Works a treat as a light-hearted effects blockbuster

Rating: 7/10 (20 September 2017)

ANT-MAN is another light and breezy Marvel superhero movie conceived as a stand-alone introductory piece. The story is about a down-on-his-luck thief who ends up stealing a body suit that has the power to miniaturise him instantly. He then uses said suit to go on a heist to retrieve some important technology from a maniac. The film is set in the same universe as the Avengers films and contains some clumsily shoehorned-in references to the franchise.
It's a simple enough conceit, but one which zings with humour and features endlessly great CGI action sequences which really push the boundaries and show off techniques and effects that haven't been done before. It was a lot of fun seeing ants playing the good guys in a similar way to HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS. The heist plot is nothing special but there's enough ensemble acting and humour to see it through. I wasn't particularly interested in Paul Rudd's hero, but Michael Douglas gives reliable support and Corey Stoll's bad guy is memorably nasty. For a light-hearted effects blockbuster, ANT-MAN works a treat.