MCU Back on Track

Rating: 8/10 (27 April 2020)

As a latecomer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I had heard a lot of negative opinions about Paul Rudd and Ant-Man. A few of the preceding instalments in the series (namely Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World and Avengers: Age of Ultron) were quite frankly bad films, with very weak plot lines and very sloppy writing. This was much better. I love how these Marvel films experiment in crossing the boundaries between genres. In Ant-Man, we see your typical superhero origins story coupled with a classic heist movie. And for perhaps the first time in the MCU, our title character and hero is a down on his luck, ordinary (and relatable) guy just trying to hold down a normal job and maybe get to see his daughter at weekends. Our antagonist of Darren Cross (AKA Yellowjacket) is also a breath of fresh air, as his motives stem from a want of power and wealth - again more relatable than the Marvel accustomed seemingly groundless want for global destruction and genocide (think Aldrich Killian/The Mandarin, Malekith, Ultron etc). Overall I look forward to seeing more of Paul Rudd as the MCU progresses, right back on track.