A Movie Review: Ant-Man (3D)

In 2008, Marvel Cinematic Universe launched with Iron Man. Since then, the studio presented a dozen superhero films to moviegoers worldwide. The qualities of these movies vary, where some movies are better than others. The biggest Marvel movie this year, was The Avengers 2: Age of Ultron. This might be an unpopular opinion, but to be honest, I didn't like Age of Ultron, I thought the story in Age of Ultron was flat and uninteresting, it felt like a tired, burnt-out movie assaulting the audience with too many bombastic action scenes. Most importantly, I began to weary of these Marvel superhero movies after viewing Age of Ultron. I wondered, if Marvel's adventure for Earth's Mightiest heroes was finally running out of flares.

Then a trailer for Ant-Man came along and it grabbed my interest. I was immediately sold to the idea of a superhero whose power is to shrink himself to the size of an ant (how cool is that?) Prior to the movie's release, people were skeptical about Ant-Man. I think the skepticism is understandable, because after all, the concept of Ant-Man is a bit weird and could be inaccessible for some. But not for me, I love strange and new ideas, so I was determined to check out Marvel's latest tale for Earth's tiniest hero.

The result? Ant-Man may be tiny, but this movie has great wonders. I loved every minute of this movie, and if you like superhero movies, then you should definitely check it out. My love for this movie drove me to write a review for it. Here it is.

Synopsis:

Scott Lang is modern-day Robinhood. But his career as a well-meaning thief didn't work out for him. He was arrested, imprisoned, and he lost his family. After serving his sentence, Scott emerged from the prison a new man. He wished to start fresh, burying his thieving career in the past then find

gainful employment, so he can be a role model for his daughter. The problem is, for a a man with criminal record, getting a job is not easy. It seems the door to redemption is shut for Scott. Feeling disillusioned, Scott decided to return to his old trade, which is thieving.

Scott and his three friends were lured by the rumor of riches stored away in a safe in an old man's house. Together, they plotted an elaborate plan of thievery. Little did Scott know, that these are all parts of an intricate plan by Hank Pym, a scientist and the original Ant-Man, who is planning to groom Scott into the torch-bearer of Ant-Man legacy, in term preventing the shrinking technology from falling into the wrong hands.

My thoughts on this movie:

If you ask me to describe Ant-Man, I will describe it as a superhero heist movie. Yes, you read that right. The central plot of Ant-Man is about a heist. This movie not about saving the world from the clutch of some supervillain. This also means, in comparison to The Avengers movies where stories often involve the entire world, Ant-Man is not as epic and the story is relatively straight forward. But this is not a bad thing because Ant-Man has many attractive qualities that other “big heroes and epic stories” don't have. Firstly, there is a lot of humor in Ant-Man, and the humor is genuine. The humor blends naturally into the storytelling in Ant-Man, and the story is coherent, fun and exciting. Every scene is well executed and the story unfolds at a smooth pace. I can see the makers of Ant-Man poured a lot of heart and soul into the crafting of this movie. In fact, I heard Edgar Wright, the original director and script writer for Ant-Man, spent 8 years developing this movie before he split with Marvel. Apparently, in the final production, Wright's successor stuck with his original vision for Ant-Man. So when I was watching Ant-Man, I could see there is a lot of heart behind the making of this film, it is not a hastily put-together production to grab cash.

In terms of characterization, Ant-Man's main protagonist, Scott Lang, is probably the most relatable character in Marvel Cinematic Universe up to date. In Ant-Man's story, Scott Lang is not high and mighty like the characters from The Avengers. Instead, Scott Lang is just a man who made some mistakes earlier in his life, and he is trying to find a second chance, another shot at life so he can be a role model for his small daughter. The opportunity at being Ant-Man became Scott's chance of redemption. In other words, the father-daughter relationship is what motivates Scott Lang to be Ant-Man, inspiring him to be better than himself, and do the impossible. I like the character of Scott Lang because he is genuine, and his motivation is believable.

There are two more vital characters in Ant-Man; Hank Pym and his daughter, Hope van Dyne. In this movie, Hank Pym is the original Ant-Man. He resigned from S.H.I.E.L.D in 1989, after discovered the agency was trying to duplicate his shrinking technology. 25 years later, Hank's relationship with his daughter is troubled, but together they are trying to stop the shrinking technology from falling into the wrong hands. Hank and Hope's storyline is parallel to Scott Lang's, where both storyline have a common theme, revolving around the father-daughter relationship and redemption. In other words, not only is Hank Pym grooming Scott Lang to carry the legacy of Ant-Man, but these two men have a lot in common because they are fueled by the same motivation: A second chance at restoring the broken relationship with their children, and be a role model for them. I like this theme in Ant-Man because it imbued human aspects to these characters who are meant to be comic book superheroes, making them believable and relatable characters.

At this point, I would like to make a quick comment about the acting. Scott Lang is portrayed by actor Paul Rudd. He fits the role perfectly, and he did an excellent job at bringing Scott Lang to life. I think from now on, Paul Rudd IS Ant-Man. Meanwhile, Hank Pym is portrayed by actor Michael Douglass, who delivered a memorable performance in this movie. I would love to see an Ant-Man prequel featuring Michael Douglass as a younger Hank Pym. Finally, Hope van Dyne is portrayed by actress Evangeline Lilly. Her performance and role in this movie is just as good and memorable as her male counterparts, and I can't wait to see how the character for Hope van Dyne will evolve in the sequel.

Having said this, I don't think Ant-Man is a flawless movie. The one weakness of this movie is the characterization of the antagonist, Darren Cross, AKA Yellow Jacket. I will not spoil the story, but let me just say the problem with Darren Cross' character, is that his motivation is unbelievable. The movie did explain what motivates Darren Cross, but it is just not convincing. As a result, Darren Cross didn't come across as a menacing or dangerous villain in this movie, and his character was weak.

The action scenes in Ant-Man are beautifully choreographed and presented with stunning visuals. The fight scenes are fun and exciting to watch. I especially love the scenes when Scott Lang shrank himself in Ant-Man suit, and ran along the ants performing feats of derring-do. I saw this movie in 3D, and the action scenes looked spectacular in 3D. These days, almost every Hollywood blockbuster is released in 3D, but not all of them are worth paying the extra dollars for. However, Ant-Man is one of those movies that deserves to be experienced in 3D. So if you are going to watch this movie, then make sure you grab the 3D ticket. You will not regret it. 

In my opinion, Ant-Man injects the long-running Marvel Cinematic Universe with new fuels. This movie offers a unique and interesting superhero unlike any others that came before. The story in Ant-Man is exciting, featuring a cast of relatable and likable characters. The action scenes are spectacular, and the movie is abundant with good humor. Ant-Man may not be a flawless movie due to the antagonist's weak characterization, but this is about the only weakness of this film. Ant-Man may be Earth's tiniest hero, yet it was never about the size but about the heart, and this movie has lots of it. I highly recommend Ant-Man, this is a good movie so don't miss this one out.

P.S.

1. Every Marvel movie has a post credit scene. Ant-Man is no exception to this tradition. In fact, this movie has TWO post credit scenes. So if you watch this movie, then make sure to see both post credit scenes before you leave the cinema. I was not aware of this when I watched the movie, and I missed the second one. (But all hail to the internet, I managed to catch up on the content in the 2^nd post credit scene)
2. After watching Ant-Man, I will think twice before crushing an ant next time.