Ant Man's likable performances and visual ingenuity are hampered by limp direction and overall predictability

Rating: 6/10 (22 July 2015)

Ant Man is standard comic-book fare. It unfolds in an ordinary manner and pace, each scene focused on narrative reeking of scenes we have seen fifty times before. The hero, a good man who happens to be a societal outcast, is given the chance of a lifetime when he is given a superpower. Being the honourable man he is, he uses this superpower for the good of the world, by preventing humanity from descending into chaos and/or destruction as a result of the actions of one man who is usually blinded by something or other, be it greed, jealousy, or insanity. Along the way, he gets to know (and gets super close to) the hot girl, who has problems of her own. Then he challenges the villain, and manages to escape relatively unscathed for the next battle, in which the villain targets something or someone very close to the hero's heart. The hero shows up, battles the villain and eventually blows him up at the cost of what seems to be his own life. However, he lives, makes out with the hot girl, is accepted by society, and cue credits.
Although I've seen this formula played out on the silver screen countless times, I still came out of the theatre feeling as though I saw something worth seeing. Not because Ant Man's plot was at all engaging, but rather that it had a fine cast of likable characters, novel visuals, and a strangely metaphysical climax scene.
Ant Man stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, an ex-con recently out of prison who is estranged from his daughter, living with three other hilarious criminals who spend their days attempting to pull Lang into one get-rich-quick scheme or another. Meanwhile, scientist Hank Pym is realizing that the world as we know it as pretty much about to end. Coincidentally, he also happens to be estranged from his daughter. Pym recruits Lang to go and save the world. Lang agrees. Clichéd training scenes and character development. Random misplaced action scene. And so on and so forth into boring, predictable, comic book oblivion...
Paul Rudd is funny and likable, and the strange ensemble of characters (including a random Avenger) follow Rudd's lead in giving the film a charming atmosphere, reminiscent of Guardians of the Galaxy (which I believe is the undeniably best Marvel movie to date).
The visuals of this film are undeniably intriguing, the whole concept of a man who can shrink coming off as entirely novel. Massive bullets fly over Lang's head, trickles of water seem like tsunamis, and ants become, well, man sized. This whole new way of looking at things, however, is hampered by Peyton Reed's limp direction and a predictable plot. The visual novelty comes as a given, never exploited to its full atmospheric potential until the climax scene, which I have to admit was powerfully metaphysical for a superhero movie.
Apparently Hollywood has decided to trade in its magic for lukewarm critical appraisal. So if you go to Ant Man expecting to be blown away by the narrative, you'd better lower your expectations quick because Ant Man comes straight out of the ill-used can of formulaic superhero movies, and mildewy at that. But if you go to it expecting to be charmed by the characters and the strange visual novelty, you'll have a good time.