Ant-Man [PG]

Recently ousted from his own company, which has been taken over by a former protégé, Dr. Hank Pym, creator of the ‘Pym molecule’ and the original ‘Ant-man’ suit, enlists the skills of ex-con Scott Lang to prevent the mass production of the ‘Yellow Jacket’: a weaponised version of his research that his protégé intends to use for evil. Adding to his skills as a cat burglar superhuman strength, the ability to shrink, and control of an entire army of ants, Scott takes up the mantle and becomes the new Ant-Man. 

I know that many people are a bit dubious about this movie because a) it’s a PG rated Marvel movie, which he haven’t really seen since The Fantastic Four b) it hit a lot of snags before even getting the green light for production, and c) Disney sort of owns everything now, Star Wars and Marvel included. But I have to be honest and say that I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this flick. Disclaimer: if you go and see this movie with the expectation of it being another Marvel superhero-action movie, you are going to be disappointed. Whilst there are various cool action elements and fight sequences, this is more of a superhero-comedy and the two different subgenres provide different viewing experiences, so be mindful of that if you enter the cinema with certain expectations. 

My main pro with this movie was actually that it was a superhero-comedy rather than an action flick. There is a lot of meta humour within the folds of this movie, in fact it’s very rich with it, and the incest of Marvel still is very much at play and works with some direct allusions and interactions with the Falcon from the Avengers and a not-so-subtle foreshadowing allusion to Spiderman. We then have some classic sight gags, which admittedly we have seen time and time again in films such as Night at the Museum, but they still retain their crispness and humour thanks to clean editing and a consistent and spot-on sense of comedic timing. 

In fact, this movie is all about the timing and the balance of everything. It’s a wholly well-balanced movie with just enough action, drama, suspense, emotional tugs, and comedy to give it the perfect size and shape. In a bit of a step away from preceding Marvel flicks, it’s actually a very small story literally, geographically, and in many other ways. A Robin Hood-esque tale of the good fugitive, Ant-Man is essentially about an elaborate heist with the twist of familial dramas and some molecular science thrown in. 

Paul Rudd delivers a solid performance as the ex-con now on the straight and narrow (loosely). Rudd’s impeccable comedic timing works brilliantly here, especially during scenes of tension or awkwardness and the intertextual references that he does are pretty sweet: “can we stop looking at the negatives and focus on the fact that I took on an Avenger and didn’t die!?” 

Having brought up all the good stuff, I’m not saying that this film is without fault. My major con comes during the beginning of the movie which, for a long time up until Scott gets the suit, just feels a bit like Bambi learning to walk: it teeters and wobbles and it just doesn’t feel stable. Everyone is doing their part fine, but you get this feeling that no one is quite confidant in the film at all and it’s not until Rudd joins the ranks of Lilly and Douglas that a solid momentum starts to happen and a bit more faith and effort gets inserted by everyone. 

Also too, as a minor point, there are a few Disney hints that creep into this (a bit like we saw in Age of Ultron) as well as the sound effect of the laser blasters in Star Wars, which one cannot help but just construe as Disney boasting “check it out, we own everything!” Aside from that, good movie. 

Starring Evangeline Lilly (who is really just Tauriel in a black, bobbed wig), Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Anthony Mackie, Judy Greer, Abby Ryder Fortson, Michael Pena, David Dastmalchian, T.I., Martin Donovan, John Slattery, and Michael Douglas, Ant-Man is an enjoyable movie for a wide audience. Filled with action, romance, drama, and heaps of good comedy, I reiterate that I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this flick and I would probably watch it again.