Review by CJ

Director:
Peyton Reed

Starring:
Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll

Other notable appearances:
Michael Peña, David Dastmalchian, Tip ’T.I.’ Harris, Judy Greer, John Slattery, Hayley Atwell, Stan Lee, Anthony Mackie, Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan

Running time:
117 minutes

Watch this if you liked:
Iron Man, The Avengers, Big Hero 6

Ex-burglar Scott Lang (Rudd) is convinced to undertake one last score to set himself up with a life so he can see his daughter. When the burglary is completed, he discovers that the huge score he was promised is nothing more than an old motorcycle suit.

Upon trying on the motorcycle suit and shrinking to the size of an ant, Scott finds there is much more than meets the eye. Through the suit’s communication system, Scott talks with the man to whom the suit belongs and is given a series of tests. He passes the tests and is brought to the suit’s original owner Hank Pym (Douglas) and his daughter Hope (Lilly). They explain that Lang is the only hope to stopping a small problem from having a big impact.

Ant-Man is the 12th film the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

The MCU is well known for its humour and I would be so bold as to say that Ant-Man is the most overtly funny. Paul Rudd’s comedy chops are put to great use with a script that allows for both touching moments and hilarity.

One of my favourite scenes in the film takes place between The Avengers’ Falcon and Ant-Man. Allegedly Ant-Man was originally to be a standalone film that made no reference to the rest of the MCU. I for one am very glad that this didn’t happen. In addition to featuring Falcon, Ant-Man has lots of obvious (and not so obvious) references to the rest of the universe that tie it together perfectly.

Michael Douglas is fun to watch as the straight man and mentor to Rudd’s hilarious but inexperienced Lang. Lilly is great as the cool but classy Hope. Stoll is a brilliant villain and by far the best villain I have seen getting hit by Thomas the Tank Engine.

The special effects in Ant-Man are done in such a way that perfectly fits the comic book vibe of the MCU (which is, after all, based on comic book characters). The effects when Ant-Man shrink and grow are done in such a way that it mirrors the effect as seen in comics.

If you enjoy action movies, superhero movies or are a fan of past MCU films, then Ant-Man is definitely worth checking out. It is funny, smart and has enough comic book action to keep you entertained until Civil War is released.

Rating:

“My days of breaking into places and stealing shit are over! What do you need me to do?”
“I want you to break into a place and steal some shit.”