Ant man

Rating: 9/10 (7 June 2020)

For a few brief moments, the unstoppable juggernaut that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) looked like it was about to grind to a halt with Ant-Man. Unlike most other films under the Marvel Studios umbrella, this production has been haunted by doubt and dissension. Fans were nervous about the narrative decisions to relegate Hank Pym - the original Ant-Man in the comic books - to the sidelines, while killing off his wife Janet Van Dyne (who, as the Wasp, is one of the founding members of the Avengers). Then came that hugely publicised parting of the ways between Marvel and original director Edgar Wright, who oozes so much geek cred that people understandably mourned his departure from the project after years of development. And yet, the final product - Peyton Reed's Ant-Man - is a fun, frothy delight, one that proves once and for all that Marvel knows precisely what it's doing and where it's going with the most crazily interconnected movie-and-television franchise of all time.
After serving his jail sentence, Scott Lang (Rudd) just wants to reunite with his daughter Cassie and get his life back on track. But he soon discovers that people in the outside world - including his ex- wife Maggie (Greer) and her new cop boyfriend Paxton (Cannavale) - aren't particularly kind to former convicts. Beaten down by circumstances, he agrees to pull off one last heist with his eternally optimistic buddy Luis (Pena). It's a crime that places him squarely in the path of Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas), a retired, semi-reclusive scientist who decides to enlist Scott in his life-long mission of preventing the Pym Particle - a technological breakthrough that allows him to become the super- small, super-strong Ant-Man - from falling into the wrong hands.
Truth be told, Ant-Man gets off to a somewhat shaky start. The tale of an honourable rogue who's looking for a shot at redemption is a well-worn storytelling trope, one that the film initially seems to embrace rather too eagerly. As we watch Scott soldier through a host of tiny indignities, the dialogue - still credited to Wright and his co-writer Joe Cornish, with rewrites by Rudd and Adam McKay - is uninspired, and oftentimes uncomfortably on-the-nose. There's no subtlety here, and the sense of fun that accompanies Scott's attempt to hold down a job in Baskin Robbins feels a wee bit forced.
But the film kicks into higher gear, and stays there, once Scott stumbles onto or, more accurately, steals his second chance. His discovery of the Ant-Man suit and all that entails - working with Hank, meeting Hank's aloof but eminently capable daughter Hope (Lilly), training to prevent Hank's former protégé Darren Cross (Stoll) from replicating the Pym Particle for sale to the highest bidder - give the story the shot of adrenaline it needs. In the blink of an eye, this superhero heist flick finds its feet, and transforms into a whirlwind of action, humour and heart. Reed's camera zigs merrily from Luis' unique method of exposition (brilliant) to Scott's attempts to survive Hope's training (bruisingly hilarious), before zagging into the dark, trembling heart of Hank's troubled relationship with his daughter.
Indeed, what makes Ant-Man work so well is its insistence on respecting its characters and taking their concerns and relationships seriously. This provides the film with an emotional anchor amidst all the madcap chaos and gleeful irreverence. Scott's overpowering love for his young daughter runs parallel to Hank's own concern for Hope, and even Paxton - initially caricaturised as the stereotypical brutish new boyfriend - is given layers and depth beyond what might be expected of a film that seems so silly on the surface. This culminates in the film's best action sequence: one that manages to be utterly ridiculous, as the camera cheekily zooms in and out of a conflict that's entirely proportional to the size of its participants; but also deeply heartfelt, when Scott makes a split-second decision between lif