Ant-Man - A Spoilerish Review

Ant-Man, not the most convincing name for a superhero is it. Of course, in a universe that includes a Norse God and his psychotic brother, a super soldier from WWII and a guy who turns green when he's angry, a shrinking man should fit right in! Ant-Man was a film I personally had a lot of hopes for because he seemed like a different superhero to any we've had before. Scott Lang (brilliantly played by Paul Rudd) is a man down on his luck. He's not got money, he's a man split from his daughter and having to watch her be brought up by an unlikable cop. He's a pitiful human being with one specific skill set, he can break into places and that is why Hank Pymm (Michael Douglas) picks him to become Ant-Man. Readers of the comic book will be aware that Hank Pymm was the first Ant-Man, a brilliant scientist who creates a formula for shrinking

Scott Lang becomes Ant-Man

organic matter. He then uses the formula within a suit so he can shrink and grow at will in order to fight crime. Within the film, Hank Pymms time as Ant-Man is explored which I loved because it adds further mythos to the Marvel universe. It was also a way of linking Ant-Man with SHIELD and we were treated to a cameo by an aged Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter! Another 'cameo' within the film was Falcon (Anthony Mackie) during a fight atop the roof of the new Avengers headquarters with our titular hero. Although this scene had been rumoured, it was still a nice surprise and a great shout out to the wider Marvel universe. All in all, Ant-Man was a fine way to end to Phase 2 of the MCU and it was also up there with the best of the MCU films we've had so far (on a par with the superb Guardians of the Galaxy IMO).

CASTING

The casting was pretty much spot-on really. Paul Rudd was a great choice for Scott Lang and an inspired piece of casting in many ways. He's still best known perhaps for playing Mike Hannigan in friends (despite only staring in 18 episodes and the show ending 12 years ago) as well as mainly comedic roles since. Although the role of Scott Lang clearly isn't meant as an absolutely serious role, Rudd displays enough to make the character believable. 

Michael Douglas is...well...very Michael Douglas as Hank Pymm. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing because it's not, not in this case. Pymm is obviously only required to bring Ant-Man into a modern setting and to link elements together and he does it extremely well. It's a role which doesn't require much effort and a role which will likely be reduced as the MCU rumbles on.

As a pretty huge fan of Lost I already knew Evangeline Lilly and she is great as Hope Van Dyne (Hank Pymms daughter) here. She displays enough metal and is a welcome female character to an MCU largely dominated by the guys. It is fairly obvious that she will become a mainstay within the MCU following a mid-credits sequence that alludes to her becoming Wasp (a role previously held by her late mother).

Corey Stoll is basically a paint-by-numbers badguy as Darren Cross (Yellow Jacket). He's Ant-Mans Obadiah Stane in that he's rounded enough to make a convincing one-film baddie but that's about it. 

PLOT

Ant-Man takes on Yellow-Jacket

Ant-Man is essentially a heist movie with the plot revolving round Cross wanting to use the Ant-Man technology to build an army of Yellow Jackets. In terms of origin story, Ant-Man differs from many superhero origin tales in that it doesn't actually feel like the beginning of something. It feels like we're coming in to a story half way through which is no bad thing. The MCU is now twelve movies long so really, we shouldn't be getting any origin stories, at least not what we got in phase 1. With Ant-Man we get a film which has a history to it, a superhero who has a time long before the beginning of the film. Scott Lang may take up the Ant-Man mantle in this movie but Hank Pymm was Ant-Man long before the world had heard of Iron-Man. 

As for the actual plot, it's good and holds its own. Ant-Man is required for a specific purpose rather than a purpose being required for him to exist. If Captain America was the war movie and Thor was the fantasy epic then this is the good old heist caper and that is what Marvel does so well with its movies. Rather than adopting a one size fits all policy as could quite easily have been the case, each hero stands alone and as a consequence their solo movies are very different thematically. 

STAND OUT MOMENTS

Thomas the Tank Engine makes his entrance

The outstanding moment for me was the most unlikeliest of cameos by a certain Thomas the Tank Engine. I will never look at that blue train the same ever again without giggling to myself!

As with many of the Marvel films, Ant-Man begs you to stay seated once the credits start rolling because it features both a mid and post credits scene. The mid credits scene involves Hope Van Dyme and Hank Pymm in a touching father/daughter moment that should have comic enthusiasts squeeling with delight. The Wasp is imminent! The post credits scene features Steve Rodgers (Captain America), Sam Wilson (Falcon) and a certain Bucky Barnes (The Winter Soldier) and is clearly designed to set up Captain America: Civil War. 

CONCLUSION

All in all Ant-Man is one of the stronger Marvel films and it's actually better than the recent Avengers: Age of Ultron. It reminded me of Guardians of the Galaxy in many ways because not many expected it to be as good as it ultimately is. Because of the lack of any real expectation, Ant-Man excels. It doesn't pretend to be anything it's not and it's a film which doesn't take itself very seriously. It's clear that the main cast had a ball while making the film with Rudd obviously enjoying himself. On its own, as a solo outing, Ant-Man is brilliant and a great summer film. As part of the wider MCU it stands tall and begs to be offered the same respect as the more established franchises such as Iron Man or Captain America. A typically enjoyable romp!