Bigger Is Always Better? Not for Antman!

Rating: 8/10 (16 July 2015)

When Ant-man was first announced I, like many other people, was very indifferent about the subject. If Marvel pulled it off, it could be great, but if they didn't, then people would start to question even further these lesser known heroes. Well I'm happy to report that Ant-man falls more towards the "great" category. It may not be completely flawless, but nonetheless it is very good.
To start, the cast is fantastic. Paul Rudd is charismatic as ever, Michael Douglas made a very compelling Hank Pym, and Evangeline Lilly rounded out the trio perfectly. Even Corey Stoll as Yellow Jacket, who is a bit underwritten, fit his role well. However, there is one actor who stood out from the rest. Michael Peña. Everything out of his mouth was comedy gold.
As for the plot, it plays out like you normal heist film with a few twists and turns. I'm a sucker for heist films and this is a great one. Following the plans of infiltration is so entertaining to watch that when the action begins, it just adds to the amount of fun the audience is having. Also, there was a surprising amount of emotional depth regarding Scott Lang and his family.
The best part of the film is arguably the action, which is extremely entertaining and the transitioning with the size of the characters is seamless and adds a few more laughs.
As for problems, there are a few but none big enough to take away from the enjoyment of the movie itself. The villain, as with most in the MCU, is pretty generic and forgettable. A few of the jokes don't hit home and seemed a little forced. Other than that, the only other problems would just be nit-picky.
Overall, Ant-man is a surprising enjoyable, smaller scale blockbuster that fits nicely into the rest of the MCU. The powerhouse cast is terrific together and most of the action and comedy hit right where they need to.
"No you can't whistle, this isn't The Andy Griffith Show."