Image courtesy of wallpapercave.com
Next up in the "Marvel-thon" is the conclusion to Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and another movie that approaches a different genre while still sharing that connection, and that is Ant-Man.
After being released from prison, small-time thief Scott Lang wants to change his ways. He can't find a job or support his daughter Cassie due to his record. Despite wanting to go straight, he reluctantly agrees to help in a burglary, where he finds a peculiar looking suit inside the safe. Upon discovering it has shrinking capabilities and trying to return it, he ends up in custody again, only to be visited by the suit's creator, Dr. Hank Pym. Pym understands his good intentions, informing Scott he wanted him to take the suit he once used under the name "Ant-Man." Now, he wants Scott to succeed him because only he has the skills to prevent a former associate from recreating his technology and selling it.
What Worked: I will actually start with the approach to the movie first, similar to the Baby Driver review. This is not only to change things up, but also because this movie has a few things in common with Baby Driver, despite this coming out first and being part of a franchise.
This is similar to Captain America: The Winter Soldier in that it approaches a different genre in addition to being a superhero movie. Whereas that had the look and feel of a spy movie, this has the look and feel of a heist movie. This makes it one of the more unique entries in the MCU because it's on a smaller scale. I'll delve further into this in a little bit when I get to the technical aspects.
Now for the cast. This is one of those cases where the last person you'd think could pull off being a superhero actually does, especially when it's a character who's probably lesser known than most. With this, it's Paul Rudd as Scott Lang. The charm he's known for having in comedies like Anchorman (one of my favorites) works surprisingly well here, even when he's playing it straight in some scenes.
This is also a case where Marvel manages to bring in an iconic actor and it still works, an example being Robert Redford in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Here, it's Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym. He's believable as a mentor-type character who's had a rough past.
Then there is Evangeline Lilly (The Hobbit, Real Steel) as Hank's daughter, Hope, who has somewhat of a strained relationship with him. Part of that is Hope thinks she should do the job instead of Scott, but Hank thinks it's too risky. Because of her relationship issues, you may think she's hard to latch onto, but they help develop her and come across quite well in Lilly's performance. There are reasons the two characters don't see eye to eye, and they make sense.
One of those reasons is why she works with Hank's former associate Darren Cross, played by Corey Stoll (Non-Stop). He's basically the opposite of Hank. Hank knew when enough was enough with using the tech he had designed. Darren is focused on progression, but is going about it the wrong way. Hank knows it, but Darren doesn't care. Stoll's performance is good, but as for the character, I'll get to him later.
The members of Scott's crew also have great chemistry with each other. The one that may stand out most aside from Luis is Dave, played by T.I. He's actually really good in this. Similar to the Guardians of the Galaxy review where I said that wrestlers like Dave Bautista can be good actors if given the right material, that point also applies to musicians.
Then there is the best character in the movie: Michael Peña as Luis, Scott's cellmate. He has several moments where he tells stories that are some of the funniest parts of the movie. He's always so cheerful when he does it, too.
Besides Michael Peña, there are three things that stand out most here: the humor, the score, and the effects.
Not only does this movie have the look and feel of a heist movie like Baby Driver, but it also has the style of humor that comes with it. This is because Edgar Wright was involved here, but only as a writer. Regardless, even with someone else behind the camera (Peyton Reed, who does a solid job), it feels like Edgar Wright.
The score further contributes to that, especially the theme, part of which is played at least once in the movie, and then in the credits. It starts gently before hitting hard, similar to the Mission: Impossible theme*. It's among the more memorable MCU themes because of that. It also sums up the movie perfectly: the sense of scale doesn't matter when the threat has the same level of consequence.
The effects are the biggest standout. Similar to Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy, they introduce another aspect of the Marvel Universe to the big screen. This is the best example of it so far, because they're incorporated into the action sequences very well, and used for some pretty hilarious gags.
What Didn't Work: The main problem is, once again, the villain. Corey Stoll gives a good performance, but Darren Cross as a character does not leave much of an impact on the bigger picture the franchise has been building towards. He's really just a threat for this movie and that's it.
For comparison purposes, look at Ultron in the previous movie. As a result of his plan, the Avengers' actions end up having repercussions that will be addressed following this movie; in fact, the events are even mentioned at one point here.
Overall: Ant-Man shows that superhero movies don't always need an epic feel to them in order to make them stand out. They can be dialed back and still succeed at that. Either way, what's more important is that they need to be at least fun, and Ant-Man excels there. It once again presents variety for the superhero genre itself by expanding into others, with this becoming a solid heist movie.
It has likable characters, including the funniest side character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by far. It may have a weak villain, but there is room for improvement. Plus, the movie is so much fun, having great action and humor, as well as probably the best effects in Phase Two and the best pace.
Ant-Man proves to be another risk that pays off, because Marvel has done it again. First they manage to make audiences care about a gun-wielding raccoon and a walking tree, and now they do the same for ants.
Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has gone out with a bang... not a big bang, but a bang nonetheless.
Despite Avengers: Age of Ultron breaking away from the formula of having at least a post-credits scene, this one goes back to it. There is both a mid-credits scene and a post-credits scene. It's actually done the other way around this time, with the post-credits scene tying into a future movie, and the mid-credits scene tying back to this movie.
This also has what is easily Phase Two's best Stan Lee cameo.
*That is one of the franchises I plan to cover later this year. In addition to starting a new editorial, I may do a bonus post focusing more on that.