One of the most common phrases you hear nowadays if you discuss Marvel’s movies is ‘super hero fatigue’. It isn’t altogether that surprising as Marvel has made billions of dollars from turning their many franchises into blockbuster films, making sequels to those that hit and rebooting those that don’t. Based on its troubled history, many may have felt that Ant-Man would be the tipping point for successful comic book movies – we will know in a few days whether that turns out to be the case or not.
Regardless, despite the fact that Ant-Man is not the movie I originally got excited for, I am happy to report that this version has enough inventive humour, charm and action to sit quite happily alongside Iron Man and Captain America: The First Avenger in terms of quality.
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• Director: Peyton Reed
• Exhibition: 3D
• Rating: 12A
• Run Time: 117 mins
Scott Lang (Rudd) is a devoted father who has made mistakes in his life that have cost him his close relationship to his daughter as well as his freedom. When he turns back to a life of crime to pay off child support debt, he inadvertently steals the Ant-Man suit from Hank Pym (Douglas). Bewildered by its abilities, Scott tries to return it, only to learn that Hank orchestrated the theft to get his help. It turns out the technology Hank has tried to protect for years is about to be recreated by a more sinister force and he needs help to stop it.
The story is a redemption tale with two protagonists – Scott tries to make up for his poor decisions and restore his relationship with his daughter while Hank goes on a similar journey with his daughter Hope (Lilly). While the narrative follows all of the same beats you would expect from such a story, it is delivered well and acted solidly.
All of the main cast deliver, in fact. Rudd is brilliantly witty and genuine. He has to be charismatic one minute and a buffoon the next – each handled as only he can. Douglas plays it straight for the majority of the runtime, meaning that when he drops a funny line, it garners more guffaws. Thankfully, Lilly is never reduced to the role of a damsel in distress though she could have also been given much more to do.
The supporting cast are on par, with Stoll and Pena standing out – though playing totally different roles. Stoll is one of the better Marvel villains, giving Cross a truly spiteful edge – though his motivations are only touched on. Pena is more of a caricature than a character but his role is to be comic relief and he is exactly that. His overly-detailed stories had me sniggering like a school girl.
If I had to describe the movie in one word, it would be ‘fun’. Reed laces the movie with jokes, references and call-backs to keep the audience entertained. However, he is no slouch when it comes to the action either. The set pieces are inventive and actually look quite good in 3D – the sense of scale is more pronounced. It is also refreshed that the final 20 minutes is not an assault on the senses but a tense confined battle punctuated even still with laughs.
If I had one complaint it would be the insistence on bringing the wider Marvel universe into the movie. From the opening of the movie, S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers are invoked far too regularly for my liking. For such a small scale movie that basically revolves around a heist, it simply did not need to bring the wider MCU into the film. It seems like a desperate attempt to legitimise a character that did not need legitimising.
Going into Ant-Man, the fear I had in the back of my mind was ‘will I be comparing this to the film that could have been throughout its runtime?’ It was only when the credits rolled and I saw Edgar Wright’s name on the list that I noticed I hadn’t sized up the movie once. Reed has done a commendable job – one I honestly didn’t think he could do.
Now the question becomes – what will be the next tipping point for successful comic book movies?
