The Marvel Money Train rumbles on
and I’m not ashamed to admit that I have bought my first class ticket. I'm enjoying the ride and although some
films are bumpier than others I am with it until the bitter end or my metaphor
completely derails. Before Thor came out
I couldn’t get my head around how the character would fit into the Marvel
Universe and then it turned out to be one of my favourite films so regardless of
how strange a concept is I will always give Marvel the benefit of the doubt.
My problem with Ant-Man was never
the concept. It was always the
casting. A poor and over played trailer
didn’t do anything to increase my enthusiasm.
PLOT: Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has just been released
from prison and is recruited by Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) to break into a
building and steal the same shrinking technology because, erm, no one likes
competition. Scott Lang dons the Ant-Man
suit and becomes the hero he was born to be.
END PLOT
The first Ant-Man film was always
going to be an origin story and although nearly all the major players in The
Avengers got one the concept is beginning to feel overdone. The main plotline is nothing more
than an elaborate heist to stop Cross (Corey Stall) from selling his legally
manufactured weapon for profit in what is now a morally dubious action despite it
being hero Tony Stark’s key source of income.
I think that Hank Pym secretly hates bald people. The heist involved a band of crooks with the
most memorable being Michael Pena who gave the film its biggest laughs. Unfortunately, the overall criminal prowess of
Lang’s gang was harder to buy into than the idea of a fully functioning ant
army.
The effects were excellent and I
thoroughly enjoyed the ant sized action sequences which were all great fun
to watch. There was plenty of humour
scattered throughout the action and training montages but I found myself playing “Spot
the Edgar Wright” sections of the script. The family drama felt unnecessary although Hollywood’s resident wife and
mother, Judy Greer is always a welcome addition to any film.
As mentioned above my main concern
was the casting of Paul Rudd. Rudd is
the actor you cast as the lead man’s best friend who offers witty and slightly drunken
advice in a bar and is at his best in very small doses. The first time I saw the trailer I
immediately thought that Joel McHale would have been better in the role and I
carried this thought with me for months as my dislike of Rudd’s casting
and the trailer grew. The dry humour and sarcastic tone
would have suited McHale perfectly but I did warm to Rudd in the role although I do not believe for one second that the dude is capable of jumping a garden
fence unaided let alone scale a wall.
Rudd was passable and by the time the closing credits rolled around I had gotten over my irrational gripe.
Evangeline Lilly’s Hope van Dyne
was a vital cog in Cross and Pyms’ plans despite doing nothing more strenuous
than cross her arms and stare witheringly into space.
Don't worry Evangeline................
The passing reference to her love of karate and
then have her suddenly kick ass just made the whole independent woman vibe feel
clichéd. The closing credits scene didn’t
surprise me at all but I am curious to see how that storyline
develops.
It'll soon be over............
Michael Douglas brought some
sass to Hank Pym and played the cranky mentor very well; his discrimination
against bald people aside.
The weakest link in the cast is
Corey Stall. Stall overacts like crazy
and is saddled with a wafer-thin villain whose only crime is being a reasonably
intelligent yet slightly dickish scientist. In an
attempt to make Cross a true villain he literally sends some lambs to the
slaughter and grins manically from time to time. This is his only character development. It was a poor offering which was a million miles away
from the charismatic Loki or the emotionally conflicted Winter
Soldier.
Thankfully Ant-Man was much
better than expected and was a solid, if generic, introduction to a new Marvel
character. I am not against seeing
more of Ant-Man in future films. The references to The
Avengers characters scattered throughout the film were appreciated and we got
an idea of where Ant-Man is going to slot in to the upcoming Civil War
arc. Overall Ant-Man was a decent summer
film and gets 7/10 and the second post credit sequence was Marvel’s best to
date.
Oops, you've just seen the post credits sequence haven't you?
