Ant-Man/Dir. by Payton Reed/Marvel Studios/117 min./Rated PG-13
You remember that kid in elementary school? The one who knew they were a little odd, but had the good humor to acknowledge it before anyone could make fun of them? In the Marvel playground, that kid is Ant-Man. Originally conceived in film form by grand high master of all nerd-dom, Edgar Wright and shepherded to completion by comedy mastermind Payton Reed, Ant-Man completely understands that it has the silliest concept, the silliest powers, the silliest title of all the Marvel Universe, and it owns it. Filled with bright colors, zippy humor, and inventive action sequences, it's exactly what you'd want from a summer popcorn flick.
The film begins in 1989 with some of the best special effects put to practical use as we see Michael Douglas, looking exactly as he did in the late 80's, playing Hank Pym. When I say he looks exactly as he used to, I mean it. This is no weird dead-eyed Jeff Bridges in Tron. No, it's simply Michael Douglas 26 years younger. The effect is stunning, but I digress. Pym is determined to keep his "Pym Particle", a formula that allows the space between atoms to be removed so items can shrink, out of anyone's hands other than his. After an accident involving his wife, something we learn more about later, he doesn't want his tech being used at all.
Fast-forward to today as his protege and usurper of his own company, Darren Cross (played with joyful villainy by Corey Stoll) announces that he's figured out the key to this technology. With Pym's daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) playing double-agent and gaining info about Cross' plans, Pym realizes that he needs someone to break into the lab, steal the tech, and destroy the data before Cross can use it for his own nefarious ends.
Enter modern-day Robin Hood, Scott Lang (played to perfection by Paul Rudd). Scott spent some time in prison because of his last steal-from-the-rich-to-feed-the-poor escapade, one that involved breaking into a facility thought burglar-proof (Lang makes sure that people know he's not a robber because he never hurts people). Estranged from his ex-wife and his deeply-loved daughter, Lang is determined to go straight and put his life of crime behind him. Pym has other plans.
One of the things that separates the Marvel Cinematic Universe from the rest of the movie superhero throng is that the superhero part is usually a side part of a different story in a different genre. So far, we've seen MCU tackle WWII drama, fantasy, action-comedy, sci-fi epic, political thriller, and now with Ant-Man, the MCU take on the comic heist film. More a comedy in the vein of the 2003 remake of The Italian Job than the more seriously toned The Sting, Ant-Man finds as much of its humor from the heist planning as it does in self-referencing its own absurdity. Most hysterical is Michael Pena as Luis, a right hand man that likes to tell stories and anyone who has enjoyed the humor of Kid History or Kid Snippets on youtube will very much appreciate the way the movie re-enacts his stories.
An aspect of the film that could have ruined it, but actually becomes a strength is Lang's ability to "communicate" with ants. These scenes are treated with such humor initially, easing the viewer into the admittedly goofy superpower, that by the time it is really needed for the plot, the audience has simply accepted that this is a man with an arsenal of ants at his disposal. We even come to care about the little pests (not that I'm going to welcome them into my pantry any time soon).
Much has been made of the troubled production of Ant-Man and, unfortunately, the movie doesn't emerge completely unscathed by those troubles. While a thoroughly enjoyable film, the evidence of "too many cooks" (the cliche, not the disturbing Adult Swim sit-com spoof) is found in a certain feeling of disjointedness. When it works, it works smashingly, but every once in a while the seams between ideas show in a way that is unusual for a Marvel film. Reed has done a wonderful job with the profoundly thankless task of taking over for one of the most beloved names in genre film (Wright left the production because of creative differences with the studio, mostly involving fitting the story into the overall arc of the MCU), but the scenes and the lines that tie these events into the MCU really do feel forced. Ant-Man was obviously conceived by Wright as a stand-alone film and whenever there's a mention of the Avengers or a Stark, it feels a bit out of place, the exceptions being a terrific stinger at the end of the credits and an action sequence early in the film that's fun enough to gloss over the obvious cross-pollination of characters.
Any superhero film stands or falls on the strength of its lead and Paul Rudd is the ace up Ant-Man's sleeve. Rudd is one of the rare actors that feels just at home with sincerity as he does with sarcasm and that versatility makes Lang one of the most relatable of the Marvel clan. He's not a billionaire or a war hero or a alien/god, he's just a flawed dude trying to do right by his daughter. It's going to be very fun to see Rudd act off the core Avengers in future movies.
Not the surprise success that was Guardians of the Galaxy, but so much more intelligent and downright fun than it could have been, Ant-Man is a welcome addition to the MCU. Now that his origin story is out of the way, there are a million different directions they could go with this character and I'm very excited to see which ones they choose. This goofy kid on the MCU playground certainly has the potential to be the most fun of the whole lot.
Grade: B+
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