Tiny hero with a big heart

Rating: 7/10 (6 April 2016)

Another movie from the Marvel cinematic universe. This one is directed by Payton Reed and written by Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish. Starring Paul Rudd as Scott Lang and Michael Douglas as Dr Hank Pym.
Scott Lang (Rudd) is a failure in life, he's fresh out of prison, he cant get a job and he's losing his family. He's convinced to do one more big job which will help him out of the slum he's in. Lang inadvertently stumbles upon and steals a super suit which when worn shrinks him down to the size of an ant, giving him the super senses and abilities of the insect too. It turns out that Pym (Douglas) has set Lang up and orchestrated the theft because he sees something in Lang which will help him. Corporate espionage and corruption is afoot, Pym's own company is being threatened and corrupted from the inside and Pym wants Lang to help put an end to it and prevent the bad guys from getting hold of his suit and his scientific advances.
I didn't think I'd enjoy this as much as other Marvel films, truth be told even in the comic world I thought Pym and Lang were pretty lame and never truly enjoyed their story arcs. I think this film was done well though, Rudd played Lang as likable albeit unlucky and Douglas did well playing Dr Hank Pym. While not entirely true to the comic books this film was a good introduction to Pym and Lang and is well worth a watch. There is a brief mention of Pym's wife Janet Van Dyne who was one of the original Avengers like Pym was (keep an eye open in 2018 for a follow up to this penned as "Ant-man and The Wasp"). Van Dyne was the Wasp to Pym's Ant Man/ Giant Man/ Yellowjacket. In this film she is lost in space having shrunk to sub-sub atomic size with no way of getting back. On the topic of Yellowjacket, there is an interesting twist as the bad guy in this film is Yellowjacket which in the comics was an alter ego Pym took up in later story arcs. In this film the Yellowjacket is played by Corey Stoll's character Darren Cross, his corporate enemy. I won't go on about Yellowjacket though as I'm a Marvel fan and I don't want to be seen sulking about comic to film differences.
It's funny and entertaining and packed with action. The CGI doesn't let the film down and the fight scenes where Ant Man is shrinking and growing all come across as exciting and creative. Even the giant ants (when Lang is in his shrunken state) look authentic enough). More of a family film than some of the other Marvel films with a pace which keeps you hooked but without breaking too much of a sweat. It's difficult to directly compare this to other Marvel movies as it feels fresh and unique in comparison. I'd absolutely recommend watching it as it makes a great way to pass the time. An easy 7 out of 10 for this.