Takes the idea of a shrinking formula, and comedy, to new heights

Rating: 8/10 (27 July 2015)

While I'm sure most people would have wanted Ant-Man, one of the founding Avengers in the comics, to have appeared on the big screen sooner, the creative team behind the film made it fit into the end of Phase 2 comfortably and gave us much to look forward to.
While it started out a tad slow for my taste, once it picked up speed, which didn't take long, I was never bored, and even during the slow beginning I had plenty to laugh about. Michael Pena added something unique in terms of humor that I had never seen before and he really stole every scene he appeared in (him whistling "It's a Small World" was so spot-on for this movie I could have kicked myself for not predicting it).
Pena wasn't the only comedian, everyone involved had great moments, and Scott's initial bumbling while learning how to use the suit and its power was hilarious. The way they used the Pym Particle technology also made for even more one-of-a-kind ways to invent laughs and they really want all-out in using every idea they could come up with, and executed it brilliantly.
The action scenes-let me tell you this is no small compliment (pun intended) that these scenes excited and dazzled me more than the bulk of Age of Ultron, and they managed to throw in a bunch more laughs during them too. The fight between Scott and Sam Wilson/Falcon was enormously satisfying and even provided a very nice connection for the end of the film and the post-credits scene.
The acting was all excellent, I found nothing to complain about and when Douglas got serious, it really got everyone's attention. Corey Stoll as the villain took a note out of Jeff Bridges' and Sam Rockwell's books from playing corporate villains in Iron Man 1 and 2 respectively, becoming a more sinister, more unhinged, and more confrontational antagonist even before putting on a suit, so it set this film apart from being just another Iron Man clone.
The heist angle is something I've never been particularly fond of but I think these guys found the winning formula injecting both science fiction and superheroes into it. The predictability of everything due to pre-planning was off-set by the amazing visuals and the impossible tasks that only the technology in a Marvel film could pull off.
A few questionable things like counting on chance to allow for certain events to transpire, some things that could have been fleshed out better, and the slow beginning prevented me from going to 9 out of 10 but if I could, I'd rate it an 8.5 rather than a flat 8. I highly recommend the 3D which lends itself to bringing the world from an ant's-eye view into full perspective.
All in all, if you're in the mood for a lot of laughs, some amazing action and some of the most inventive ideas put to sci-fi in quite a long time, this is something you won't want to pass up. Marvel is still going strong and just ups the ante on intrigue with each entry.