This Small Package Packs a Lot of Punch

Rating: 7/10 (23 July 2015)

The least godly of all the Marvel heroes, Ant-Man is just a mildly intelligent, crafty guy, down on his luck but pure of heart, who catches the eye of a reclusive genius and becomes heir to his technological throne. It's not intergalactic like Guardians, it boasts no billionaire playboys like Iron Man, no political intrigue or mythological hijinx like Cap or Thor, and while all of those absences do make it feel like less of a heavyweight, they also give it a unique sense of relatable identity. This is the little guy (womp womp), one of the unwashed throngs, who dares to climb Olympus and greet the immortals. I can get behind that. It's also a great showcase of the merry Marvel mojo, casually blending well-timed wisecracks with steep ideas, loud action sets and a heavy dose of worldbuilding. That constant sense of a shared landscape, long a cornerstone of the comic book's universe, has begun to bear ripened fruit recently, and Ant-Man profits from the mere association. Truly, it's his interactions with the characters we already know, no matter how secondary they may be, that makes this seem like more than just another origin story. Paul Rudd does a nice job of pulling off the leading role, not too wacky nor too straight-laced, and his essential chemistry with Michael Douglas (the aforementioned genius) carries the picture a nice, long distance. Great effects work gets us the rest of the way, with a whole armload of inventive, fascinating, smirk-inducingly cool expositionary scenes leading the charge. Think Honey, I Shrunk the Kids with more balls and a much bigger budget. It's not the best of the Marvel lot, but it's among them, and I can't wait to see where the character goes from here.
Updated thoughts after a recent re-watch (2018):
Inventive and entertaining, if inessential in retrospect, as we now know Ant-Man has very little influence on the rest of the Marvel universe. Paul Rudd is an excellent choice as leading character Scott Lang, plucky but enduring, a perennial sad sack whose intentions are pure, even if his means are not. He always seems to come out holding the short straw, but his real strength is in turning those negatives around.
That endurance is the essence of his character, and comes into play repeatedly during his evolution into a size-adaptive micro-hero. His arc is well-worn and simple, nothing we haven't seen before really, but Rudd's ability to remain off-the-cuff and endearing (plus a few creative screenwriting ideas) keep the general act from feeling too stale.
The real sizzle is in the action, anyway, wherein we see common everyday objects from awe-inspiring new perspectives. The effects team does their job well here. In a flash, a bathtub becomes a vast expanse. A crowded dance floor transforms into a deadly obstacle course. Witty and engaging as the script may be, the film truly lives or dies based on the success of those scenes, and without exception, they come up big. It's a good time, particularly when playing with the theoretical physics of the character's many transformations, but just a touch on the lighter side.