Review: Ant-Man (2015) (Obvious spoilers) · 5:26pm Aug 7th, 2015
So, I finally got to see Ant-Man, and it was a very entertaining film.
Now, I will say that, when compared to the awesome Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy, it isn't quite on the same level, but when compared to the horrifically generic Thor: The Dark World, the tacky and annoying Iron Man 3, and the flat out offensive Age of Ultron, Ant-Man comes as a breath of fresh air, and a film that is thankfully, unpretentious in it's aims. It aims to entertain, pure and simple, and therefore, it's flaws can be mostly ignored or addressed, instead of weighing the film down.
I'm well aware of the now famous behind the scenes troubles that plagued the film, such it's near 8 year gestation, the fact that Edgar Wright left the project due to creative issues, and the rewrites and supposed modifications the film underwent to better gel with the current state of the MCU. And while, yes, one can see that this obviously underwent some sort of late in the game modification, the film has enough charm and heart to override that.
Peyton Reed does a very good job with the film, keeping the tone even, and overall a nice, breezy feel. The way he films the shrunken down sequences are quite fun, with the camera moving along like it's on an ant, following Paul Rudd around on his adventures. The screenplay is also good, hitting the right beats and having a nice heart. I will say that it does feel a tad choppy at times, with some of the exposition of Hope Pym and Hank Pym's dynamic feeling a bit clunky, but other then that, the humor is refreshingly clean and witty, avoiding vulgarity and instead being character driven.
The acting helps this, with everybody obviously having fun the roles, with Paul Rudd being quite likable as Scott Lang, Michael Douglas being very earnest and honest as the eccentric Hank Pym, Evangeline Lily being good as Pym's estranged daughter Hope, and Corey Stoll having a lot of fun hamming it up as the villain Darren Cross. He might not be a particularly fleshed out or unique villain, but Stoll is obviously having fun hamming it up, and it shows, which makes his scenes enjoyable. Michael Pena is a real show stealer as Rudd's fellow thief, a very enjoyably geeky guy who loves wine and neo-cubist art, and who speaks at the speed of light.
The film has a real heart to, with Lang's desire to be a better father feeling real, and helping ground the character, and the film's themes of fatherhood don't feel forced. They help set the film apart, since often, we don't get to really talk about fatherhood in superhero movies, so it's refreshing to see a film that addresses it. Bonus points for the step-father of Lang's daughter NOT being a jerk, but simply wanting what's best for his step-daughter.
The VFX work is good, and so is the music, which fits the whimsical tone of the film. Coupled with Russell Carpenter's bright cinematography, and the film looks good to.
Now, like I said earlier, there are some clunky moments. One particularly glaring one is when Lang breaks into the Avengers' pad to get some tech. Falcon's appearance and the following skirmish is rather forced in my opinion. I mean, as a geek I enjoyed it, but I felt it distracted from the movie for a bit, and could have been integrated in a bit more organically. However, it's not enough to ruin the movie or anything, it's just a minor quibble.
I do wish Darren Cross got a bit more development beyond "Evil Corporate Man with Daddy Issues", but like I said before, it's made enjoyable by Corey Stoll's unabashedly hammy performance.
So yeah, overall, I enjoyed the movie, it being much better then I expected it to. It might not be some world conquering magnum opus or anything, but given that it's obstinately aiming for something more small scale, and is therefore unpretentious, it comes as a huge breath of fresh air after the self-righteous, pretentious and disgustingly offensive and arrogant bloated mess of Age of Ultron.
I'm giving Ant-Man four stars. It's a popcorn flick, sure, but one with a heart, and a fun heart at that.
Yeah, the Falcon cameo felt really forced compared to the rest of the movie which was a fun change of pace compared to some of the more serious Marvel films. I really enjoyed Douglas' take as Hank Pym since his character has always been a bit flaky in the comics and Douglas' take was a very refreshing sight. As a lot of people have pointed out, I also feel that Ant-Man was the best film to follow up the train wreck that was Age of Ultron.
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Also, how is Age of Ultron offensive?
3302528 Here is why I thought Age of Ultron was bad
I agree with your opinion on the horrible Iron Man 3. I found Thor: The Dark World okay. And I think that Age of Ultron was just disappointing, but not by much.
Now my thoughts on Ant Man. It was very good. I liked how they used the ants. I loved the dramatic stuff. The effects are awesome. I really felt like I was in a smaller world. The villain was very nice. The backstory of Hank and Janet got me almost crying. The acting is good The final battle was just epic and funny to look at, which is hard to do. (but I have to ask why Cross knew how to operate the suit).
But there are three bad things I found. First, the comedic side-kicks. I think that the little group of thieves was annoying. Especially that hispanic guy. But I have to admit that they were useful.
Second, the humor just died for me. I didn't find anything in this movie funny and when I laughed, I laughed at how cringeworthy the jokes where. At least to me. So It got me laughing a little bit. But for the wrong reasons.
And Third, You can't watch this movie on its own. You have to see all of the other Marvel movies, before you watch this one. You must see it as a part of the MCU, like every single Phase 2 movie (with maybe the exception of Winter Soldier) Seriously. The first Marvel movie I have seen is the first Avengers and I could follow it completely.
But all in all, 8.5 out of ten.
I waited for this film for nine years and I was still satisfied.
Also, given that this whole universe has been filled with evil businessmen and bureaucrats, Cross was extremely successful in still being interesting. The only other "suit" villains I liked as much were Obadiah Stane, Wilson Fisk
3302518 Plot-wise, it was definitely forced. But at least it was fun.
Hey imagine: Avengers Age of Ultron Narrated.
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Luis.
3302807 i wish...
i wish so bad