A SMALL surprise.

Rating: 7/10 (10 December 2015)

Let's be honest here a movie called Ant-Man, which is about a guy who shrinks and talks to ants, has to be bad or at least belong to the "It's bad that it's good category" right? Well believe it or not Marvel did it again. Even though, this isn't that surprising since Marvel has been making pretty good movies over the years, many considered this one to be the big bomb of the Marvel franchise. This is because of a couple of reasons that I'll discuss in the review. So let's shrink our low expectations and let's enjoy Ant-man.
The movie starts with an exposition scene set in the past, which introduces us to a particle that can shrink a person or object. From this we go to the present and we see our protagonist Scot Lang who is being released from jail. He is a good, funny, everyday guy who wants nothing more than to spend some time with his daughter. However, because of problems that occur at the beginning of the movie he is only left with one option become the Ant-Man.
I know, the story sounds clichéd and I've still not persuaded you to watch this movie right? Well let me ask you this: What type of /or genre movie do you think this is? You're properly thinking about action, maybe a bit of drama or some of you may even have answered it's A MARVEL MOVIE!!, right? Well, believe it or not it's actually a Heist movie (compare it to Oceans Eleven) with a lot of good humor. The reason why I am really recommending this movie is because we don't see these type of movie very often, at least anymore. When is the last time you've seen a funny movie (good jokes, funny NOT OVER THE TOP moments and great timing), with a well-balanced atmosphere of action and feel good/warmth, AND It's actually good.
Credit has to be given when credit is due and personally I think the actors did a great job. Not with the acting mind you, but with their comedic timing. The protagonist played by Paul Rudd did a great job delivering his dialogues and expressions, which made it all feel very natural. Other great actors like Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lilly provided the necessary balance and gravitas to the movie. It has Michael Pena how can you go wrong! The music is nothing special by Christophe Beck, which is a shame, but it gets the job done. The movie uses a lot of CGI in combination with some practical effects, which helps the movie to ground its story. Based on the three act structure, the movie has a funny beginning, funny/great middle, and action packed ending. All in all, it's one of the best POPCORN Flicks of 2015 and I highly recommend it. Believe it or not but this is the first movie I've seen twice in a movie theatre since The Lord of the Rings Part 1.
Does that also mean that it is a good movie? Well that is a matter of perspective, but a dumbed down answer would be: it's an average movie. That is because, apart from all the positives, the movie does have some big negatives. Firstly, the story is told at a fast pace (good thing), but because of this some scenes are dumbed down to exposition, maybe with some script rewrites they could have fixed it. There are some plot holes (What movie doesn't). However, the biggest problem has to be the Antagonist, which the movie completely forgot to properly flesh out. However, apart from all of that and placed in the right context and genre MAN this is a good funny movie.
So what are the reasons why people thought this movie would bomb? The first reason, as aforementioned, is the premise of the movie, which is understandably a silly concept. Secondly, Marvel has been mostly making action/drama movies and even though The Guardians of the Galaxy was a funny roller-coaster ride, it was still mainly an action movie. This movie is a humor movie, which is uncharted waters for Marvel. And the third and biggest reason: the great Edgar Wright (producer/director of the CORNETTO TRILOGY) worked on the script for years and in the end dropped out. The script was then pushed back and forth and had some rewrites resulting in the current end product, which was a cause for concern for some people.
But hey I've been talking long enough. So all in all what am I saying? Ant-man is a GOOD funny movie with a lot of heart. And I certainly recommend this to everyone. No, you do not have to see any previous MARVEL movie, but if you have then it would only become better. Normally, I would type something funny or a movie related pun, but I'm tired and I've to get up early for work tomorrow, so I'll just say this: Watch this movie it's well worth your time.
I give this movie a 7.