Ant-Man

Review By: John Delia

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is trying to turn his life around from a cat burglar to a loving father for his young daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson). So, he takes a job like normal hard working citizens. Returning from a three year stint in jail has put his ex-wife Maggie (Judy Greer) on edge and she is persistent that he will never change. In the meantime, (shown in flashback many years earlier) scientist Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) has been making breakthroughs in his particle research of reducing live human tissue at his company Pymtech. But the Board of Directors at the company he founded has become impatient and want him to turn over the plans so they can go ahead and finish the project. He refuses and resigns before going into seclusion.

Flash forward to modern day and we find that Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) is now the head of Crosstech (formerly Pymtech) and on the verge of completing Dr. Pym’s formula. His motives; however, are not for ethical use. He wants an army of miniature killers that will help him rule the world. Meanwhile, Dr. Pym has resurfaced and finds Scott Lang a good subject for his final experiment. When he reduces Scott down to the size of an ant, Dr. Pym gets thousands of tiny ants to help him fight the evil Darren Cross.

What makes the movie very good is the comedy that bolsters the action much like the first Iron Man movie.  There’s plenty of sight gags and deadpan slapstick to keep the film at a high level of enjoyment for the action hero target audience.  It’s a fast moving film that catches the audience off guard from the story laden beginning to the explosive finale.

Director Peyton Reed puts his CGI crew to the test with some amazing animated creatures that take on the chore of helping Ant-Man reach the goal of defeating Cross.  His computerized ant size hero has the strength of the mighty little insects that are packed with power. Reduced to be able to travel underneath the Earth, the small hero’s ability may not be throwing webs to capture the bad guys or even flying through the air with super speed to fight off the likes of Ultron, but his small size coupled with the ability to shrink and go back to normal makes him a mini superhero.  As a note, Reed’s inner earth looks very cool, especially the water pipes Ant-Man has to use to get around and other not as accommodating places.

The acting in Ant-Man is up to par with the other Marvel films and Paul Rudd makes the perfect new addition to the expanding Marvel Universe.  Rudd has the facial expressions, sincerity and determination to make his character the action hero expected by followers of the genre.  And, you’ll see Paul Rudd as the tiny creature hero in the next Marvel’s Avengers movie Captain America: Civil War slated for next year.

The supporting cast includes Corey Stoll as the antagonist Cross that has become possessed by the possibility of getting control of the world.  His theory follows that of Dr. Pym, but not for protection of America, but for take over using powerful insects. Cross gets increasingly evil as he finds himself with the final formula that will shrink even himself as Yellow Jacket so he can fight Ant-Man.

I like Evangeline Lilly as Hope, an assistant of Cross, who shows some of her fighting techniques that were prevalent in The Hobbit.  She may look soft on the outside, but when it comes to defending herself, she’s not going to go easy.  Michael Douglas has a good role in Dr. Pym, the brilliant scientist that’s responsible for the shrinking of humans.  He develops an impenetrable suit for Ant-Man that resembles the ants he leads in their underground pursuit of defeating Cross.

The 3D in Ant-Man is very good and it’s the format that I recommend for the film.  The depth of field here takes you underground with thousands of ants scrambling through tunnels and down water drains.  And although most of the 3D takes you into the action, there’s a lot of flying ants coming at you as well.  The fight between Ant-Man and Yellow Jacket (a bee) becomes so real you will think you are right in the middle of the action.

Ant-Man has been rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence. If your child has seen any of the Avenger movies, then there should not be a problem with Ant-Man. However, the scene in the jail at the beginning of the movie depicts prisoners punching each other as part a ritual when an inmate gets released from prison and it’s a bit brutal. Stick around for the credits at the end for future Marvel film scenes.

FINAL ANALYSIS: A very good addition to the Marvel Universe and a good cast to initiate Ant-Man to the big screen. (B+)