0
8.5

ANT-MAN

It’s time for Ant-Man to make his appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and for a small hero he makes a big entrance.

Synopsis

Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, cat burglar Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

Review

Ant-Man follows the events of Avengers Age of Ultron and acts as the introduction of Ant-Man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Peyton Reed the movie was originally set to be written and directed by Edgar Wright who is my all-time favorite director. Sadly, though some disputes with the production of the film caused him to leave, but luckily a lot of his ideas did end up making the final cut of the film. The film introduces us to Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne, and Corey Stoll as Darren Cross.

The film starts off by introducing Hank Pym, a scientist who has created a formula he refers to as Pym Particles which can change the physical space between atoms allowing items to shrink or expand from their original size. Having left SHEILD he takes the Pym particles with him and starts his own company in Pym Technologies where he hides the formula, vowing to never let it leave his own hands. His company is currently run by his protégé Darren Cross who has been fascinated by the concept of the Ant-Man which was a suit capable of shrinking someone down to the size of an ant, and he has found a way to replicate it. With the formula replicated he intends to sell it to the highest buyers, including some agents from Hydra. To protect his formula, Hank Pym enlists the help of an ex-con Scott Lang who is skilled in breaking and entering and has a moral high ground of stealing from those who steal from others.

Ant-Man is probably the most fun movie out of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it does have some suffering points. First off, the villain of Darren Cross is very generic, and he doesn’t have any specific traits that make him stand out from any of the other characters in the movie. He could easily blend into the background of any scene he is in and has only the motivation of getting revenge on Hank Pym because Pym originally didn’t trust him with the knowledge of the Pym particle formula or the Ant-Man suit. When it comes to generic Marvel Villains, Darren Cross is on the top of the list as far as villains go. The only villain possibly worse than Darren would be the Dark Elves from Thor The Dark World.  The films plot also suffers as times because of this, every time the film cuts to the actions of Darren it seems to be a very drastic slide in tone. From going from the fun and energetic cast to this slow and brooding villain. Darren doesn’t even act as a good foil to ground the absurdity of the rest of the movie, as he himself comes off as cartoonish with how evil he is.

The rest of the film is an absolute fun packed adventure. Paul Rudd brings about a very fun Scott Lang who steals the screen whenever he is there. In this movie Hope van Dyne and Hank Pym act as better foils to Scott Lang as their more serious demeanor still fits with the movies more fun attitude. They have different methods and ideals, but their behaviors match each other and create great scenes of conversation. While serious, Hank Pym has no problem messing with Scott, and his mocking of Scott as he is training and getting used to the suit is some of the best banter he gives in the film. Even though the movie is a standard heist movie, it does so with creativity that is very welcome, by using different kinds of ants. This was one of the parts of the film that is very evidently part of Edgar Wrights original script, and it shows. Instead of just using the ability to shrink and expand objects, the movie also enlists the usage of ants as an army that Hank Pym uses to help with his missions. As a result, Scott Lang learns how to use them as well.


Closing Thoughts

Ant-Man might not be the most complex Marvel Cinematic Universe movie but is Definity the most fun and engaging of them all. The movie takes absurdity to the highest level possible, and has fun doing it, leading to a movie that is entertaining no matter how many times you watch it. The chemistry between Scott and Hank is well written and displayed throughout the film, that their relationship and understanding of each other grows. There are no leaps of faith in the actual writing either, the only downside of this movie would be the villain Darren Cross comes off as completely generic, and as a result scene with him end up bringing down the movie. Ant-Man is one of the few Marvel movies that can stand on its own. For an Avengers rewatch this movie can be skipped as it doesn’t introduce too much to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but I highly recommend watching it again anyway.


Trailer

 

Brad Woessner
As one of the founding members of 8Bit Waffles, Brad is a fan of most nerd culture, and loves talking with other people about movies, tv shows, comics, and video games. One of the main reviewers for the website, and one of the hosts behind Double Feature VS, Brad has his hands in all aspects of 8Bit Waffles.

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