very smart and hugely entertaining scripting and dialogue here in 'Ant-Man' too. While it doesn't work completely seamlessly, 'Ant-Man' is one of Marvel's generally consistently funniest films, and the film doesn't take itself too seriously or too much of a joke either, instead not being afraid to embrace the silliness and humour while ensuring still that the subject matter is treated with respect. It is especially good with the title character's deadpan quips and Luis' fast-talking patter. The story is mostly diverting, it's narratively simpler than most Marvel outings and less risks here are taken than most Marvel films but it always makes sense, moments of dullness and jarring are few (while not being completely absent either), it's fun and it doesn't try to do too much or try to insert too many characters while not playing things too safe either.

While not complex as such, the characters are mostly engaging and are not too one-dimensional, only the villain could have had more done with him. Paul Rudd is a strong and hugely entertaining lead, while Michael Peña's hilarious in a role that could have been really annoying. The seasoned support of Michael Douglas adds hugely too, and Evangeline Lilly gives the film some much needed heart. Anthony Mackie is good too.

Overall, minor Marvel but good Marvel. Well-made and a lot of fun, but there is a personal preference to the Marvel films that took bigger risks with more and often richer characters, bigger bolder action and more going on in the story. 'Ant-Man' executes a vast majority of its components really well indeed, just that Marvel has done even better before and since. 7/10 Bethany Cox

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I was distinctly underwhelmed by the two Marvel movies last year, but between this and Avengers: Age of Ultron, now they're winning me over again. :)
This is the first heist thriller among the Marvel movies, and it's a fantastically entertaining one. The characters are likable, the action scenes are thrilling, and it's genuinely funny when it needs to be.
I especially love the scene where Scott actually suggests calling the Avengers first, and Hank's reason for not wanting to involve them does make sense: he built his tech to keep it out of Tony Stark's hands.
Also, this is probably the first time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when we've seen two generations of heroes bearing the same name, since the original Ant-Man is passing the torch to the new one and acting as his mentor.
The villain is pretty boring, but aside from that, I really enjoyed this movie and am glad a Marvel movie is one highlight of the year once again.

My rating: 85%

I already saw this movie but since I just bought a brand new TV, I thought I might as well check it out again on Disney+. Apparently, this movie is considered as one of the weaker MCU instalments but, I have to admit it, the first time around, I really enjoyed the damned thing. Indeed, against all expectations, I really loved this flick and, at the time, I was really convinced that it was by far one of the best stand-alone flicks delivered by Marvel so far. It was even more impressive because, not only Ant-Man seemed to be a rather lame character but, after Edgar Wright left this project, I was pretty sure the whole thing was doomed. Well, after all these years, I have to admit that I was apparently slightly too generous with this movie though. I mean, I still think it was visually spectacular with some impressive special effects and it was still quite hilarious. However, it was pretty clear that the story was nothing amazing though. On top of that, even though the casting was just spot-on (Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Peña), they didn’t do anything really interesting with their characters. Finally, it was really awkward how they tried to connect the whole thing with the MCU. Eventually, after all these years, you can still wonder what Edgar Wright would have done with this material, especially after working for so long on this material. Anyway, even if it wasn’t as amazing as I thought it was, I still think they managed to make Ant-Man, a seemingly rather pitiful super-hero, quite awesome and bad-ass. To conclude, even if this movie has a rather weak reputation, I think it is actually a really enjoyable super-hero feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

"Second chances don't come around all that often. I suggest you take a really close look at it. This is your chance to earn that look in your daughter's eyes, to become the hero that she already thinks you are."

Initially planned to be one of Marvel Studio's smaller-scale, modestly-budgeted Phase One trial run movies, Ant-Man has at long last become a reality after a long, troubled production history. It serves as the conclusion to the studio's Phase Two of film production, entering multiplexes just months after the gargantuan Avengers: Age of Ultron to induct a new superhero into the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. British cult director Edgar Wright was originally slated to direct Ant-Man, but creative differences prompted his departure just weeks before shooting, leaving Marvel scrambling to get the movie ready in time for its already-scheduled release date. Unfortunately, the studio recruited Peyton Reed to direct. With Reed having previously helmed the likes of Bring It On and Yes Man, he's not exactly a name one would think of to oversee a tent-pole comic book action extravaganza. And alas, the finished movie is even weaker than the underwhelming Age of Ultron, a mostly monotonous effort that perpetually seems to be stuck in first gear.

A professional cat burglar, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is fresh out of prison, seeking to turn his life around and do right by his young daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson). Desperate to land a job but finding employment impossible with his criminal record, Scott begrudgingly lets his ex-cellmate Luis (Michael Peña) talk him into breaking into a mansion for a big score. Scott works his magic to get through various levels of security, but instead of money, he only finds a unique suit with the ability to shrink and strengthen whoever wears it. The suit was designed by Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), a brilliant physicist who created the groundbreaking formula to allow the shrinking process and vowed he would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands. But Pym's former protégé, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), who has taken control of Pym Industries, is close to replicating the code and weaponising the Ant-Man tech. To disrupt Cross' plan, Pym chooses Scott to don the Ant-Man suit, much to the frustration of his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly).

The screenplay for Ant-Man was punched up by Adam McKay, presumably reconciling Wright and Joe Cornish's original narrative structure with whatever demands from Disney/Marvel that compelled Wright to exit the project. Ultimately, the broad strokes of the narrative do work, even if they are derivative of the archetypical "origin story" format. Rather than the grandiose scale of The Avengers, Ant-Man is more character-focused like 2008's Iron Man, with a fairly basic story to make room for the laughs and drama. There are emotional stakes here, with a nice father-daughter redemption arc, but, unfortunately, none of it makes the impact that it probably should. The subplot involving Scott, his daughter, his ex-wife, and his ex-wife's new lover in particular comes off as a clichéd distraction, and the resolution is vague and head-scratching.

