"Ant-Man" doesn't stand very tall compared to other Marvel superhero movies.

Rating: 5/10 (18 July 2015)

Any movie adaptation intended to reach and entertain a wide audience, especially a movie adapted form a comic book series, needs to be able to stand on its own merits, and "Ant-Man" (PG-13, 1:57) does that. Still, a little background and perspective wouldn't hurt and that's what the first part of my reviews are for, so let's see if I can give you a little context for this movie before I set up its story.
The "Ant-Man" character first appeared in a January 1962 comic and was one of the five original "Avengers", but is only the fourth of them to get a solo film. (We've been watching Hulk, Iron Man and Thor movies for years and 2015 brings Ant-Man to the big screen, but there's no movie being planned for the character known as the Wasp.) "Ant-Man" is the sixth and final film in Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), with a new Captain America movie kicking off Phase Three in May 2016. "Ant-Man" ties in with the MCU, but is meant to be more of a stand-alone film.
Wow. That only barely scratched the surface, but it's now time to talk more specifically about this film.
In the comics and in the film, Ant-Man is not about one person, but a series of people who wear the costume. Michael Douglas plays Hank Pym, the first Ant-Man, and the inventor of the so-called Pym Particle, which allows the wearer of his suit to shrink to the size of an insect by shrinking the space between molecules and using the resulting density to possess a strength very much out of proportion to his size. We see Pym resign from the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. when he discovers that their scientists are trying to replicate and militarize his formula, which he has come to believe presents more danger than benefit.
About 25 years later, Pym's protégé, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), working with Pym's estranged daughter, Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), is about to successfully recreate Pym's formula and Pym feels that he knows just the guy to help him prevent this. Pym tricks a very talented convicted burglar named Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) into trying out the Ant-Man suit and convinces Lang to become the Ant-Man and help permanently derail Cross' plans. Pym explains that Lang's efforts will help him see more of his young daughter (Abby Ryder Fortson), whose mother (Judy Greer) and new husband (Bobby Cannavale) don't want him around until he gets back on his feet and becomes a more trustworthy father.
Lang soon finds out that being effective as the Ant-Man involves a lot more than just donning a special suit, pressing a button and becoming really, really small. He has to learn to fight better than he had to in prison, he has to learn how to fully harness the power of the suit and he has to learn how to communicate with different kinds of ants, which he can then use to help him get around and accomplish certain tasks. All this requires a lot of training and practice, as well as a little help from Lang's shady friends (played by Michael Peña, David Dastmalchian and T.I.) And, of course, someone as greedy, power-hungry and unscrupulous as Darren Cross isn't going to take all this lying down. It's safe to assume that he has a few tricks up his well-tailored sleeves.
I can't say much more without giving away significant plot points, but I do want to offer a few points of interest which may seem random, but which at least MCU fans will appreciate. The first scene includes characters that have appeared in other MCU films, with both aging make-up and CGI de-aging of various actors for the sake of continuity. One of the Avengers makes what you might call a guest appearance in the middle of the movie and again late in the movie. Don't stress yourself out throughout the movie looking for the traditional MCU Stan Lee cameo because it comes very late in the film. Lastly, there are two short additional scenes, one mid-credits and one post-credits, which set up possible future story lines for the characters in this movie.
"Ant-Man" is different from other MCU movies, but not for the better. The CGI during the shrinking scenes is very good, but not the best that MCU has shown us in the other films and, because of the nature of the story, there's less of a need for the more spectacular visual effects to which MCU fans have become accustomed. This allows more focus on the story and character development, but the lackluster script still fails to create adequate tension or make us care much for the characters. "Ant-Man" gets points for originality and good pacing, but is relatively unimpressive. "B-"