Among the ranks of the large-scale Marvel films, Ant-Man is definitely one of the smallest and most underappreciated films. This movie is full of devoted performances, great humor, and a creative new twist on the superhero genre. This film is one of my favorite Marvel films, and I truly believe that it does not get as much attention and love as it deserves.
The best aspects of this film include the performances, story, and special effects. Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, and Michael Peña were the leading lights of this movie and brought so much life to their characters, no matter how minuscule they seem in the larger universe. Even though this film is focused on one specific character, the entire cast worked together very well and had great chemistry, reinforcing the likability of them all. I personally love Paul Rudd as a comedian, and upon hearing news of him casted in this role, I was originally very skeptic. However, Marvel is bringing a lot of characters into the more humorous light in many of their most recent films, and it is working very well for them. Rudd was a great casting choice, and he filled the role beautifully. Accompanied by legendary actor Michael Douglas, the two played Scott Lang and Hank Pym, respectively. Their relationship was a sort of forced mentorship but in the end, it made sense for the story and worked out. The story was the other part of this film that I adored very greatly. The writing was excellent, and did not follow the typical superhero origin story that everyone is used to. Bringing in a criminal and forcing him to become a superhero while dealing with reintegrating into society and his daughter's life was a very interesting combination of plot points. They worked together, however, to make a very original and compelling story. This film was more of a heist film than an action-driven CGI fest and while plenty of that was still used, it was done in good taste. The cinematography and effects were very nauseating, in the best way possible. It showed how massive the world is in the eyes of an ant and developed Rudd's character very well. It gave him a new perspective on the entire world and a new purpose, which furthered his story smoothly. The humor in this film is the final positive element, as it was one of the funniest Marvel films ever made. The perfect amount of small jokes were present while not making it too unbelievably cheesy, which was suitable for the characters.
This film had many amazing parts that makes it stands out among many of the other generic superhero movies. However, there were still a few parts that could have definitely been improved upon. One of the main things is the whole controversy with Edgar Wright's creative vision. Edgar Wright (Baby Driver, Shaun of the Dead) is my favorite director of all time and was originally slated to direct Ant-Man. However, due to creative differences, Marvel decided to drop him as director and hire someone else. Wright still got credit for producing and writing the screenplay, but decided to move on and create Baby Driver (thank god), so it was a blessing in disguise. I would honestly give away my first child to see Wright's original vision for this story, as much as I already love it. Another of the problems that this film had were its minor representation issue and an iffy relationship towards the end. The entire cast is predominantly white, with the exception of Michael Peña's character Luis, T.I.'s Dave, and Anthony Mackie's Falcon. These roles, however, were very minor and were the stereotypical "sidekicks" of sort. It was not much of a problem as they were treated well as characters, but hopefully they have bigger roles in the sequel coming out later this year. The other issue I had with the film was the relationship between Scott and Hope in the conclusion of the film. It was a relationship that any audience member could see coming, but there was no substance behind it prior to the humorous kiss scene. It seemed forced for the most part, but was handled decently because of the humor that was utilized afterwards.
In conclusion, Ant-Man is a very creative and exciting film that adds a new fresh flavor to the Marvel universe. The writing is the biggest draw-in, as the heist story is one of the most interesting parts of the film. I would definitely recommend this film to anyone looking for a movie that is out of the ordinary bounds of the superhero genre.
My Rating: ★★★★
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