Neither Amongst Marvel's Best Works Nor Refreshing Enough As A Standalone Flick

Rating: Null/10 (22 November 2015)

The twelfth instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the final chapter of their Phase Two plan, Ant-Man is a small-scale, light-hearted & sufficiently entertaining blockbuster that brings a new superhero into the already crammed Marvel family and although it may not be as heavy handed as some of their biggest extravaganzas, there's hardly anything refreshing about it.
Ant-Man tells the story of Scott Lang; an engineer turned criminal who wants to support his daughter but is unable to secure any job due to his criminal record. Things are set in motion when he decides to commit a burglary with his crew and steals a super-suit that allows him to shrink in scale & amplify in strength, following which he assists the suit's owner in pulling off a heist that will save the world.
Directed by Peyton Reed, Ant-Man was initially supposed to be Edgar Wright's pet project, who worked on it for years before being removed by the studio after creative differences arose between the two. What Reed has done after taking the director's helm from Wright is that he has completely modified the script in order for the film to fit into Marvel's existing universe, which is in contrast to Wright's vision who intended it as a standalone feature.
While one can argue over just how much was chopped out & what all was retained from the original screenplay, it would've been quite interesting to see Wright's take on the minuscule superhero. Nevertheless, Reed's take isn't a total disaster for the movie actually feels like a typical Marvel flick with its simple plot, charming lead, playful wit, fun vibe & family-friendly entertainment. And although it will satisfy majority of mainstream viewers, it could've been much more improved.
The set pieces come in all shape & sizes this time and with added enhancements from the visual effects department, they look detailed enough. Cinematography makes heavy use of macro photography & many interesting point-of-view shots while kinetic camera-work drives its action. Thanks to its predictable plot & some lame attempts at humour which don't work out, its 117 minutes of runtime is felt at times. Visual effects is top-notch as expected while Christophe Beck's score feels pretty generic.
Coming to the performances, Ant-Man features a good cast in Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Peña & others, and most of them do a fine job in their given roles. Rudd, however, is a revelation for he proves that he can be charming enough in the lead role of a big-budget blockbuster. His performance as Lang is well-balanced and he carries most of the film on his own. Douglas is in as Hank Pym but chips in with a mediocre input. Lilly does well with what she's given, Peńa is annoying & Stoll isn't really intimidating as the villain.
On an overall scale, Ant-Man delivers the big-budget extravaganza it promised, even if it is on smaller scale when compared to its predecessors but from the storytelling perspective, it definitely ranks amongst Marvel Studios' weaker entries, that may have been avoided if it had added greater depth to its main plot & characters. Even though this film is designated by Marvel as their Phase Two finale, it works more or less as a prologue for Phase Three. A playful introduction to a new character & spearheaded by Paul Rudd's on-screen charisma, Ant-Man is no quality blockbuster but it's still worth one viewing, at least.