Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Ant-Man


Directed by Peyton Reed.
2015. Rated PG-13, 117 minutes.
Cast:
Paul Rudd
Evangeline Lilly
Michael Douglas
Corey Stoll
Michael Pena
Tip "T.I." Harris
Bobby Cannavale
Judy Greer
Wood Harris
Anthony Mackie

Way back in 1989, Hank Pym (Douglas) is forced out of his own company over a disagreement with the board of directors. Mainly, they want to weaponize and sell the shrinking technology which he invented, but wants to keep under wraps. After one of the most egregious continuity errors in cinematic history, Hank leaves and we fast-forward to the present day. Current big wig Darren Cross (Stoll) is working on a suit that will shrink the person who wears it down to the size of an insect. It is to be used in military applications. His work is based on rumors of the same Ant-Man suit designed by Hank years earlier. Little does Cross know that this is no myth. Hank really did design such a suit and still has it. He gives it to down on his luck ex-con Scott (Rudd) because Hank needs a skilled thief to help break into Pym Industries and steal what Stoll has been working on.

The first thing that pops out at you is the visuals. They are an important aspect of any superhero movie, but perhaps more so here than in others. We’re dealing with a character who literally becomes the size of an ant. In order for the film to be effective, we have to see the world from his point of view, and it has to be convincing. If it isn’t any other attributes of the film would be irrelevant because we just couldn’t buy into the world created for us. Thankfully, the team behind Ant-Man does a marvelous job. The very first time our hero shrinks he’s standing in a bathtub. What occurs during this scene is a wonderful sight to behold. It quickly immerses us in his reality and gives us the suspension of disbelief needed to make a film like this work. The climactic battle, which takes place on a child’s toy train set, is a magnificent piece of techno wizardry that gets everything out of the characters involved.


With the effects taken care of, other aspects of the film are allowed to sink or swim on their own. Most of them swim. The biggest contributor is the way the style of storytelling perfectly matches the overall tone to create a fun and engaging film. Its style is that of a heist film. While there is a lot riding on the success of our good guys, it doesn’t have the overwhelming urgency of saving the world form its imminent doom. This differentiates it from many of its sister films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a good way. The humorous tone is a more natural fit, especially given the personalities involved. We have a couple of masterminds, Pym and his daughter Hope (Lilly), the main talent Scott, and a trio of bumbling fools needed to help out. Scott proves to be the linchpin with Rudd slipping comfortably into the straight-man role he’s inhabited in so many comedies. He is also a wonderful go-between for the refined brilliance of Hank, Hope, and the boneheads he hangs out with. Of those three dudes, Michael Pena gets the most screen time, and rightfully so. He delivers a thoroughly entertaining performance. A number of the film’s funniest moments belong to him.

The elements detailed above help the story work really well. Within the whole of it, there are portions that aren’t quite as successful. A major motivating for our hero is getting back into his daughter’s life. This is fine. I just think his ex-wife Maggie (Greer) is too passive about the situation. Granted, and understandably, she often sends her current hubby Paxton (Cannavale) to deal with Scott. This gives a lot of face time to the always enjoyable Bobby Cannavale, but leaves her in the background a bit too much. I’m willing to chalk it up to being a “me” problem. What’s less subjective is the amount of shoe-horning that goes on just so the film clearly marks itself as part of the MCU. Captain America’s buddy Falcon (Mackie) is used for this purpose. Unfortunately, there seems to be no way around since it’s a problem the entire MCU has saddled itself with.

What brings us back to just being concerned with this particular story is that heist part of the film. We watch our heroes train, plot, and attempt to execute this great robbery. It is loads of fun to watch. That is what makes Ant-Man compelling viewing. We really want to know can these guys pull it off. Next to that, any of its flaws are minor bumps in the road. This includes that ridiculous continuity error at the very beginning. It involves a nose which is bloody, then not bloody, then bloody again. I don’t always catch such things, but this was far too obvious not to. Point is, as bad as that is, it is ultimately a footnote to a thoroughly entertaining popcorn flick.

