No Ant-Man thread yet? Let's fix that!
The Vixen and I enjoyed it. As she said, "I didn't expect it to be a comedy. That was fun!"
I'm not sure I'd call it a comedy, but it was certainly more light-hearted and less bombastic than other Marvel productions. That stands to reason, as it's -- ahem -- a smaller film than, say, Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Paul Rudd is known as a comedic actor, so he certainly had the humor chops. In many ways, he reminded me of the guy who played Star-Lord, another comedy actor in a heroic role. And, of course, that's a good thing.
Evangeline Lilly was very good as Hope van Dyne, called upon to be both loyal to and resentful of her emotionally stunted father. I was surprised that she was an "older" actress by Hollywood standards, somewhere in the 35 to 40 range. I'm glad of that; not only is it more plausible that her character is as accomplished as she is, but a 21-year-old ingenue might not have had the acting skill. Plus, you know, I'm no youngster myself so I find older women more interesting than children (which, to me, is anyone under 30). Further, she's a plausibly age to be Michael Douglas' daughter.
Speaking of which, as you'd expect, Douglas hit all his marks. It was a pleasure to see the old lion roar, emotions crossing his face in rapid succession when called upon. You can believe that he's both a good guy and a lousy father, and that maybe some of the craziness that's happened to his comic book counterpart might have played a role here. (There is mention that Pym particles have an effect on the mind.) And he doesn't care for the Avengers, for undisclosed reasons, but I bet they're very, very interesting.
Corey Stoll was a delicious villain. Every once in a while, he'd exhibit sheer homicidal insanity on his face, and then quickly cover it with bland cheerfulness. Scary. On the The Strain thread I mentioned that I didn't like his Dr. Goodweather, until I figured out that I wasn't supposed to! As my wife says, Stoll plays unlikeable and smarmy really well, and I'm sure that's why he was picked to play Goodweather, who's an arrogant jerk heading for a comeuppance. Incidentally, Scott's character is named Darren Cross in the movie, who I think is just about the only member of Scott Lang's rogues gallery!
The ants and other special F/X were very good. We didn't meet Crosby, Stills and Nash, but Lang did name one of them. And you learn quite a bit about them. Yes, it's educational, too!
The plot was pretty straightforward, not convoluted like some action movies tend to be.
We do, in fact, find out what happened to Janet van Dyne. There's more to come on that front, I believe. In the meantime, the first credits scene offers some immediate good news.
A couple of Avengers cameo in the second credits scene, one of them Falcon, who'd already had a brief action scene. They have a problem, and Tony Stark is unavailable due to "protocols." Evidently the Ultron mess had some repercussions. My guess, for what it's worth. At any rate, the scene promises we'll see Ant-Man in some other movies without his name in the title.
In general, it was just a really good popcorn movie. Good guys to root for, bad guys to hiss, a hero who's not a world-beater trying to make his corner of the world better. Oh, and two father-daughter relationships as the emotional heart, working in counterpoint to each other. Well done.
And maybe it is a comedy. There are a couple of laugh-out-loud lines. ("That's one messed-up dog" nearly put me on the floor.) A character named Luis steals every scene he's in (the actor is Michael Pena, and you might know him from Fury.)
If you see Ant-Man, you'll have some laughs and enjoy a well-made movie with a heart. What's not to love?
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Also, Cap it's Corey Stoll. Corey Scott.
Fixed. Thanks!
It still blows my mind that there's an "Ant-Man" movie. Can you imagine someone telling you forty years that in 2015 there'd be a picture about him?
After Guardians of the Galaxy, nothing will surprise me.
At least they didn't have Hank do something to Jan. There's a chance she could still turn up some day, especially when they're meddling with the universe with the Infinity Gauntlet.
Especially since the Guardians of the Galaxy isn't the Guardians of the Galaxy the name suggests. Now that Groot has made a movie, might Fin Fang Foom or Tim Boo Ba be next?
I saw this movie today and I loved it. I like how they enriched the historical side of the Marvel U, set up the possible/probable return of Janet, and in the meantime they will have an Ant-Man and a Wasp ready for the next adventure. I also like the idea of legacy that is created in this movie.
I must admit that I was a little bit confused by the last scene of the movie, where Scott's buddies were talking over their newest heist job, but then it was all wrapped up with the final-final scene at the end of the credits. I thought that was a nice touch that bridged the levity of Ant-Man with the gravity of the story of the Winter Soldier.
I saw Ant-Man last night. It was a tossup between that and Inside Out, and Ant-Man won because my wife figured I'd enjoy it better because its a comic book movie. Her incentive? Marvel's comic book movies are more lighthearted and comical than DC's comic book movies.
Ant-Man delivered. I still can't wrap my mind around the notion that such a minor character is the lead in a big-budget movie, but here we are!
Some thoughts:
George R. R. Martin has complained too many Marvel movies had villains with the same power as the heroes (Ant-Man/Yellowjacket, Hulk/Abomination, Spider-Man/Venom).
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/george-rr-martins-marvel-complaint-124...
Interesting the writer seems unaware of Wildcards.
Finally saw this tonight. It was a blast.
- I really enjoyed the last scene of the movie where Scott is breaking bread with Cassie, his ex and her new fiance. I enjoyed all of the leads, although Stoll was a bit too over the top for me, but that was probably the point, right?
- It's nice to see Hank Pym get a star turn in the movie, as the character has been abused for so long in the comics.
- I was rooting for Hope to become the Wasp from the first scene, and it was telegraphed when she taught Scott how to fight and to train the ants. I smiled at the first post credits scene, but the three young girls sitting behind me, all around 10 or so, were positively giddy.
- I wonder if the sequel - there's gotta be a sequel coming - will be about the rescue of Janet Van Dyne.
As usual, I'm late to the party and so have little (actaully, nothing) new to add. Action Lad and I saw this this morning and loved it. It was, as has been said repeatedly above, just plain fun. It please me no end that Marvel Studios is able to cover a range of tones, including light-hearted.
This is, frankly, a better use of the character than I imagined they'd be able to pull off. The fight scenes -- especially the rapid shrink-grow-shrink fisticuffs -- were great. And Scott's use of the ant armies was better than I can remember ever seeing in the comics.
Good stuff.
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