Ant-Man Review

Rating: 8/10 (11 March 2018)

Ant-Man is a film directed by Peyton Reed. Back in 2015, when I saw the trailers for the film I was quite excited for the film. But not knowing much about the character I still had doubts. But I had a blast watching the film. Three years later as the sequel to this film is approaching, I felt it was the perfect time to review this film.
Plot: Hank Pym, a former Ant-Man mentors Scott Lang to take his place and help him with a heist.
Story and direction: Knowing that Edgar Wright would have directed the film, I felt the film would be quite different from what we have got as of today. But this film is not bad. It's quite entertaining and good. Thank God, the studio retained Edgar Wright as the writer for this film. The characters except for some instantly attract you. The jokes also don't seem out of place. They feel natural to the story. The human element of emotions is quite well balanced in this film. Considering the budget was kept lower the what MCU invests in other films, I felt the VFX was at par to the previous ventures. Never for a moment I felt I was seeing CGI. Kudos to the VFX team. But as with positives, do come certain negatives. I felt as a villain Darren Cross didn't appeal to me. He was very lousy and awkward. Also there is a scene post the epic battle that was a bit over-melodramatic. And then the editing regarding some action scenes. This is where Edgar Wright would have succeeded. The editing is quite choppy which is very cringe-worthy which makes some action sequences less enjoyable.
Performances: It will be very hard for me to imagine Ant-Man without Paul Rudd. I loved him and he embraced his character so nicely. Evangeline Lily was great too. Micheal Douglas was awesome. The pain, anger, sorrow he carried all those emotions with so ease. Micheal Pena was easily my favorite character each time he opens his mouth, I was bursting with laughter. T.I. and David Dastmalchian as provided great support to Rudd's character. Corey Stroll was very unimpressive. I couldn't connect with him for even one scene. Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer and Abby Forston were good. It was good to see Marvel Alum gracing this film with their presence. And finally Stan Lee. Although he comes only for about 10 seconds I always will love him.
Favorite Scene: It would be the one where Scott and Hope have a pep talk and Scott finally learns how to control the ants. This scene was where you could feel the strong bond between Scott and Cassie. This is why this scene resonated with me the most.
Verdict: Although it misses on a few points, I do feel for an origin story it did quite a decent job. Can't wait for this character's appearance in Infinity War and also the upcoming sequel to Ant-Man.
I am going with an 8/10.