Marvel Embraces Comedy While Ignoring Science

Rating: 7/10 (17 July 2015)

Ant-Man is not your typical Marvel film. Most Marvel movies exist in a universe where the bounds of science are pushed, while comedic elements are incorporated sparsely throughout the film. Ant-Man is different in that science is completely disregarded, while comedy runs rampant throughout the film. This, as it turns out, was actually a really good idea.
Who needs all that science crap, when we can just watch hilarity unfold and laugh ourselves silly? Most of the time I would ask that sarcastically, but after seeing Ant-Man I suddenly understand the appeal.
With Ant-Man, Marvel has made a statement. Marvel films are based in fantasy, not reality. The science in Ant-Man is mindbogglingly unrealistic, but on the other hand, it's one of the funniest films I've seen in a long time. Marvel has decided that they're not going to be limited by the laws of physics, and that comedy is more valuable than drama.
Simply put, Marvel has doubled down and embraced its silliness, and that's a good thing. It's better to be cinematically pure, than to try to please everybody. Rather than worrying about realism, Marvel is more concerned with making smart characters that make rational decisions in an unrealistic world. The science is all wrong, but the character's decisions are completely fine.
I can forgo scientific errors, mainly because they exist in the background. It's easy to forget about how particles actually work, and just embrace the madness of Ant-Man's ridiculous shrinking suit. It's hard to get over people doing things that they would never realistically do; things that move the plot in the direction the writers want.
Marvel's good at avoiding that because they keep the plot simple, and just let the ball roll down hill, rather than constantly pulling strings. The characters don't need to make ridiculous decisions to move the plot along because the plot moves all by itself. I can't tolerate it when a character does something stupid like walking into a cage that houses an incredibly dangerous animal just to inspect some claw marks on the wall (yes, I'm talking to you Jurassic World!).
Ant-Man is a movie about characters. The suit isn't the star of the film. The physics aren't important. What is important is that every character stay true to him/herself and provide wit and clever dialogue to keep the audience intrigued. That's what Marvel has accomplished here.
This is a new milestone in the MCU, one that incorporates the simplicity of Iron Man, the humor of Guardians of the Galaxy, and the stellar character interactions of The Avengers. Aside from the scientific inaccuracies, this film is highly entertaining and well worth watching. For all its problems, it more than makes up for it in laughs.