Ant-Man

Rating: 3.5/5

A movie I have grown to like the more times I watch it, Ant-Man isn't the best of Marvel, but it's certainly fun.

Ant-Man follows the recently released convict, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), in his attempts to leave his crimes in the past and improve his life for the sake of his daughter. He tries to get a job, but due to his criminal record, is promptly fired from the first one he gets. With no choice but to fall back into his old ways, Scott takes a job that requires him to break into a high security vault and retrieve whatever is inside. He and his associates expect it to be money, but instead find an unusual looking suit. Later, when Scott tries it on, he finds himself suddenly whisked into the ant sized world made possible by Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), a scientist who's spent nearly his whole life protecting the shrinking particle he invented. Now, Scott must help Hank and his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lily) protect the Pym Particle and stop the people trying to steal it.

When I first saw Ant-Man a few years back, admittedly, I wasn't overly impressed. I'd come to expect a certain caliber from Marvel, and I just felt that Ant-Man didn't really live up to those standards. It almost seemed like the MCU didn't either, given their paltry attempt at connecting it to the MCU by having Scott accidentally encounter The Falcon at the Avengers headquarters. I know that scene was meant to be played for laughs, but it just seemed all too obvious that they couldn't get any bigger named Avengers to take part in the film.

Paul Rudd, who in most films plays some form of a comedic role, definitely attempts to bring his sarcastic sense of humor into the film, and most of the time, it absolutely works, however it appeared to fall flat in a few parts of the movie. It seemed that due to Paul Rudd's past career, the film was relying too heavily on Rudd's comedic timing rather than the writing he was given. That being said, especially given his performance in later MCU installments, I can't imagine anyone embodying the character of Scott Lang better than Rudd did, as he just got better and better with each movie. Accompanying Rudd on screen is Evangeline Lilly, who plays Hope van Dyne. Lilly's portrayal of Hope is one of the highlights of the movie. She does a great job portraying a daughter stung by the loss of her mother and determined to prove herself to her eccentric and over protective father.

As it is with most Marvel films, they expertly choreograph the action sequences and definitely have the audience rooting for the hero and their sidekicks that help them along the way. Easily the best scene in this film is the final battle between Ant-Man and Yellow Jacket. In this moment, they find themselves, insect sized, amongst a model train set. It's incredibly clever, well thought out, and also, very funny. There are definitely some other great scenes in Ant-Man, but none as memorable as this.

Overall, Ant-Man is enjoyable, but just seems to be missing some of the ease and charm that can be quickly found in most other Marvel film creations. I have definitely grown to like it a lot more than I once had, but I don't think it's ever one that I'll call my favorite in the franchise.