The Good, The Bad and The Critic

Established on March 19th, 2012 and pioneered by film fanatic Michael J. Carlisle. The Good, The Bad and The Critic will analyze classic and contemporary films from all corners of the globe. This title references Sergei Leone's influential spaghetti western The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

Sunday, July 8, 2018

Ant-Man (2015) Review

Title: Ant-Man
Year: 2015
Director: Peyton Reed
Country: US
Language: English

The character Ant-Man could have only been inspired by the Atomic Age of horror movies when nuclear explosions changed size perspective in films like Godzilla (1954), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) and most notable Them! (1954). First appearing in Marvel Comics’ Tales to Astonish in 1962, Ant-Man has fallen into relative obscurity over the years, but thanks to the recent MCU craze has become incredibly popular again. 

Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, cat burglar Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

Originally developed into a screenplay by beloved comedy director Edgar Wright (Baby Driver), he eventually managed to convince Marvel execs that Ant-Man would be a worthwhile cinematic endeavor. Unfortunately Wright would leave the picture citing creative differences; they would replace him with Peyton Reed (Bring it On) and re-write the script with Will Farrell collaborator Adam McKay. 

Many fans were worried Marvel exec's creative decisions would harm the picture, but thankfully it's a pretty decent affair that proved more entertaining than most of Marvel's pre-2015 pictures. The screenplay is funny, imaginative, witty and has drama in all the right places. Ant-Man's shrinking & enlarging gimmick translates well to the big screen; Marvel's CGI wizards create inspired scenes which involve a giant toy train and a near zero gravity slow-motion action scene. 

Ant-Man is a fun little picture that, while not greatly important to the overall MCU story arc, is a nice side venture. While it has some romance, the main selling point revolves around the irony of the hero’s size in relation to his large environment. Paul Rudd was a good choice for the title character; his charisma makes it fairly easy to identify with the superhero.


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