Movie Review: Ant-Man

Ant-Man
Directed by Peyton Reed
In Theatres

Gather around, we’re going to talk a bit about the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

It all starts in May of 2008 with the release of Iron Man, a film about a comic book superhero most people were not familiar with and created by and starring a group of people who had very little in their resumes that screamed out they were the folks that could give birth to the most profitable film franchise ever. Directed by Jon Favreau, a guy whose primary mainstream presence was being the dude that directed Elf. Starring Robert Downey, Jr., a guy whose primary mainstream presence was method actor turned junkie seeking redemption. The supporting cast was made up of stage actors and award winners and Serious Actors. Not a recipe for a giant blockbuster. And nothing would be the same afterwards.

Ant-Man follows that same formula – the unlikely lead, a supporting cast of Serious Actors, a director more familiar to fans of Mr. Show than to fans of action films. Paul Rudd, more familiar to some as Phoebe’s boyfriend on Friends or from comedies like I Love You, Man or 40-Year Old Virgin or Wanderlust or the Anchorman films or This Is 40, puts on the incredible shrinking suit and joins the ever evolving Marvel superhero carnival of stars. He is joined by Michael Douglas, Michael Pena, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll and other Unlikely Actors To Be Found In A Superhero Movie. Evangeline Lilly is really the only one in this cast that seems to have had previous experience working with extensive CGI, having worked on a couple of The Hobbit movies. Looking at the cast list for Ant-Man is similar to looking at the cast list for most of the MCU films – character actors and Serious Actors, award winners and television actors. Really, the only actor that has been in a blockbuster superhero film that isn’t returning from a previous Marvel property is David Dastmalchian, who was in The Dark Knight as one of the Joker’s goons.

And this is one of the things I really do appreciate about this cinematic universe - letting actors unfamiliar to action films stretch and have some fun and bring some different gravitas to the genre.

Now we must pause for a personal story.

When I was a kid I read some comic books. I was a big fan of the usual suspects - the Hulk, Spiderman, Fantastic Four, Batman, Superman, Daredevil. I wasn’t one of those DC vs Marvel guys. I liked what I liked. I never got into any of the team stuff, like The Avengers or The Justice League. I was barely aware of things like the Guardians of the Galaxy. I was aware of Iron Man and the rest of the second tier superheroes, but I wasn’t invested.

But the one thing I couldn’t stand was the friggin Ant-Man. I didn’t understand the appeal of a guy who shrinks and controls bugs. “So, he shrinks and… Oh, that’s it?” is how most conversations with my friends went.

I loved, loved, loved the movie The Incredible Shrinking Man. Loved it, especially the fight with the spider. And that ending, whoa. Anyway. With WKBD from Detroit showing The Incredible Shrinking Man once a month or so, I had my fill of shrinking men running from insects.

So, yeah, when I heard that Ant-Man was being made into a film I nearly went blind from over-dramatic eye-rolling. I mean, come on, it’s Ant-Man. And then I heard that Edgar Wright was working on it and the eye-rolling became a little less over-dramatic. And then Paul Rudd was cast and I became sad that one of my favourite comedic actors was going to be forever known as the guy who wore a suit that shrank. I felt very conflicted going into this film. The actors are all great, the director worked on a lot Mr. Show. But, it’s a movie about Ant-Man.

There was a Saturday Night Live sketch from about a million years ago. The set-up was a superhero cocktail party. And then Ant-Man shows up and everyone makes fun of him. This is how people of a certain age feel about Ant-Man.

So, yeah, I was a little hesitant sitting in the theatre waiting for Ant-Man to begin.

Also, since The Avengers, with the exception of Iron Man 3, all of the Marvel movies devolved into city destroying set-pieces, which can be fun the first time but becomes a little tiresome the fifth time.

So, yeah, I was a little hesitant sitting in the theatre waiting for Ant-Man to begin. I am not the target audience for this thing, how bored am I going to be? Will I finally go blind from over-dramatic eye-rolling?

My point here, if I can find one underneath the debris from my childhood, is I was walking into this film with the worst expectations. I’ve never done that since I started writing these things. Even Fifty Shades of Can I Have Those Two Hours Back, I went in a blank slate expecting at the very least to be entertained, but with zero negativity.

And I think what I’m trying to stress here is that if I say I loved this movie, you might understand what a big deal that would be. If I was instead to say I hated this movie that would be expected, right?

Well, I like Ant-Man. I really honestly and truly and verily like Ant-Man a lot. When Mad Max: Fury Road is done with the mixed tape I made it, I’d like to pass it onto Ant-Man.

Ant-Man is very entertaining, very funny. The stakes, instead of being world threatening, are more personal. Cities aren’t destroyed, though a building does get vaporized and a house suffers some serious damage. There are no infinity stones, thank Jebus. Paul Rudd is a revelation, selling a character that should be, really should be nothing but a footnote in a chapter on incredibly weird superheroes created by Marvel when the history of Marvel is written. Michael Pena nearly steals the movie, smiling and telling long convoluted stories and making waffles. Evangeline Lilly’s Hope van Dyne is strong and smart and sexy and the rationale for her not being the one in the incredibly shrinking suit is thought out and sad and kinda heartbreaking. All the supporting actors are at the top of their game, the effects are mind-blowing, even the bugs are fleshed out characters.

Remember that SNL skit I referenced up above? Garret Morris played Ant-Man in that skit. This is the type of movie that gives Garret Morris a cameo. This is movie with a dump truck load of charm.

My only issue is what I am going to call The Judy Greer Problem. This is the second blockbuster this summer that casts Judy Greer as The Mom. How the powers that be in Hollywood only see Judy Greer as a mom, how one of the funniest and smartest and sexiest women working in film is being typecast as a mom is one of the great mysteries of our time. I don’t get it.

Ant-Man isn’t perfect, it isn’t Mad Max: Fury Road. But, for Marvel, it is a step in the right direction, to remembering what made Iron Man and Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor so special. The smaller stakes, the humour, the hero’s journey, not the city destroying set-pieces.

Kellie, I’m telling you, grab your sister and go see this film on a big screen, it is worth your time, your money, and your energy. It is so much more fun than it has a right to be.

And Sault Ste. Marie, we are now one step removed from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Martin Donovan, who directed Collaborator here in the Soo a few years ago, is in Ant-Man. I visited the set of Collaborator when he was filming in the east end and met Mr. Donovan briefly. I am now just a couple of steps removed from Robert Downey, Jr. and the rest of the Avengers.

Whoa.