While the world seems to finally be settling down from the
havoc wreaked by Ultron, trouble continues to brew as corrupt scientist and corporate
executive Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) uncovers former S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist
Hank Pym’s hidden invention, the Pym Particle, a generated substance allowing
for the instantaneous size manipulation of organic and inorganic matter.
Desperate to prevent it from being weaponized, Pym and his
daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) enlist the help of former burglar and convict
Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), desperate to earn a chance at redemption in order to be
a part of his daughter’s life after making bail.
With the Avengers opening up the summer, it seems odd that
Marvel would roll out anything after a production of such massive scale, much
less a film as pulled back as “Ant-Man.” The longer the film plays out however,
the more obvious it starts to become that the status-quo of this film would
seem to exist as a means of providing a sneak peek for the world that future
Marvel productions will begin to take place in.
Between Pym’s cynicism regarding the Stark’s and casual
comments regarding the perceived irresponsibility of superheroes, “Ant-Man”
furthers the mythology arc that the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to be
moving towards and isn’t shying away from the reality that the setting may be
going to pretty dark places in the near future.
True to form however, “Ant-Man” manages to establish its own
identity from the pack and maintain that identity without losing that trademark
Marvel formula. This leads to results both good and bad.
While the MCU has never been a slouch regarding its excellent
casting, “Ant-Man” stands out amongst every other ensemble of the franchise
yet. The actors don’t just steal the show, they hold it together.
Rudd’s take on Scott Lang as a man struggling to stay on the
right path for the sake of his daughter makes him arguably one of the most
human protagonists of the franchise to date and, for me personally, easily one
of the most likable. The sheer range and charisma that he and his supporting
cast demonstrate come together in a capacity that is so endearing that it
almost covers up how thin the actual script must have been left by its
production problems.
While the cleverness of the visual effects, including the
shrinking and utilization of the titular hero’s ants, and stupendous
performances make the film a worthwhile viewing alone, “Ant-Man” is
unfortunately held back from greatness by an inability to commit to better
ideas in favor of adhering to the Marvel formula once more.
With the strengths of the individual entries being their
ability to stand on their own two feet without excessively relying on the
happenings of other films, an extended sequence involving the New Avengers
headquarters is more than a little bit frustrating, especially when the time
advertising other movies would have been better spent improving an already
solid foundation into something even more memorable.
Lilly maintains a strong presence throughout the film but
despite teasing of exciting possibilities regarding the future of her character
in the franchise at large, the sheer waste of her talent as a standard issue
love interest for Lang that comes out of left field in the last 5 minutes of
the film falls just shy of insulting. Stoll meanwhile almost succeeds as a
villain, pulling off with more success what was attempted with Jeff Bridges in
the original “Iron Man.” I say almost succeeds because despite the soul that he
puts into giving his character a slightly tragic spin, the final screenplay
clearly didn’t have enough meat to let him shine the way that he should have.
Ironically, the only flaw that “Ant-Man” actually does
manage to avert is that of the third act climax that completely collapses in on
itself.
The final battle of the film is not only visually unique and
engaging in its pacing and layout but satisfying in its conclusion to the
development of its characters and fitting within the laws set up by the setting
and story. It fires on those cylinders so well that it becomes all the more frustrating
to see the areas in which a little more depth could have carried the film over
from good fun to truly unique. Sadly, at the end of the day, it’s just another
good Marvel movie in a heap of other good Marvel movies.
While Marvel remains in desperate need of a shake up, there’s
no denying that as far as Summer blockbusters go, “Ant-Man” is still a blast.
It’s visually engrossing, has a strong sense of character,
uses comedy to stronger effect than the hokey sardonic character commentary
that has become predominant since Joss Whedon’s hand came into play, and in a
surprise twist for the modern day genre, it’s a superhero movie that’s actually
wholesome enough for kids to enjoy unabashedly. In a world where heroic values
are being needlessly muddled into conflict contrivance designed to splatter the
screen with a hodgepodge of CGI effects that include everything but the kitchen
sink, I can’t help but give it extra points for that alone.
8 Pym Particles out of 10
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