Official Synopsis
The next evolution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduces the newest member of the Avengers: Marvel’s Ant-Man. Armed with the amazing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang joins forces with his new mentor Dr. Hank Pym to protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from ruthless villains! With humanity’s fate in the balance, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a daring heist against insurmountable odds.
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Let’s point out the elephant in the room before we dig into this film. Yes, Edgar Wright was supposed to direct this, as he spent ten years trying to figure out what this was going to do within the Marvel Universe (if anything). Yes, there have been rumors that he and the Marvel Studio heads clashed about what this movie meant to everyone, supposedly Wright wanted it to be a stand-alone and Marvel had other ideas (incorporating it heavy into the rest of the films). This is all rumors, as we do not know officially what fell apart between the two entities. We will probably never know, which is fine because both parties moved on. Having said that, Wright’s involvement is still embedded in the film, as you can tell with the film’s writing, but it’s very much a Peyton Reed (and Marvel) film by the end of it all. Peyton Reed directed this film and did it the way he thought might best fit the entire MU. Personally, I couldn’t careless who directed it or who should get credit for it, all I know is that Ant-Man is a fun film that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I can imagine that is the way Wright would have directed it also, though I’m sure that it would have been shot differently.
Anyway, let’s talk about the movie!
The first act of Ant-Man starts out by quickly going through its players. We are introduced to Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), as the inventor of Ant-Man and is instantly seen as a non-violent man uninterested in fighting wars — or selling equipment/formulas (specifically the Pym particle) to war-driven countries. We’re then introduced to Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), an ex-con trying to get his life together (and re-establish a relationship with his young daughter) after bringing down a large corporation from the inside out that was scamming its customers. Trying to walk the straight and narrow, Lang soon finds himself in another potential heist to help his life situation (and ultimately get back to his daughter). The heist? Breaking into Pym’s house and stealing something of unknown origin, and high value, that Pym is hiding. The heist goes down, the valuable object, the Ant-Man suit, is stolen and Lang gets connected to Pym through the suit.
The first act is fast and furious. It has a lot of Edgar Wright pacing imprinted all over it, but with Peyton Reed humor sprinkled in. You can tell that Reed and Rudd are very much on the same page with this act, and with the movie. It helps when you know each other well. Anyway, Reed seems like he just wants to get to the action the second act contains, but doesn’t carelessly get through the first act without defining his players. It’s an amazing balance and one that doesn’t falter. It might be the least complicated of the three acts, but Reed and Rudd (and those involved) treat it well.
The second act begins with Pym locking in/trapping Lang for the role of Ant-Man. He believes that Lang has all the elements to pick up the suit and become the hero he thinks he can become. Throughout the second act we’re seeing Lang learn about the suit, figuring out how to control/bond with the ants, the different ant types and getting accustomed to the do’s and don’ts of the Ant-Man role. On the side, we’re introduced to our antagonist, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll — love him in movies, the guy has real talent), who has an extreme case of pseudo-daddy issues with Pym, as well as a healthy dose of paranoia because he can’t perfect Pym’s particle formula, though he will. On top of this, Cross’ eventual success to replicate (somewhat) the particle, means that he is willing to sell it to the highest bidder in the war of the worlds. As Lang and Cross’ storylines start gathering momentum to eventually meet and greet in the third act, the movie throws in some real daddy issues between Pym and his daughter, Hope, who has ‘hope’ (haha, yeah that was terrible) that she could play the hero role rather than Lang. All of these storylines collide to form a nice third act introduction.
The second act is packed. It’s really, really, really packed with small storylines. We have Lang getting used to his role as Ant-Man. Hope trying to keep her shit together and help her father and Lang out before Cross sells his formula to the world. Then we have Cross stirring up some creepy terror to push everything along. Throw in some moments with certain Avengers and Reed and Rudd are pushing this thing fast. The second act feels just a bit rushed and disorganized. It’s not a disaster by any means, but it has lot to say in a short amount of time. When you throw in a lot and try to put pre-existing story pieces together, sometimes you get second acts like this in movies. The end result is that you get some shallow moments that should be impactful (especially with Evangeline Lilly’s Hope), but aren’t. You get some storylines that should be more meaningful, but don’t have time to develop. It needed about 20 more minutes to flush things out, but it couldn’t get them for whatever reason. Again, it’s not a disaster by any stretch, but it’s packed.
The third act is the money act, though. It brings the movie back together in the best way it can (with loads of action) and you end up with a competent film. As usual, I’m not going to tell you what happens in the third act, but I will say that Reed and Rudd played it safe with the story revisions. Most Wright fans will say, “HA! You see???”, but the story still feels complete by the end. Can’t really argue with the results, as the movie ends up entertaining. Could Wright have made it ‘epic’? We don’t know. Personally, the last outing for me with Wright was the crapfest The World’s End (sorry ,folks, that was a terribly disappointing film compared to Wright’s previous three), which was boring. So, I can’t answer if Wright would have made it a better movie. Had he decided to do so, he had plenty of opportunities in the last ten years.
Anyway, as I stated before, that is neither here nor there. Ultimately, the question you want to ask about this movie comes down to this — is it better than Gunn’s Guardians or the Russo’s Winter Soldier? Heck no, but it belongs firmly in the Marvel Universe as dumb fun that has some traces of depth in it. It’s far better than Taylor’s Thor sequel, but not quite up there in the top three Marvel films.
Overall, Ant-Man is a fun film that has some substance to it. Rudd is an entertaining hero that balances humor and good emotion. I expect some great things out of him with Captain America: Civil War and future Marvel films. Until then, go into Ant-Man ready to be entertained, but not much beyond that point. Regardless, it is worthy of the Marvel Universe.
In terms of special features, here’s what you’re looking at with this release:
• Making Of An Ant-Sized Heist: A How-To Guide
• Let’s Go To The Macroverse –
• WHIH NewsFront –
• Deleted & Extended Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Audio Commentary By Peyton Reed And Paul Rudd
Onto the summary!