Ant-Man

ANT-MAN

Director : Peyton Reed

Year : 2015

Genre : Superhero

Rating : ****1/2

 

When James Gunn's 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' took everyone by surprise by making nearly $800m at the worldwide box office last Summer, it became abundantly clear to both distributors and analysts that, no matter how obscure the character(s) or franchise may be in the collective popular culture - as long as it has the prestigious Marvel Studios logo attached to it, audiences will flock to the cinema in their millions. Peyton Reed's long-awaited 'Ant-Man' is no exception. Based on the character created by David Michelline and John Byrne, the film tells the origin story of the smallest ever superhero and while it could sucessfully stand as it's own unique movie, 'Ant-Man' also blends in seamlessly with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to brilliant writing and solid direction. 

Starring Paul Rudd as the titular hero, 'Ant-Man' follows the life of Scott Lang; a well-meaning but crime-obsessed electronics expert who uses his genius to carry out daring heists on the rich and wealthy to pay to see his young daughter Cassie. One night when performing a particularly tricky robbery in a mansion, Lang finds a mysterious leather costume and upon arriving home and putting it on out of sheer curiosity realises that, with one push of a button, both the owner and the suit shrink to an almost impossibly tiny size. 

Terrified by it's power, Lang tries to return the costume to it's rightful owner Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) - a brilliant ex-SHIELD scientist who has in fact been monitoring the unbeknownst Scott ever since his departure from prison and, with the help of his reluctant daughter (Evangeline Lilly), trains Scott how to properly use the miraculous costume as well as how to control the army of loyal ants that obey it's owner. With the help of Pym and his new insect friends, Scott must help to bring down the villainous Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) - a former protege of Pym who has perfected his own shrinking suit with the intent of using it for evil.

 

Much like the aforementioned 'Avengers : Age Of Ultron' and 'Guardians Of The Galaxy', 'Ant-Man' succeeds so well thanks to it's terrifically witty screenplay as well as the love put into both the production and direction. Written by original director Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, the script has all of the elements that make a truly great superhero movie; it has a wonderfully exciting rhythm to it that never sags, it is full of little references and nods to the rest of the MCU without ever feeling forced or crowbarred in and, most importantly, it has a huge amount of heart. I was amazed just how touching some moments of 'Ant-Man' really were and it is credit to both Wright and Cornish as both fans and screenwriters that they can include so much emotion and intensity to what is in reality a very silly story indeed. 

But of course while heart and emotion are all very well and good, it is the action and the hero himself that fans have come to see and thankfully 'Ant-Man' has more than a few spectacular set pieces to please them. Expertly directed by 'Yes Man's Peyton Reed and clearly oweing a debt to the over-frenetic filmography of Edgar Wright, the film uses the miniaturization of Scott and the suit to great effect - turning the most mundane of objects including taps, computer servers and even Thomas The Tank Engine into lethal death-traps. We are told by Pym that thanks to his minute size, Scott is faster than a bullet and this little nugget of information leads a number of high-octane moments with Scott running up the barrel of a firing gun and punching the living daylights of an unsuspecting goon. All of this may sound rather daft and no doubt, it most certainly is but thankfully the constant switching between sizes never feels like a gimmick but instead feels like an extra layer of wonder and magic to what is already a fantastical adventure. They are part of what made the character so popular in the first place and thanks to some spectacular special effects, the transition from big to small is done with grace, care and a fantastic sense of fun.

Of course, a hero is only as good as his alter-ego and Paul Rudd was the perfect choice to play Scott Lang/Ant-Man. I haven't been the biggest fan of Rudd in the past thanks to his extremely annoying performances  in 'Dinner For Schmucks', 'I Love You, Man' and 'Knocked Up'.  However, the 'nice guy' persona he has perfected over the past few years pays off brilliantly in this film. He is completely believable and extremely likable as a desperate father while his innate humour and charisma help to make his character one of the most memorable in the entire MCU. I look forward to seeing Lang interacting with some of the bigger names in the franchise such as Captain America, Thor and of course Iron Man in future 'Avengers' films.

 

But while Paul Rudd gives a particularly good central performance, it is Michael Douglas who steals the show with his portrayal of Hank Pym. Playing a man who is coming to terms with both the death of his wife and the spiritual loss of his wayward daughter, Douglas knocks it out of the park with a performance which is totally believable and without a hint of irony. Normally in these type of movies, veteran actors play up their parts to reflect what they believe is the campy nature of comic book movies (I'm looking at you Jeff Bridges!). However, Douglas plays his role completely straight and it is all credit to him that he can play a role as strange as this as seriously and with as much conviction as he would an Oscar-worthy dramatic performance.

Ever since 'Iron Man' hit the screens in 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown and grown into the biggest movie franchise of all time. Twelve very different films have now been released in this series and while not every one can profess to being particularly great, it is wonderful to see that the very good demonstrably outnumber the not-so-good. A lot of care has gone into making the MCU as successful as it is and while some more cynical voices may decry the constant release of superhero blockbusters, I say that if film making of such high calibre can be applied to your average superhero movie, then cinema isn't in such a bad state than some may say. 'Ant-Man' is a terrific time at the movies full of heart, adrenaline and humour and just goes to prove definitively that size really doesn't matter - especially at the box office.