Worse, while the actors are consummate professionals who definitely suit their respective roles, the likes of Rudd and Douglas are often left struggling to make various scenes work, burdened with heavy exposition that does them no favours. McKay was brought in for his experience in comedy, but his previous films (Anchorman, Step Brothers) rely heavily on the improvisational talents of the actors rather than witty screenwriting. Thus, there's no life or spark to the often painfully perfunctory dialogue. There's the niggling feeling throughout Ant-Man that the movie should have been better and braver - it's all rather safe, manufactured to pander to the younger demographic. Furthermore, a number of Marvel Cinematic Universe references do sneak their way into the script, but they feel blatantly shoehorned in for the sake of it. This is most notably felt in a tangent involving a certain Avenger that amounts to nothing, clearly included for the sake of an MCU tie-in, and could've easily been excised for stronger storytelling. It's clear that standalone superhero movies are no longer possible in the MCU.

There are some hugely creative ideas here - Luis' long-winded storytelling raised a few guffaws from this reviewer, and it's especially brilliant that the destructive climactic battle between Scott and the villainous Yellowjacket occurs atop a table of children's toys - but the material is mostly limp in the hands of Reed, who exhibits little in the way of style and personality. There's nothing invigorating about the movie, which often feels more like a television pilot due to flat cinematography, humdrum direction, workmanlike action scenes and simplistic humour. It's full of digital effects, of course, which bring some of the more creative scenes to vivid life. But while the CGI is competent, it's by no means spectacular; it still looks too digital, in need of the tangible aesthetic of bygone superhero adventures. As always, the picture arrives with a 3D option, and though the conversion is competent, it does nothing to enhance the movie, which is a shame considering the possibilities. Reed just isn't a visionary filmmaker.

Although enjoyable at times, Ant-Man falls towards the lower spectrum of Marvel productions, down there with The Incredible Hulk and Thor: The Dark World. It ultimately feels like a producer's vision, without much in the way of personality or energy. Guardians of the Galaxy was bolstered by the quirky disposition afforded by indie filmmaker James Gunn, while the Russo Brothers turned Captain America: The Winter Soldier into an exhilarating espionage thriller. Peyton Reed, on the other hand, was ostensibly hired to be a yes-man to Marvel's demands, and that's a shame. Superhero fatigue is beginning to set in for this reviewer, making a production like Ant-Man even more disappointing. Potential sequels will need to up their game - hopefully, Ant-Man 2 will be overseen by a more competent action craftsman who will do the character justice. As ever, be sure to stick around during the end credits, as there are two additional scenes.

5.7/10

Initial Thought: I was a little skeptical about this when I first heard it would be made. I wondered how they could make a good feature length film about a man who can shrink. When the trailer came out it had me more interested. It looked like fun. Yesterday I was invited to an early showing at midnight so I went and watched it.

Characters/Acting: This has a pretty interesting cast. I never would have thought Paul Rudd could pull off a superhero let alone Ant-Man. To my surprise he fit right in. His comedic timing fit perfectly in the role of Scott Lang. He even showed he can pull off the action lead persona. Michael Douglas never disappoints in my opinion. The same applies for him here as well. He plays a great Hank Pym. Corey Stoll as Yellowjacket was awesome. For a first movie villain I think he is one of the better ones. The three thief buddies of Scott Lang were the perfect mixed bag. We have Michael Pena who is absolutely hysterical here especially whenever he explains how he comes up with jobs. There is also T.I. who is pretty damn funny here too. I have seen him in some comedies, but this is by far his funniest role. The hacker guy also has some funny lines. Now I'm not really on the Evangeline Lilly train. I usually find her a bit average to be honest. I did think she played here quite well though. Scott's daughter is so adorable and funny. She is a young one and still fits right in here. The cameos here were pretty great and some were even unexpected. In full there just aren't any characters here that were bad.

Story: 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. This concept is interesting for a superhero movie. When you think of heists you usually think of spy films or movies about criminals. This takes that to a new level. It's all three meshed together. The action is both pretty awesome and quite humorous at the same time. I loved the fight scenes where they are ant-sized because they would show from both perspectives. Seeing them large scale always made it humorously less intense than how the characters felt about their battles. The ending was pretty funny and just awesome. Obviously when you watch a Marvel there are credits scenes. This one has two. One is midway and that made me geek out a little inside. The final one is also really cool to see. They are both definitely worth seeing.

Directing/Writing: When I heard Edgar Wright was directing I was ecstatic. He was going to be an awesome and funny watch. It was a bit disappointing when he ended up dropping off as director. The writing though you can tell has a bit of his style in there. So I was glad he was still credited as one of the screenwriters. Three other people worked on the script as well even including Paul Rudd. He has only written Role Models besides this which was a really funny movie. Joe Cornish also wrote and directed the popular British alien invasion movie Attack on the Block. That was a wicked awesome movie in my opinion. Wow Adam McKay was part of the writing group here! That's a surprise seeing as I usually despise everything he works on since they almost always include Will Ferrell. Good on him for attributing to something I actually enjoyed. I see to always enjoy the directing capabilities of Peyton Reed. His movies are always quite funny and fun to watch. I mean I really liked Yes Man and Bring It On. Anyways all this talent working together really paid off. I don't know how much of it everyone had contributed to it, but for so many writers it went rather nicely.

Final Thought: That was freaking fantastic. The acting was on point. The characters were fun to watch and had good chemistry. The action was an unexpected blast to watch. There is never a dull moment even when there is no action going on. If you are a Marvel fan and felt skeptical about this don't be. It's quite refreshing and really proves itself to belong in the cinematic universe. I highly recommend going to see this one ASAP.