18 comments:

  1. I'm still going to see this as I know it's going to be on Starz in the coming months though with low expectations as I was more excited about the film when Edgar Wright was attached as the director but left due to creative differences with the studios.

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    1. I think you'll still have fun watching it. I look forward to your thoughts on it.

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  2. After the disappointment that was Ultron, I was looking forward for this. It's not up there with some of my favorites and I had my doubts on this movie but ultimately they pulled it off. It really was entertaining.

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    1. That's pretty much my sentiment on it, as well. Better than Ultron, not quite among the best of MCU, but very fun.

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  3. Oh man, I somehow missed that huge error in the beginning but I'm dying to spot it now. This was another superhero flick I really wasn't bothered about at all until I saw it. It surprised me for the better! Michael Pena was the absolute highlight for me, he's hilarious!
    - Allie

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    1. I saw it immediately and even hit the rewind button to make sure I wasn't crazy. I'm not, it's there. Still they did an overall good job with the film. And I did laugh a few times at Pena. He was very good.

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  4. This movie ended up being a lot better than I expected. I wasn't even going to watch it in theaters until I saw Falcon had a small spot in it. I'm glad I did, it was great and my favorite part was actually Michael Pena's character.

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    1. Glad you gave in and watched. It was a lot better than I thought it was going to be, too.

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  5. Good review. I agree with every point. I think the thing that excited me most about this movie was the visuals and how grand situations could be shrunken down. I remember watching the trailer and that fight scene with the train set went from this intense, up-close action set piece then the camera cut away and we see that all that destruction and mayhem was equivalent to a train set falling over. I think that scene is the beauty of Ant-Man. I didn't notice that continuity error and you're the second pundit to point it out to me. I need to watch that opening again. Maybe I was distracted by Michael Douglas' CGI face. Michael Pena was excellent. He and Rudd really gave this film some great comedic moments. I think the reason I liked this film so much was because it was a throwback to the superhero movies of old. The main character takes his time becoming (physically and mentally) the man necessary to be a hero.

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    1. Thanks! The moment you reference with the train set gave me the biggest laugh and, like you say, it perfectly encapsulates what this movie is all about. And yeah, MD's CGI face was a bit distracting.

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  6. LOL yeah, like many others above me I'm gonna have to rewatch the start again just to catch that error. Glad you liked this one, my friend! Although it's obviously 2nd tier Marvel, it's still fun (which is what movies should be, right?) and has that ironic humour the studio has built itself on over the years. Rudd is actually good in this role, normally I find his brand of acting to be insufferable...

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    1. It was so laughably bad I thought everyone would notice. Guess I'm a more astute viewer than I thought, lol. Rudd is much better than that anticipated, too.

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  7. Casting Paul Rudd as a superhero got some eyebrows to raise but he did a fantastic job as Scott. Michael Pena was an absolute scene stealer! His stories about how he got the jobs was brilliant. I missed the continuity error in the beginning. I suppose it's as good an excuse as any to watch this again. :-P Great review, Dell.

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    1. Rudd was very good, here. And Pena's stories were outstanding. As for that continuity error, keep your eyes on the bloody nose.

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  8. I have modest expectations for this one, but I will almost undoubtedly see it at some point. I'm glad to see what it was, overall, a solid movie in your estimation. I'll probably enjoy it too.

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    1. It's not a game-changer, but it is a very fun movie that I enjoyed more than Age of Ultron, if that helps you any.

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  9. Nice review Wendell. I liked Ant-Man but didn't love it the way many people did. I didn't go for some of the humor and while I thought Corey Stoll was good I thought his character was one of the most uninteresting villains the MCU has given us to date. That really deflated the movie some. But still liked it for what it was.

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    1. Thanks. Glad you at least enjoyed it. As for Corey Stoll's Darren Cross...meh. I think he's pretty much par for the course of MCU villains. Not many of them are all that interesting. It's Loki and a bunch of other dudes.

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