2015, Action, Ant Man, Anthony Mackie, Bobby Cannavale, Comedy, Corey Stoll, Evangeline Lilly, Fantasy, Michael Douglas, Michael Pena, Paul Rudd, Peyton Reed, Science Fiction

Ant-Man (2015)

Leave a comment

I’ll preface this review by saying that I enjoyed Ant-Man, but that I know that if I do end up seeing Ant-Man 2, I will not enjoy it. I say that because traditionally I like superhero origin stories (except for when that same character gets retold over and over and over again like Superman, which…on a side note, I have yet to see a Superman movie that I’ve even remotely enjoyed, but that I am expecting HUGE things from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice). However, as with over 90% of movies that have sequels, superhero movies generally get worse (usually much worse) with each subsequent release. Of course, there are exceptions. Batman Begins was fantastic, but The Dark Knight is possibly the greatest superhero movie ever made. Iron Man and Spider-Man are both amazing movies, but there wasn’t much drop-off to Iron Man 2 or Spider-Man 2. Now Iron Man 3 and Spider-Man 3 were both much worse. But when you think about it, when is the 5th, 4th, or 3rd movie of a franchise ever really the best one? Hardly ever. 90% of the time, it’s the first franchise movie that is the best. I wish viewer franchises would make movies. I wish even fewer movies would be remade. But that is a different topic for another day. Regarding Ant-Man, the best thing that it had going for it was its originality. I cannot think of a scenario where Ant-Man 2 would have any originality that this first movie had. But, of course, we know Ant-Man 2 is coming. And then Ant-Man will probably end up in The Avengers movies, and I’ll look back on this first movie less positively.

So as mentioned, the best part about Ant-Man wasn’t the action. We’ve seen that in superhero movies. It wasn’t the story. We’ve seen that in superhero movies. It wasn’t the comedy. We’ve seen that in (Marvel) superhero movies. It was the originality. It was almost like watching Honey, I Shrunk the Kids meets The Amazing Spider-Man meets Iron Man, but in a good way. And in a good way, I mean (mostly). The movie is rated PG-13 but really should be a PG movie. This is as kid-friendly as a Marvel movie can get (at least the ones I’ve seen). It’s entertaining. It’s fun. I think 10 and 11-year-olds could enjoy it, maybe even more than that age 15 or older. I probably forget something, but, to me, this is the most kid-friendly Marvel movie to date. I’m surprised I didn’t dislike it, but again it was the ingenuity that won me over. I think most moviegoers of this genre will like it, but it’s unlikely to be as memorable as many of the other superhero movies released in the last decade. And it’s super easy to call the premise cheesy. Suspend disbelief, and you’ll be fine. It’s different than Iron Man, Captain America, etc. Not a ton, but those movies have become a dime a dozen, and this had a few elements that made it different. Though I’ve mentioned this already, though this movie is not even in production, I have zero desire to see whatever Ant-Man 2 will over. I like the origin story, but Ant-Man 2 won’t offer anything new.

So now comes the plot, which was done well, but could still have been improved. It’s a pretty basic, easy-to-follow story (another reason which begs the question of why this movie couldn’t be rated PG). The film begins 25 years in the past (1989). Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas – The Game, Wall Street) has invented a serum (called Pym Particle) where, through the use of a suit, he can transform himself to the size of an insect but have the strength of a super-human. Though publicly, it has been stated that this technology has never been used, pictures have been shown from past wars that suggest otherwise. Pym knows the world is not ready for his technology and leaves the company he started. Fast-forward 25 years, and Pym returns to Pym Technologies, the company he once started and has since left. He is invited back as a guest. Upon his return, he learns that his protege Darren Cross (Corey Stoll – The Good Lie, Non-Stop) and his estranged daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly – The Hobbit, television’s House) have replicated Pym’s serum. Cross hopes to create an army of these “yellow-jackets” with the hopes of selling them to the military. Hank is not so sure, nor are all of the special guests to his demonstration.

Meanwhile, Scott (Paul Rudd – This is 40, Knocked Up) has just been released from the state penitentiary. He is finding that getting a job on the outside is difficult with a felony on his record (he was arrested for stealing money from the company he worked for and giving this money back to the company’s customers after learning that the company was purposefully overcharging). He has a combination of skill and heart that Hank is looking for to help him permanently shut down Darren’s operation. This is the plot. Just like most Marvel movies, there is far more comedy in Ant-Man than you will find in any DC Comics movie. But even when compared to the other Marvel movies, this one tends to be on the funnier side of things. It is the most kid-like Marvel movie that I’ve seen. But it is entertaining, and I am glad I watched it. Will there be an Ant-Man 2? Yes, there will be. Unfortunately, it won’t be a movie I see in the theater, and I do hope that it does its due diligence and tries to do more than just capitalizing upon this origin story’s success.

Plot 8.5/10
Character Development 7/10
Character Chemistry 7/10
Acting 7/10
Screenplay 7/10
Directing  7/10
Cinematography 9.5/10
Sound 8.5/10
Hook and Reel 8.5/10
Universal Relevance 6/10
76%

Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.