An Underdog Of A Film Fails To Disappoint

Rating: 8/10 (26 July 2015)

Like a good number of people, I was skeptical about Ant-Man since I heard about its development two or three years ago. Ant-Man is a strange, lame superhero, and I was confused as to how Marvel could create a two hour film full of consistently entertaining ant-related action. But that's exactly what Peyton Reed, Edgar Wright, and Joe Cornish have given us. Ant-Man is a well-paced and exciting film which wins on just about every front. The acting is superb. The special effects are neither overwhelming to the point of distracting or underwhelming to the point of ridiculousness. The story is persistent with very few, if any, weak spots.
Michael Douglass and Corey Stoll were both mesmerizing. It was a bit of a change for Stoll, who played a weak, alcoholic puppet of a governor in House of Cards, to portray the manipulative and evil Dr. Cross, but he skillfully pulls it off. Douglass very authentically presents himself as a man desperate to not see his work's secrets be used against him. He has just the right amount of sentiment and concern to be perfectly believable.
Rudd, on the other hand, left a bit to be desired. While he portrays the emotions needed to portray Scott Lang very well, and his humorous quips between action sequences are well delivered, he simply doesn't come off as a superhero type. Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man was one of the best casting decisions marvel has ever made. Downey is also a master of delivering funny banter with precision and skill, but during serious scenes, he presents himself as cool, confident, and powerful. He masters both personalities beautifully, which is one of the reasons he has been so well-received as an actor. Paul Rudd is a humorous banter kind of actor, but he's not always the cool, confident, superhero kind of actor. He doesn't come off as a thief who spent three years in prison. He doesn't come off as someone who would attack an Avenger with very little provocation. The pain he feels at not being able to see his daughter just seems a bit lacking. This just wasn't his niche role.
Nevertheless, I like the idea of having Lang's daughter be the central motivator for the hero. Something like this is rarely done in Marvel films; the motivation is usually some inherent drive to do good for the sake of doing good. This doesn't come across with Lang, a burglar who continues to pal around with petty criminals even after being repeatedly pushed to turn his life around. I like that change; another generic superhero backstory had a good chance of coming off as boring.
The film is also visually appealing. The sterile white lab worker's coats and equipment in Dr. Pym's laboratory contrast strikingly with Dr. Cross's dark and menacing exterior. The shots of Lang as he flies around on Antony are sensational and playfully disorienting. Lang's 2001: A Space Odyssey-esque journey through the quantum realm is beautiful and vivid.
All in all, the film is a well-directed, well-acted, and well-told piece of work. Congratulations to Ant-Man for exceeding expectations.