Actually Very Funny

Rating: 8/10 (30 July 2015)

This isn't one of the best Marvel origin stories out there, but I was unexpectedly very entertained by this movie. If there is anything that has been consistent in this Marvel universe (at least from what I've seen, haven't seen The Incredible Hulk) it's a great comedic tone to lighten things up.
To me, at least, the basic premise of a superhero whose power is to shrink but maintain human strength is a little boring to me. What wasn't boring once I actually decided to give it a chance was the training Paul Rudd's character had to go through to master the capabilities of the suit he is given by his "mentor," played by Michael Douglas. It is amusing to see Paul Rudd repeatedly fail to jump through a keyhole; it is a simple moment in the movie that we can relate to since we all make mistakes and need to try things again from a different approach. It is also relieving to see him terrified of ants at that size because I would hate that.
The movie is almost self-aware that it is a Marvel movie, bringing in elements of the Marvel universe for jokes. At one point, the titular Ant-Man suggests to call the Avengers to do Douglas' work to which his response is basically "I don't want them knowing about this." Let's be honest, they could have done better than this. And we actually see Ant-Man fight a to-be-Avenger which is a funny scene, but they don't really explain why nobody is training at their facility that day except for Falcon.
Most of the humor comes from Rudd's character blowing things up in size during a fight towards the film's conclusion, but my favorite part of this movie has to be Michael Pena's character. He over- explains things and is excited when he does so, and this reminds me of a particular family member of mine, so I found it very amusing.
The story itself is just okay which is why I only consider this movie to be a decent Marvel movie, probably somewhere in the middle of the list if I were to rank the Marvel movies I have seen. Essentially an apprentice of Douglas wants to use the technology for the shrinking suit as a weapon to be produced for the military's use, so essentially we have a want-to-be arms dealer trying to make a profit from the Douglas character's idea.
This movie is certainly not up to par with the Avengers movies, but you should see it if you want to experience one of the funnier Marvel movies.