Grade: B-

Rating: 7/10 (20 July 2015)

There's no denying the unstoppable success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; eleven consecutive number one box office spots, two spots in the top three best opening weekends of all time, critical success on most films, and an entire cache of eagerly awaited characters have yet to be released. Ant-Man, with good reason, seems to be the only one that people were ready to dismiss. It's a ludicrous concept for a hero who simply isn't as exciting as many of the other Marvel heroes. But the early trailers seemed fully aware of that, and it gave some of us hope. I think it's half the reason Ant-Man just clinched the twelfth consecutive number one opening weekend. But is it any good?
Although filled with typical Marvel humor, Ant-Man seems rather serious right out of the gate- until we are introduced to Scott Lang, a likable loser, which seems to be the typecast character for Paul Rudd. He is casually charismatic, funny but not hilarious. I like Paul Rudd, and I liked him as Scott Lang, but I didn't love him. There was nothing particularly distinct or memorable about him, which could fare poorly for him in future Avengers installments. Still, he was passable.
Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the most of the other characters. Hank Pym, played by veteran actor Michael Douglas, is overly emotional- too quick to snap, too quick to cry, and because he is so secretive about everything, we don't find out why he is this way until much later. His daughter, Hope, jumps the line between good and evil. For a good portion of the movie, she is cold and emotionless, and is if a switch was flipped, she becomes just as much of an emotional mess as her father. The only other character I liked outside of Scott Lang was his buddy Luis, played with enormous energy by Michael Pena, a character clearly designed from the early Edgar Wright drafts.
The worst character in the bunch, sadly, is the movie's antagonist: Darren Cross. While Marvel has managed to turn a few good movie villains, they've also had plenty of forgettable and clichéd baddies, and Darren Cross might be the worst of the bunch. He is a combination of several versions of The Yellow Jacket, allowing for the writers to hit every bad guy cliché in the book- mentally unstable, vengeful, power hungry, deprived of a true mentor/father figure, whose only motivation is to work against the good guys.
The movie is also littered with a number of puns and references to size, which may have worked under the direction of someone as quirky and self-aware as Edgar Wright, but under Peyton Reed's neutral tone, these in-dialogue jokes are not underscored and feel rather lackluster.
Despite the many flaws that Ant-Man carried, I still enjoyed it. The fight scenes take the ridiculous idea of someone shrinking down to an ant-size and actually make it interesting in combat. The movie also touches on some interesting scientific concepts, although it really only scratches the surface. It also is a grounded, smaller story, and feels closer to home for the average viewer. And even though the funniest parts are in the trailers, there is just enough humor to keep the movie mildly funny.
Based on the trailers, I think most people were expecting to Ant-Man to sink or swim, but really it just treads water. You'll laugh at some jokes and sigh at others, and Paul Rudd is just likable enough to keep the movie from being devoid of any interesting characters. And while the villain is downright cringeworthy, the action scenes are entertaining enough to make you forget about those things, even if it's only for a little.
Marvel may play it safe overall as a franchise, but Ant-Man feels sub-par beside the rest of the universe. Perhaps it would've worked in the first phase (which could have allowed for Hank Pym to create Ultron like he does in the comics), and it almost undoubtedly would have felt much more alive if Edgar Wright were in charge. However, it's smaller size is a welcome breath of fresh air in an expanding universe, and for Ant-Man's abilities alone, I am excited to see how he will play out in The Avengers.
Grade: B-