Ant-Man

Ant-Man

I didn't think I would like this movie at all, but I actually enjoyed it a lot.  Years ago, I questioned the very notion of a Ant-Man movie.  However, the concept of a guy that can talk to ants and shrink actually works.  While I am more into DC's The Atom, I don't believe DC could do it better. Plus, the FX and humor make this movie fun.

This is the second Ant-Man in the universe. Michael Douglas plays the first one. The second one is played by Paul Rudd.  Douglas' version had a lot of adventures back in the 80s and even worked with Tony Stark's father.  Douglas passes along the suit in order to stop a bad guy from reproducing the technology

The strongest thing to say about this movie is it knows it is silly and fully embraces it.  The movie is pretty damn funny and makes fun of the concept of Ant-Man. Everyone seems to have a smirk on their faces as they do this movie.

I wasn't fully on board with Rudd's casting, but the man has changed my mind.   Since he's the second Ant-Man, it makes more sense.  

-Strong Female character:  For all those people that put Joss through the ringer, this movie has a very strong female lead.  If had one gripe, it would be that she doesn't have as much screen time as I thought she would.  I'm sure there are a lot of scenes cut out for pacing reasons.   Evangeline Lilly is just wonderful in the part. We also get a bit of foreshadowing too with her character.

-Spider-Man Reference?:  Did we just catch out first Spider-Man callout ?  There is a remark about a guy that can crawl up walls.  Very clever, Marvel.  

-The Avenger Appearance: One member does show up and it is one of my favorite scenes in the movie. It is a nice tie-in to Avengers II.

-The Ants: Even the ants have character. We get to see Ant-Man work and train with ants.

-His relationship with his young daughter and her family:  It is refreshing to see a functioning extended family unit in the movie.  The stepfather isn't really that much of an asshole in the end.  

I was wrong about Ant-Man.  It does work as a Marvel movie.  While it isn't as charming as Guardians of the Galaxy, the third act is so cool that it make you almost forget the shaky first act.  Rudd and Michael Douglas have great chemistry together and it makes the movie fun. When you boil it down, this movie is fun and funny.

Grade: B