Film Review - Ant-Man! A Refreshing breath of fresh air for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Marvel's newest film Ant-Man has been released and opinions from those that have seen it have been very positive. But how does Ant-Man measure up to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

I had the pleasure of seeing Ant-Man last Saturday and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. Ant-Man delivers an experience that fans have not yet seen on the big screen. This is the first film to be set on a smaller hero scale. For example, until now all the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have dealt with bigger scale issues that inevitably brought in the government, the army, S.H.I.E.L.D., other countries or planets, ect. This is the first Marvel film that revolved around a small group of characters that brought a more personal experience to the cinematic universe. The only other time fans have experienced this was with Marvel and Netflix's Daredevil but that is on the small screen. The extent of the collateral damage in this film is one office building blows up and a house gets badly damaged. The effects of this film are small but while watching it you do not ever think that none of what is happening matters. This film is more character driven and centered on the heist than it is focused on huge action sequences with characters punching each other around various locations. This is one of the big reasons why I enjoyed this film so much.

(Read the full review inside the full article.)



The basic story of Ant-Man boils down to Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) enlisting burglar Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) to commit a heist for him. With the aid of Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Lang is trained how to use the Ant-Man suit so that he can sabotage the work of Pym’s old colleague Darren Cross from perfecting the Pym Particle formula so that it can be sold to the highest bidder and used to create an army of ant sized soldiers.

I’ll next say that I was pleasantly surprised that the acting across the board was all fantastic. Everyone nailed their roles. So let’s take a look at the characters. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) is delivered perfectly. In the comics Pym is a bit of an abrasive character. He has a temper and has had his fair share of domestic violence situations. Even though the film doesn’t focus on Pym’s background you do still see moments of it. You can see how Pym likes to do things his own way even if they aren’t the easiest and you certainly get a glimpse of the anger that lies within him, though he seems to be controlling it better now. Hank's daughter Hope was also a great character. Hope Van Dyne is a welcomed character showing a female who is not only strong but anxious to get into the fight and be a hero in her own right. They tease her becoming the Wasp but I hope we get to see her fully suited up very soon. I would have loved to see a little more Wasp in the film.

Paul Rudd as Scott Lang was a perfect casting. It is clear that going forward that Paul Rudd will hold the role of comedic hero brilliantly. Additionally, as a down on his luck ex-con father, you truly get the sense that Paul Rudd will do anything to help his daughter Cassie. Scott Lang is able to deliver a great balance between jokes and action and neither seems to be heavy handed in the film which fans will surely appreciate.

The next extremely impressive thing about the film is the special effects. Watching Ant-Man miniaturize himself to a world where everything is set on a grander scale is just positively satisfying. The ants used in the film all look extremely realistic and the miniaturized battle sequences simply blew me away. Watching a battle sequence seem so big in scale and then having the camera switch to "full size" mode and seeing the little specks of explosions was so much fun. Not to mention the fact that the scene with Thomas the Tank Engine completely won me over. Thomas completely stole the show during that full scene and it was amazing.

Overall, this film was a lot of fun and a breath of fresh air for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With a lot of fun references tying it to the MCU, this film certainly feels connected to it but stands out on its own. The balance of action and humor will keep your attention and have you laughing throughout the film. I highly recommend seeing this film.

Rating: 9 out of 10

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