Film Review | Ant-Man

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) just wanted to ‘be the hero his daughter already knows he is,’ instead, his time in prison has landed him in a tough place – unemployment. After being kicked out of his own daughter’s birthday party for not pay– oh, wait, I mean playing his part as a parent, Scott decides he needs to get his head in the game – even if it means doing a job that will land him back in prison. Little does he know, he’s being watched.

The Story

Skewing minutely away from the original comic, the next instalment to Marvel’s Avengers ensemble sees Paul Rudd as the comedic and charming, Ant-Man. Changing the origin story to suit past, present and future storylines, we see an ex-conman trying to make an honest living. Swearing never set foot in another jail cell again, Lang sees himself at a dead end as his past taints his employment prospects – regardless of how much street-cred he may give to any workplace.

While Lang plays “who’ll employ me?!”, his story is overshadowed by the bigger up-hill battle that Michael Douglas’ character has to face – his own creation. Attempting to hide his advanced technology that shrinks bio-particles from the government, Hank Pym finds himself at odds with former protégé, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll). Slightly psychotic and delusional, Cross attempts to replicate the Pym Particle in order to capitalise his imitation in order to show Pym that he was, and is, worthy of his attention. In the mix of all of this, we also have a father-daughter complex where Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) is a double agent who feeds information from Cross back to her father, Hank. But back to Lang…

After allowing Scott to “rob” him – i.e. take his shrinking suit – Hank hires him to steal Darren’s replica, the Yellowjacket, before it gets into the hands of the wrong people.

As a whole I thought the combination of past Ant-Man and future Ant-Man, along with the allusions to the original comic storyline, worked great for this next instalment. The storyline was solid and fluid, as well as the perfect amount of comedic-charm that Marvel’s films always have.

The Cast

Michael Douglass was a brilliant mentor figure in this film. Bringing the seriousness to balance out Rudd’s comedic strand, Douglass brought the comic’s initial storyline to life.

Paul Rudd’s take on the ‘new’ Ant-Man was just as brilliant as Douglas’ seriousness. Although Rudd did bring much of the comic relief, he did have some great emotional moments in the film as well. He understood the importance of playing a father who would do anything for his daughter, as well as playing Marvel’s typical strong-type superhero. It’s nice to have another father figure join the Avengers, I’m glad to see Hawkeye has a friend!

Correy Stoll was another great balance to Rudd’s light-hearted take to a Marvel classic. He played the roll as a villain brilliantly and was an excellent mirror of what Pym could have been if circumstance were different.

Overall, Marvel fans who have not seen this film are missing out. The story, the cast, the graphics and the film as a whole will have you laughing and sitting at the edge of your seats. Go get your tickets at your local Event Cinemas today!

Star Rating: ★★★

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