Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spect...
Just like its protagonist, 2015s “Ant-Man” is quick-witted, hilarious, and easily overlooked. Released right in between “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015) and “Civil War” (2016), it’s no wonder this is almost always pushed to the side when discussing the bigger Marvel films; “Ant-Man” does add very little to the scope of the Cinematic Universe, but it is still one of the most fun and rewatchable movies in Marvel’s ever-growing canon.
“Ant-Man” really isn’t all that original — it’s very safe in its use of the common superhero-movie formula — but it’s energetic and constantly moving to make sure those old superhero tropes (like the obvious bald bad guy) never bore us. The bulk of this energy comes from the cast; Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/ Ant-Man can play a loving dad and switch on a dime into a cocky thief, Michael Douglas (Hank Pym) is sullen enough to show who his character is, but he never bores us to death with his many speeches, Evangeline Lilly (Hope Pym) is awesome in her confident “double agent” role, and Michael Peña’s Luis is the best comic relief I’ve seen in a while.
One thing that makes this so rewatchable is how it’s not really connected to the larger Marvel Universe. It doesn’t require prior Marvel knowledge, and it doesn’t even require much thought to understand its own plot. Many action blockbusters try to take on a multi-faceted plot while painfully leaving behind a plethora of plot holes; while not without its nitpicks, “Ant-Man’s” plot moves swiftly, rarely leaving time for us to slump into confusion or boredom.
This works on multiple levels, and one is as a great heist movie; like any in the genre, “Ant-Man” has to move fast at the price of leaving some unanswered questions along the way. It always sticks out to me how convoluted Hank’s plot to get Scott to steal the Ant-Man suit is; I mean, he has to go through quite a bit of trouble to plant the tip about the massive safe in his house (not to mention the fact that he’s giving his dangerous formula over to a stranger). But the movie doesn’t explore these obvious nitpicks, instead they make for some hilarious moments like Luis telling the story of how he got the tip. Rather than get hung up on many available caveats, the story glides forward and we can’t help but go along with it.
“Ant-Man” takes full advantage of its hero’s superpower using the shrinking scenes for plenty of visual gags and some very unique fight sequences. You can see this quite clearly in the culminating fight between Ant-Man and the Yellowjacket, especially when they fight inside a suitcase with Lifesavers, keychains, and an iPhone tumbling over them; the logic of it all makes little sense, but we’re too busy laughing at how they accidentally activated Siri to think about that. Visual effects are obviously a huge part of the whole thing — they are bizarre and captivating to watch; before “Doctor Strange”(2016) gave us its acid trips, “Ant-Man” showed us how the world looks from below with its marvelous special effects.
While this and its other accomplishments are overlooked, there’s no denying that any sane Marvel fan will not watch this whenever it’s playing on TNT almost every week. As for the anti-Marvel bunch, “Ant-Man” (much like “Black Panther”) provides entertainment rarely experienced today without the burden of having to have watched every Marvel movie since 2008.
