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ZADE ROSENTHAL/MARVEL STUDIOS
FOR A MOVIE that looked as though it might get squashed before it ever got out of the larvae stage, Ant-Man has turned out to be a quirky and almost brilliant addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Think of it like an invertedGuardians of the Galaxy—all the off-beat humor and unfamiliar characters, just at a millionth of the size.
Granted, Ant-Man, out today, starts out at conventional 1:1 scale. It’s 1989, and scientist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) is working with S.H.I.E.L.D. under Tony Stark’s dad, Howard (John Slattery). Pym, who in the MCU has only been mentioned in passing in Thor, has the formula to make people smaller by shrinking the distance between atoms—but he won’t give it up no matter how much S.H.I.E.L.D.’s head of defense Mitchell Carson (Martin Donovan) wants it. So he walks. Boom. That’s it for scene-setting; now that you know how Pym and his tech fit into Marvel’s world, you’re free to sit back and enjoy the side-quest without worrying about Infinity Gems.
It’s that very tangential nature that gives director Peyton Reed’s film an air of lightness in the beefcake-weighted world of Marvel—and probably what gives it permission to get away with things like Thomas the Tank Engine sight-gags and jokes about The Cure. But just because Ant-Man is about a lesser-known superhero doesn’t mean it strays far from the Marvel formula. In other words, it’s a satisfying popcorn movie, even if the idea of a likable and superpowered white guy feels a little rote by this point.
Of course, this one happened to fall into heroism ass-over-teakettle. Scott Lang (Paul Rudd, as charming today as he was when he fell for his stepsister in Clueless) is fresh out of prison for hacking and living in San Francisco with his former cellmate Luis (Michael Peña, scene-stealing as always). Lang wants to get his life back on track and reconnect with his daughter, but after getting fired from Baskin Robbins he decides to join Luis and his friends in one more heist. Naturally, what he ends up stealing is Pym’s secret Ant-Man suit
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Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne in Ant-Man. ZADE ROSENTHAL/MARVEL STUDIOS
Fortunately, Pym has been looking for someone to thwart his former apprentice Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) from developing his own tiny-human suit for nefarious (*cough*Hydra*cough*) purposes—so he asks Scott to be the Ant-Man and stop Cross. This seems like a good idea to everyone except Hank’s daughter, Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), who would be happy to take up an Ant-Woman mantle if her dad would just let her. She might not get her wish, but she does get to take out her frustrations on Scott via old-school training montage. (Dear Marvel: More Lilly ass-kicking in future films, plz.)
Plot-wise, that’s all you really need to know. Ant-Man is a by-the-books redemption story wrapped in a Good Guys vs. Bad Guys tale. Like most comic-book adaptations, its Evil Mastermind’s motivations aren’t entirely clear. And it takes a while to get going, but once it does it’s a fast, fun ride with some brilliant micro-worldbuilding special effects that comes in under two hours, which feels positively brisk considering the, um, fuller comic-book movies we’re used to. It’s fast and loose, and aims only to entertain.
The fact that Ant-Man actually pulls that off is a feat in itself. The movie’s been in the works for nearly a decade, way back when Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wrightwas attached to make it. Wright exited the movie last May over “differences” with Marvel, and the studio finally tapped Reed as an eleventh-hour replacement; meanwhile, Rudd and his writing partner Adam McKay (Anchorman) reworked the script. If you were following the situation,Ant-Man seemed like a good bet to break Marvel’s streak; it was hard to imagine that a movie suffering from this many setbacks would even hit its release date, let alone be any good. Against all odds, it did both.
We’ll never know what Wright’s version would’ve looked like (probably awesome), but the story as it is plays perfectly to Rudd’s strenghts; he may not come off as a superhero type, despite the new contractually obligated six-pack, but his sardonic humor is so unique it could be trademarked. When he comes in with lines like “I think our first move would be calling the Avengers,” it feels as natural as Robert Downey Jr. delivering a Tony Stark zinger. Ant-Man doesn’t get everything right, but what it nails is creating a Scott Lang that feels like an everyman—and also very much like Rudd.
For those who like to keep track of these kinds of things,Ant-Man marks the end of Marvel Studios’ second phase. (Phase 3 begins next spring with Captain America: Civil War.) It might be the weirdest—and it’s definitely the least splashy—note to go out on. But if it signals a willingness from Marvel to embrace more less-squeaky-clean superhero movies, then that’s no small feat at all.
