Following the constant high-stakes scenarios in every MCU movie, Ant-Man is a breath of fresh air to the franchise.

Rating: 8/10 (15 February 2016)

8.2 out of 10
Ant-Man has been in development hell since even before mastermind director Edgar Wright famously proclaimed his interest in the production. Since the late 80's, various entities have attempted to buy and produce this film, however nothing ever came to fruition and the rights to the film went back the Marvel. Good thing, too.
Apart from Guardians of the Galaxy, this is Marvel's first origin story since 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger. Since then, a slew of team-ups and sequels have passed by, often dazzling worldwide audiences and raking in big bucks at the box office. Of course, with a history such as Ant-Man's (with Wright leaving the production merely months before filming and multiple script re- writes), I was personally among the majority who were worried about the outcome of this movie.
When the first trailer dropped, it did nothing to quell my worries. If anything, it seemed to make a good case as to why Marvel shouldn't make origin stories anymore. Quite honestly, when the second trailer dropped, it shocked me with the wit, tone, and surprisingly well-developed action sequences.
From that moment on, I was fully on board the Ant-Man train, and it became one of my most highly anticipated movies of the year (apart from a little space-oriented indie coming out in December). And I will tell you now, I was not disappointed. This movie delivered on nearly every level, boasting top-notch performances by Michael Peña, Corey Stoll, Evangeline Lilly, and of course Paul-goddamn- Rudd. Ladies and gentleman, Marvel continues to utilise their Midas touch.
Following the constant high-stakes, end of the world scenarios present in nearly every MCU movie of the last five years, Ant-Man is a breath of fresh air, presenting a more contained, smaller-scale (pun intended) aspect to the behemoth franchise. A heist movie at heart, Ant-Man manages to fit in perfectly with other Marvel films while not overflowing the film with Avengers references (Iron Man 2, anyone?). Paul Rudd is a welcome addition to the MCU, his likability and performance alone making this movie possibly one of the best standalone Marvel films since Favreau's Iron Man.