Directed by: Peyton Reed
Release date: July 17th, 2015
Rating: 6/10
Ant-Man is the last film is Phase 2 and gives us the first solo movie of a brand new character since Captain America: The First Avenger. It tells the story of Scott Lang, a criminal with a heart of gold who is recruited by Hank Pym to become the next Ant-Man.
While to me Hank Pym is the best version of Ant-Man, I like that they took a different approach and instead of having it be your standard hero origin, they give us a passing-of-the-mantle story. This film establishes that Ant-Man has already been a superhero throughout the mid 1900s and now it’s time for someone else to dawn that title.
Essentially what this film boils down to is a heist movie. Ant-Man is required to break into a facility where he needs to steal another version of the Ant-Man suit that is going to be used for evil. While this isn’t the best heist movie ever made, I’m glad that Marvel decided to make a superhero movie with a genre as different as this one. Most have been action movies, with the exception of The Winter Solider which was partly a political thriller.
Paul Rudd was an interesting choice for Scott Lang but I think he played the role perfectly. He’s a lovable idiot who an audience can identify with and some of his jokes were the best in the film.
Where I have my biggest issues are where I have issues with a lot of Marvel movies; the villain. Darren Cross, whole played by the talented Corey Stoll, is just written so badly. I don’t understand how motivation for being evil. While, yes, Hank never told him that he was Ant-Man or gave him the formula for the Pym Particle, he came up with a version on his own! He could’ve very easily used that technology for good and teamed up with Hank to become Ant-Man. Now, I know that we can’t have Darren Cross be Ant-Man because then we wouldn’t have a movie, the point I’m trying to make is that he needed either clearer or different motivations for being the antagonist because the way it is written, it seems very unlikely that anyone in that position would be evil to me.
Aside from that issue I liked the movie. I think it’s a great comedy/heist movie and something of a breath of fresh air from Age of Ultron. While I don’t think it’s the best Marvel movie by any means; it’s good for what it is and doesn’t try to be a anything it isn’t.
Ant-Man is a fun feel-good superhero movie that fits comfortably in the MCU. The cast is great and my main issue is with the writing of the villain. Otherwise it’s a fun movie that I enjoyed.