Only Small In Physical Size, Ant-Man Delivers
By Paul Hall
Ants. We see them every day. They are on the pavement, picking up leftover food. They work amazingly well together as a team — where you see one, you usually see others. They are amazingly strong creatures that lift many times their own body weight. And they have a new leader in Ant-Man, the new film in the Marvel landscape.
Let’s start at the beginning: Dr. Hank Pym is a genius. He was on the verge of a real breakthrough in
creating a suit that would shrink its wearer to the size of an ant. This technology would allow a soldier to infiltrate areas without detection, and would prove to be a mighty weapon. When members of Dr. Pym’s own company wanted to use the technology in ways he did not approve of, he took his formula, the Pym Particle, and went home.
Years later, Dr. Pym’s former protégé has had a breakthrough of his own. Darren Cross is ready to show his version of the suit, the Yellowjacket. All that remains is figuring out how to shrink living things as well as objects. With Cross on the verge of this dangerous discovery, Dr. Pym must take action.
Scott Lang is a criminal trying to start a new life. After being released from prison, he tries to take the straight-and-narrow path as a father to his lovely little girl, Cassie, who adores him. But no one wants to hire ex-cons and he finds himself right back in the game —only this time he may have been given a bad tip from his friend Luis, and it could land him a return trip to jail.
Scott is offered a job with Dr. Pym. Break into a building and steal something. It is sold to Scott as a chance for redemption in his daughter’s eyes —redemption he desperately craves — so, of course, he agrees.
Now Scott will start his training to wear Dr. Pym’s suit. It’s not easy shrinking to the size of an ant. He needs to learn how to become the leader of the colonies of ants around him. And he needs to fight — he’s not very good at it — and to use the strength he will possess. Dr. Pym and his daughter Hope will train Scott to become the fighter, the leader and the catalyst in their plan to steal the Yellowjacket and save the world, no biggie. The Marvel Universe has expanded; welcome Ant-Man to the team.
Many found Paul Rudd to be a curious choice for the lead role in this latest Marvel film. Being able to portray both the heartwarming daddy to his daughter and the superhero Ant-Man is a necessity, and Rudd pulls them both off. He is able to deliver wit to the most difficult situations and is even able to poke fun at himself when he knows he “ruins” a moment in the film. That clever combination of Everyman and superhero is what makes us fall in love with characters like these.
Michael Douglas is a glorious addition to the cast. The meaty role of Dr. Hank Pym allows the film veteran to really bring his A-game to this popular genre. I’ve always found myself in love with actors who can do very different roles with success and Douglas is one of those special people.
As much as I liked Rudd and reveled in Douglas, the scene-stealer was Michael Peña. Even as I write this, I’m still smiling at Luis, the character he brought to the screen. Genuine, funny, honest and altogether engaged, Peña left me feeling like a guy we all know.
Much like last year’s Guardians of the Galaxy, I didn’t expect to like Ant-Man. It just looked too corny to me. It just goes to show that experiencing the characters in the Marvel Universe is the most important thing. These characters are written with real stories and help to raise the bar for other films in the genre.
There are two scenes left when the credits roll: One occurs during the credits and the second after the full credits have ended, so don’t make a beeline for the door. Ant-Man will lead viewers to the theater and will probably have the worker ants pick up any popcorn left on the floor.
Filled with great acting talent and, let’s face it, a whole lot of ants, Ant-Man finds a way through every crack into our hearts, tickles our funny bone and reminds us of what we love about superhero movies. Only small in size, Ant-Man delivers. So gather your colony and head to the movies.
Ant-Man
PG-13
Stars: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael
Director: Peyton Reed
Grade: B+
