ANT-MAN

GRADE: A
Starring Paul Rudd, Evan Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Canavale, Michael Pena and Michael Douglas 
Screenplay by Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish and Adam McKay and Paul Rudd
Directed by Peyton Reed

Rated PG-13 (violence, profanity, mild sexual references)

Reviewed by Paul and Patrick Gibbs

Ant-Man is the biggest question mark Marvel Studios has seen in quite some time. It's a character with low mainstream marquee value or recognition, the behind the scenes controversy over the departure of  writer/director Edgar Wright created bad publicity, and the fact that Avengers: Age of Ultron didn't receive quite the ecstatic reception expected (having to settle for a meager $455 million domestic and the number 8 spot on the all-time blockbuster list) have lead to questions of whether maybe the Marvel brand is starting to lose its luster, and whether perhaps superhero mania may be nearly played out. It remains to be seen whether this is true at the box office, but in terms of quality, Ant-Man surprises by not only being another solid entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but being a breath of fresh air just when the MCU really needs one, much in the same way that the original Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy managed to do so.


The story begins in 1989, when scientist Hank Pym (played by a digitally de-aged Michael Douglas) angrily severs his ties to S.H.I.E.L.D., and especially to tech billionaire Howard Stark (played by a slightly aged John Slattery, who played Stark in the Iron Man 2 flashbacks). We then jump forward to the present day, when cat burglar Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is being released from prison and hoping to reconnect with his young daughter, Cassie. But it's hard out there for an ex-con, and Scott soon finds that his ex-wife (Judy Greer) and her new husband (Bobby Canavale) don't want him seeing his daughter until he's gotten an honest job and proven he's reformed. But Scott's record keeps disqualifying him from honest jobs. Soon, Scott crosses paths with now much older Hank Pym (played by the current version of Michael Douglas) and Pym's daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly), and is recruited to don the supersuit of Ant-Man, Pym's former superhero identity, who could shrink down to an almost microscopic size and communicate with ants.

Instead of being a large scale save the world spectacular, Ant-Man is, appropriately enough, smaller than the Marvel films that have come before it. It's also much lighter in tone, playing like a cross between a Ghostbusters or Men in Black style special effects comedy and an Ocean's Eleven style heist caper, and the approach works. But even more so than comedy, it's the sense of heart that makes it click, and while this may not sound like a good thing, at times Ant-Man has the tone of a feel good Christmas movie. Like Iron Man,  Thor and Captain America before it, Ant-Man has a distinct charm and identity of its own, which is rather surprising considering the mammoth universe in which it takes place. A lot of the credit goes to the cast, particularly Rudd, who has enough charm and presence to carry the film with ease, and Douglas, who adds a sense of dignity, class and weight to the proceedings. But the script is briskly paced and solidly entertaining (it's impossible to know how much of it comes from the legendary original Edgar Wright draft and how much is retooling by Marvel and new writers Rudd and Adam McKay), Peyton Reed's direction, while not as stylized as Wright's would have been, hits the mark.  Reed's largely generic previous filmography (Bring It On, Down With Love, Yes Man) didn't exactly get fans excited, but he ably paces the film and makes good choices with the effects and action (starting with a 1:85 aspect ratio, which allows the world around the shrunken Ant-Man to appear enormous, especially in 3D IMAX). While the villain is typically uninteresting for a Marvel heavy who isn't named Loki, and Evangeline Lily's presence is slightly problematic between her ridiculous hairdo and the mere fact that her presence causes unpleasant reminders that Real Steel is  still out there sonewhere, lurking in the shadows, and her sparring scenes with Rudd and his stuntmen, though executed with great energy, are not helped by the IMAX in that it is painfully obvious when she is tossing him around who is really doing most of the work. Still, she has strong moments and is an overall welcome element.  On the whole, this manages to be one of the better all around stories Marvel has told, and the movie takes the time to focus more on story and character than on razzle-dazzle, making the third act action set pieces all the more fun when they do arrive.

Ant-Man may not be the best film Marvel has ever made, but it stands alongside Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier as one of the highlights of Phase Two, and amazes by being arguably more satisfying than its more hyped summer sibling Age of Ultron. Even with with the extent to which Marvel's over saturation of film and television has left it hard to find a new entry to be inherently special or exciting, it manages to remind us that Marvel reached its level of popularity not simply by trading on big name properties, but by making films that are entertaining and accessible to fans and non-fans alike. There likely will come a day when Marvel feels like it's running on fumes and can't give us something that feels new anymore. but happily Ant-Man doesn't signal that day. It shows us the formula can be stretched to accommodate a movie that's a little different from what we're used to but still gives us what we want. and it shows a studio wise enough to know when that was needed. Ant-Man is another winner (and Marvel fans should take note that while the after the credits stinger will be lost on those few people on the audience that haven't kept up on the MCU, and does not involve Spider-Man, it's more than worth sticking around for and left us cheering.)