Ant-Man Review

Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Peña, Anthony Mackie, Michael Douglas

The Marvel brand is attempting to continue its success with Ant-Man, its riskiest sell yet. Marvel movies have proved to be some of the most popular films year after year, even making Guardians of the Galaxy, a movie with little-known characters, into a massive success. However, this year Marvel has had a rough year. Avengers: Age of Ultron (as good as it might be) was not the commercial success it should have been due to opening on the heels of Furious 7. With Jurassic World becoming a phenomenon, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Mockingjay still to come, a sequel to The Avengers will likely finish as the 5th or 6th biggest movie of the year, a far cry from what should have happened. Marvel desperately needs a hit. And Ant-Man isn't that hit. I enjoyed it, but it's very risky, and I can't see the general public embracing it. It's very odd. The same comedy formula used with Guardians of the Galaxy doesn't work to the same effect.

Here are some things to get you excited for Ant-Man. The ants are incredible. Who would have ever thought that ants had such great comedic timing? Scientifically, this movie throws a lot at you with ant science, and from what I know, most of it is true. The ants are very well realized characters and are mesmerizing to watch in 3D, if you see it in that format. Paul Rudd as Scott Lang is also funny, and his journey is very well done. Evangeline Lilly (she's still just Kate from Lost to me) is very believable as the struggling daughter of Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man and Scott's mentor. She's very physically fit, and she sells her action scenes incredibly well. As Pym himself, Michael Douglas proves that actors can possibly get a career resurgence from Marvel. The real star ends up being Michael Peña who is absolutely hilarious. The post-credits scenes are very good, and there are two, so stay until the lights turn on. It's worth it.

So here's what didn't work for Ant-Man. I didn't really believe Corey Stoll to be a good villain. I'm a huge fan of House of Cards on Netflix, and he was great in that series, but I just don't think he pulled off the role of Yellowjacket. The Yellowjacket idea was good, and the whole plot was a nice departure from what many people expected with the film. Marvel just doesn't succeed with its villains aside from Loki. I said this before with Ultron, they just cannot write a good villain who doesn't come off as a stereotype or caricature. The movie also lacked a certain style. It was funny, but I wouldn't call it a comedy. Ant-Man certainly isn't an A-team superhero, so there has to be a selling point, demonstrated last year with Rocket Raccoon, Groot, and the Guardians. It's not serious enough to become a drama like the DC Batman movies. The whole feel of it is just a little awkward. For those who don't know, the director of Ant-Man was fired halfway through production, and they hired brand new screenwriters. I'd attribute this to the disjointedness of the film, and I think it will hold off from it being an iconic success. But Ant-Man is still a very good movie worth your time if you're a diehard Marvel fan.

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