Ant-Man

"My days of breaking into places and stealing shit are over! What do you need me to do?"

While it may be ridiculous to dwell on what might have been when it comes to fairly judging a movie, it's pretty damn hard to not wish that Edgar Wright had been allowed to direct Ant-Man.  As it stands, it doesn't really feel like a Wright film, aside from moments here and there.  What Ant-Man amounts to is mostly fun, but also generic, superhero action movie. You've got the unlikely hero, the sassy romantic interest, and the over-the-top villain.  It's probably the lightest in tone of all the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, though it's hardly the funniest.  Fans of the series should feel right at home with the material, which includes lots of fun surprise cameos from other characters in the universe.

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has just been released from prison and is attempting to make an honest living working at a Baskin Robbins (WOW, I REALLY WANT BASKIN ROBBINS NOW, WHAT ARE THE ODDS?!).  He isn't allowed to see his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson) due to his inability to pay for child support, so he decides to pull a robbery with his buddy Luis (Michael Pena) on an old, rich man (and former S.H.E.I.L.D. agent) named Hank Pym (Michael Douglas).  However, instead of finding money inside Pym's huge safe, Lang finds what he assumes to be a motorcycle outfit and takes it.   Accidentally, he discovers that what he's actually stolen is a high-tech shrinking suit, giving its wearer the power to shrink down to the size of an insect while gaining super-strength.  After Lang tries to return the suit, Pym reveals his heroic past as Ant-Man and ropes Lang into becoming his protege.  They set out to steal the shrinking technology from a crazed CEO named Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) who plans on selling his own suit, the Yellow Jacket, to the government as a weapon of war.  Pym's daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lilly), works at the company and gives Land and Pym the inside information they need to pull off the heist, while simultaneously training Lang in how to use the Ant-Man suit.  I smell a forced romance.

It's a neat (and sort of silly) concept that could easily have been a disaster if it had taken itself too seriously. Thankfully, the tone is light and fun, the stakes are appropriately small-scale, and the pacing is quick.  That works in the film's favor, because after the relatively strong set-up, the plot is paper-thin.  We get training montages, spectacularly-realized scenes of Ant-Man shrinking, growing, kicking ass, and delivering a few self-referential jokes (though thankfully, the two lines from the trailer concerning the name "Ant-Man" are missing from the film entirely).  There's a bit of drama thrown in concerning Pym's wife that gives he and his daughter some development, but it's all cut together so quickly that it feels like an afterthought.  Had that element been pushed to the forefront (strengthening the father/daughter relationship themes already established by Lang and his daughter), there might have been something really memorable here.  And Ant-Man is a movie that desperately needs something memorable.

The cast is mostly great; Paul Rudd has great comedic timing, as does Michael Pena.  Michael Douglass gives it his all as Pym, and adds a little soul to his character.  It actually really made me want to see a movie about his expoits as the original Ant-Man, which was undoubtedly the point.  While Evangeline Lilly is likable as Pym's daughter, she wasn't given enough to do, and her one dramatic scene is ruined by hyper-active editing and over scoring.  The one weak link is Corey Stoll, who plays his uninteresting, generic-as-hell villain with confusing motivations terribly.  It just seems like there are a lot of strange acting and writing choices all directed at the Darren Cross character, resulting in one of the worst Marvel villains this franchise has seen yet.  I just don't believe him as someone who could own a business and keep it running; he's too unstable. As for his Yellow Jacket suit?  That was kind of bad ass.

While I'll always stick to my guns when it comes to using piratical effects, there are some really jaw-dropping moments that come from the shrinking scenes, especially in IMAX 3D (yes, even the 3D part).  When Ant-Man shrinks down the first time, it would have been nice to linger on the moment and take in the spectacle.  Unfortunately, the action is pretty chaotic and quick for the most part, though the dreaded shaky-cam is thankfully not an issue.  My favorite action scene is at the climax, where there are some brilliant visual gags that include a giant ant and Thomas the Tank Engine.  The score by Christophe Beck is a fun, Mission:Impossible-style bit of orchestration, but it follows in the grand tradition of Marvel movie scores being very bland and generic.  Gone are the days of superhero themes being an essential part of the characters; just play the same four notes over and over again and we'll call it a day.  Danny Elfman and John Williams, your skills are much needed here.

  

Ant-Man is a goofy movie its core, but it does try to infuse its characters with depth, personality, and some pain.  It falls a bit flat, but Rudd, Douglass and  carry the film successfully with their performances and some of the visuals are really impressive.  The plot is something like the "Iron Man Light" without the threatening villains, and we can't forget that this could have been something special had the original director been in place.  In any case, I'm looking forward to seeing plenty of the insect-sized superhero in what I'm sure will be many, many more MCU movies, hopefully with more to work with.

6/10