The least godly of all the Marvel heroes, Ant-Man is just a mildly intelligent, crafty guy, down on his luck but pure of heart, who catches the eye of a reclusive genius and becomes heir to his technological throne. It's not intergalactic like Guardians, it boasts no billionaire playboys like Iron Man, no political intrigue or mythological hijinx like Cap or Thor, and while all of those absences do make it feel like less of a heavyweight, they also give it a unique sense of relatable identity. This is the little guy (womp womp), one of the unwashed throngs, who dares to climb Olympus and greet the immortals. I can get behind that.
It's also a great showcase of the merry Marvel mojo, casually blending well-timed wisecracks with steep ideas, loud action sets and a heavy dose of world-building. That constant sense of a shared landscape, long a cornerstone of the comic book's universe, has begun to bear ripened fruit recently, and Ant-Man profits from the mere association. Truly, it's his interactions with the characters we already know, no matter how secondary they may be, that makes this seem like more than just another origin story.
Paul Rudd does a nice job of pulling off the leading role, not too wacky nor too straight-laced, and his essential chemistry with Michael Douglas (the aforementioned genius) carries the picture a nice, long distance. Great effects work gets us the rest of the way, with a whole armload of inventive, fascinating, smirk-inducingly cool expositionary scenes leading the charge. Think Honey, I Shrunk the Kids with more balls and a much bigger budget. It's not the best of the Marvel lot, but it's among them, and I can't wait to see where the character goes from here.
Review by drqshadowBlockedParent2020-01-29T20:39:13Z— updated 2021-02-17T16:42:31Z
The least godly of all the Marvel heroes, Ant-Man is just a mildly intelligent, crafty guy, down on his luck but pure of heart, who catches the eye of a reclusive genius and becomes heir to his technological throne. It's not intergalactic like Guardians, it boasts no billionaire playboys like Iron Man, no political intrigue or mythological hijinx like Cap or Thor, and while all of those absences do make it feel like less of a heavyweight, they also give it a unique sense of relatable identity. This is the little guy (womp womp), one of the unwashed throngs, who dares to climb Olympus and greet the immortals. I can get behind that.
It's also a great showcase of the merry Marvel mojo, casually blending well-timed wisecracks with steep ideas, loud action sets and a heavy dose of world-building. That constant sense of a shared landscape, long a cornerstone of the comic book's universe, has begun to bear ripened fruit recently, and Ant-Man profits from the mere association. Truly, it's his interactions with the characters we already know, no matter how secondary they may be, that makes this seem like more than just another origin story.
Paul Rudd does a nice job of pulling off the leading role, not too wacky nor too straight-laced, and his essential chemistry with Michael Douglas (the aforementioned genius) carries the picture a nice, long distance. Great effects work gets us the rest of the way, with a whole armload of inventive, fascinating, smirk-inducingly cool expositionary scenes leading the charge. Think Honey, I Shrunk the Kids with more balls and a much bigger budget. It's not the best of the Marvel lot, but it's among them, and I can't wait to see where the character goes from here.