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| Directed by Peyton Reed Written by Adam McKay, Joe Cornish, Edgar Wright, and Paul Rudd |
The production history behind Ant-Man is an astonishing tale in and of itself. Originally concieved as a part of Marvel's more modest Phase 1 trial run, it became notable for catching the interest of geek cinema legend Edgar Wright, and it then spent years in developmental delay, only to have Wright and the studio part ways over creative differences as it finally started shooting. Left with a half finished production, Disney handed the project over to close friend of Wright, Peyton Reed and had Adam McKay put together a version of Wright's screenplay that fit with plans for the post-Phase 2 Marvel Universe.
That seems to be Marvel's "big risk" with Ant-Man, that is if a multi-million dollar tent-pole with the backing of the Disney Empire can be described as a risk in any way. Can the most old-fashioned producer-driven studio system since the Golden Age make something salable out of the remains of a collapsed production, and also manage to get a mid-summer hit out of it? The answer turns out to be that they do it very well, Ant-Man is a funny, slick, really enjoyable, well produced summer action flick that probably ends up on a lot of people's favorites lists and is a refreshingly grounded little production after the past few years of increasingly bloated blockbusters.
Back in the 60s, Michael Douglas as super scientist Dr. Hank Pym develops technology that allows him to shrink to the size of an ant while also gaining superhuman strength, as well as talking to ants, and uses it to thwart Cold War supervilliany as the superhero Ant-Man. couple decades later he loses the favor of SHIELD which forces him into retirement until... more-or-less now since Corey Stoll as his old associate Darren Cross has taken control of his old company and is developing a weaponized version of his technology that he calls the Yellowjacket which he plans to sell to HYDRA. Too old to use the Ant-Man suit himself and unwilling to let Evangeline Lily as his daughter take up the mantle, Pym turns to Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, an ex-convict eager to redeem himself in the eyes of his ex-wife and young daughter, and recruits himself to become the new Ant-Man and embark on a daring heist to keep the shrinking technology out of the wrong hands.
It's really refreshing to have a superhero movie willing to play things this small and this loose, especially after Age of Ultron's bloated climax. There's no apocalyptic menace threatening to destroy the world, the stakes are almost purely emotional rather than physical. The action is engaging not because of how many CGI cities they can destroy, but because the screenplay has a royal ball coming up with inventive ways and locations to use the size-changing powers in, culminating in a third-act set-piece where Scott and Cross get into a Man of Steel level destruction brawl... in a room full of children's toys. It has less in common with modern superhero epics than it does with late-20th Century live-action kids movies that Robin Williams would have led back in the day.
This is probably the most child-friendly superhero movie since the first Spider-Man, and while they might spend the first hour, where there's almost no action other than the training montages of Scott learning to use the suit and making adorable ant friends, wishing they'd seen Minions instead, that massive pickup in the third act will surely delight them as it goes from one crazy set-piece to another with crowd pleasing results.
Ant-Man is the perfect summer movie. It's funny, it's exciting, it's refreshingly down-to-earth, it's just a really good time at the theater. Since this is a Marvel Studios movie, I don't have to tell you to see it, but I'm still going to tell you to see it. Ant-Man is just plain fun.
Have a nice day.
Greg.B
FINAL RATING: 4/5
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