Marvel Mania 2: MCU Phase 2- Ant-Man

Ant-Man (2015)
Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly
Directed by: Peyton Reed


For a lot of people, this was the moment to assume the MCU had gone too far. What, they're gonna make a movie about Ant-Man interesting? Ant-Man? Freaking Ant-Man? Fans were assuming this was going to be the big failure for Marvel, that there was no way they'd make a movie about a hero with powers that silly and have it be good. That's what a lot of people said the year before with Guardians of the Galaxy, and look how that turned out. So, because Marvel Studios had that kind of history behind it, I walked in with an open mind. What I walked out with was one of my favorite movies in the MCU so far. The ones that stand out for me are the ones that don't feel as formulaic and have a different tone to them. With Ant-Man, it kind of meshed the origin elements of Iron Man, the spy thriller elements of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and the quirky comedic elements of Guardians of the Galaxy together. Some have pointed out that that doesn't make for a fully original superhero movie concept, but Marvel's been churning so many out over the years that it's hard for every movie of theirs to feel 100% fresh and innovative every time. If the formula works, you can use it again as long as it feels different in a positive way and Ant-Man definitely did that thanks to the effects, the comedy, and the characters. This film is a lesson to all skeptics out there that with Marvel, anything is possible with their movies.

One thing I really loved about the movie was how it brought two generations of Ant-Man together on film. The main hero is Scott Lang, played by Paul Rudd. He's just a very likable dude, being the MCU's biggest equivalent of the everyday common man. He has a criminal past, but wants to move past that and be there for his daughter. You can't help but like the guy, making it a real win for the crowd when he has the chance to be a superhero. The other Ant-Man in the film is the former Ant-Man Hank Pym, played by Michael Douglas. I felt Douglas had been away from the Hollywood spotlight before his appearance in this film, but his portrayal as Pym shows he's still an acting force to be reckoned with. Their scenes together are really the glue that holds everything together for the film and helped sell the surface appeal of the film and its characters.

Along the way, Scott gets some assistance from Hank's daughter Hope, played by Evangeline Lilly. She definitely wears a chip on her shoulder, keeping her relationship with her father at a distance and not giving Scott an ounce of credit due to his criminal past. Throughout the film, she evolves as the plot unfolds and becomes a very likable character to root for. Plus, she kicks some serious butt in the training scenes and you can't help but support her when she claims to be able to do the job. If only there was some kind of female equivalent to Ant-Man that Hope could become. Oh well, anyways on to the villain. Corey Stoll plays Darren Cross, aka Yellowjacket. I know a lot of people think he's just being another generic MCU villains, but I like the depth that is on the surface with him. There's a lot of context that is within Darren's character, thanks to his relationships with Hope and Hank. Plus, I really like the design of the costume and I really like Stoll as an actor. So, I was thoroughly buying into him playing the bad guy.

One thing that amazed me about Ant-Man is how they brought his powers to life with special effects. That was one of the elements a lot of people were skeptical about. How could they make shrinking look cool on film? Through the effects, we had our answer. Many of the scenes allow you to be put into Scott's perspective and see just how massive and disorienting objects can look when you're so tiny. The details and textures that went into creating those worlds were so intricate, that I actually felt I'd shrank to the same size as Scott. It's a great visual presentation that puts you in the character's perspective and I think that's one of the film's biggest highlights.

A lot of people are quick to say that Ant-Man reminds them of the first Iron Man movie, but that's only in a few small areas. For one thing, it's amazing how much comedy they're able to pump into this movie, especially with Scott's friend Luis, played by Michael Pena in a huge show-stealing role. The humor alone makes this a worth-while film experience and had me laughing constantly. This is a heist movie, with a lot of the plot and action scenes focus on heroes that don't do your usual heroic deed, but are rather stealing stuff to save the day. That's very different from what we've come to expect from our usual MCU heroes. The combination of the two styles really make a nice blend in this story, putting a superhero in an Ocean's Eleven type of environment. I was absolutely floored with how much fun I had watching this. You don't have to be the most overly complex superhero movie out there to be good. You just need to tell a good story, have compelling characters, and allow the viewer to have fun. Ant-Man did that and then some, making it one of the most enjoyable movies in the MCU that I can watch over and over again.

The post-credits scenes, *SPOILER* warning are two of the best I think we've seen from Marvel at this point. The mid-credits scene teased that a sequel is on the way with Hope taking the mantle of The Wasp. It's like in the early Iron Man movies when they would tease Captain America's shield or Thor's hammer. The arrival of Wasp is going to be a landmark for comic fans, as she is the last founding member of the Avengers to come to film. Awesome! The post-credits scene is a tease for Marvel Phase 3, showing us a scene that is taking place DURING the events of Captain America: Civil War. We don't know the full context yet, but Cap, Bucky, and Falcon are in some kind of trouble and Falcon says he "knows a guy" that can help them, referring to the scene he had with Ant-Man earlier in this film. Both scenes promise us that Ant-Man will be back, with the first guaranteeing a sequel and the other scene showing he'll show up in the MCU again sooner than we expected. As a fanboy, you can't help but be hyped for Phase 3.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I'm surprised at how well Ant-Man works as a film. It's a humorous, heist film centered on a Marvel superhero. At a time when the MCU has cranked out so many sequels as of late, it's refreshing to return to the traditional origin story type of film. It has a very unique flavor to it as a superhero movie and I truly recommend all fans and skeptics to give it a watch and see if you enjoy it as much as I did.

Ant-Man and movie images are copyrighted by Marvel Studios