Ant-Man – Movie Review

Ant-Man – PG-13
Release Date: Fri 17 Jul 2015

Like Guardians of the Galaxy before it, Ant-Man manages to stand as a strange but fun chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will not be remembered as the movie that went off the rails. It’s not the stunning movie-of-the-summer event that Guardians was, but it manages to be a funny superhero movie that successfully incorporates Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang as an offbeat addition to Marvel’s roster.

There’s no question that it’s a Marvel film. There are plenty of ties to the world of The Avengers including an extended cameo and some post-credits hints as to where we will see Ant-Man pop up next. It’s also occasionally clear that Edgar Wright had a hand in this as several of the comedy beats feel just like him. We’ll never know what we missed out on, but what’s left is certainly a compromise between an economical and funny comedy and a support beam for future Marvel films. This is not a bad thing in this case.

Ant-Man is at it’s best when it’s being as ridiculous as possible with tiny action set pieces. The use of 3D is stellar in these scenes at giving a sense of size and depth. It was always easy to tell whether the scene was taking place with a very small or regular sized Ant-Man.

While there are some inconsistencies in the script (the long-term effects of the suit only seem to manner in a couple of scenes), Ant-Man is a good time at the movies and manages to be entertaining on its own while also setting up a few things for next year’s Marvel films. Paul Rudd is an excellent addition to the Marvel roster.

Amber, Matthew, Aaron and I saw it in the theater and had a discussion in the car: