Paul Rudd keeps the film afloat, barely

Rating: 5/10 (19 November 2015)

If you watch Ant-Man just to sit back, watch a couple fight scenes, laugh a little and eat popcorn then it's not half bad. If you expect it to inhabit qualities of good cinema, with moderately original characters or plot, then you will be quite disappointed by this tedious bore.
Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) just got out of prison for burglary. What does a former inmate do once he's out of prison and can't find a job? He does what he knows. Unfortunately, that last job has some major implications and somehow he gets roped into a scientist's mad plan to use a super shrinking suit to pull of one last heist and hopefully save the world.
I'm always down for an anti-hero Marvel flick. The character dynamic is always fun and refreshing in comparison to the stale Marvel method that is churned out year after year. Unfortunately, Ant-Man fails miserably and is the most formulaic of all the Marvel films released. Take guy who reservedly accepts his fate as a superhero savior, add close circle of mentor, bad-guy and love interest and there you have it. The details are purely incidental and are really of no consequence to the film itself.
The most frustrating and infuriating aspect of the film is Evangeline Lilly's character Hope. Nothing about her character is thought out except that she is the generic 'capable girl' trope. Her behavior is illogical in relation to her father, the scientist, played by Michael Douglas. Everything about Hope is the templated tough girl crime show character with a dash of femme fatale and her scenes are cheap and unnecessary.
The saving grace for Ant-Man is Paul Rudd. He injects sly humor and his natural charisma within each scene, providing the film with life and vibrancy. Without Rudd, Ant-Man would have been as flat as the much maligned Daredevil. With Rudd, it is still lame and forgettable without the cool fight scenes or laughs to distract.
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