Usual Marvel fare, but not as polished

Rating: 6/10 (18 June 2016)

I can't say I've ever had any interest in Ant-Man as a comics reader, so I wasn't chomping at the bit for the movie version. And it's a mixed bag, but I do like the heist movie angle. And when the movie's actually about the titular hero, it's some good fun. There's imagination in the effects, and some solid laughs in shrinking the big superhero fights down to a small level. But the villain was much more interesting when he was named Obadiah Stane, and the tone of the movie was oddly (overly) morose during the Douglas/Lilly portion of the story. And the subatomic sequence was iffy.
Honestly, it's the story. Ant-Man was featured in "Civil War" for what, 5 minutes, and he was the movie's highlight. I think I was spoiled by the more comic tone of his appearance in that movie, and I wasn't expecting such a sullen outing here. At any rate, bottom line, this movie wouldn't be anywhere near as enjoyable as it is without Paul Rudd. He is thoroughly likable and honestly what makes all of this work. I wouldn't mind seeing him suit up for a sequel, but he needs better material.
And somebody please take that awful wig off of Evangeline Lilly.
6/10