Film Review: Ant-Man (2015)

Director: Peyton Reed

Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lily, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll

I lost hope for this film after director Edgar Wright was removed from this project, due to creative differences, and I was disappointed because I admire Wright and his wackyness within his previous films, notably Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, because that's what it needs from Marvel Studios. Most of their films were never really truthful to the source material, especially Age of Ultron. So I had extremely low expectations from this film, but after the success of the fresh Guardians of the Galaxy, I tried this ago, and I'm amazed.

What grabbed me the most is that its simplicity and how there's not a lot at stake in the narrative compared to the other Marvel films. It was just a heist that involves stealing a special suit. That was pretty much it. But they embraced the comic craziness within the superhero and still pulled a decent heist film. It was clear within the 70s throwback thriller score, which was a nice little detail. But the backstory within Hank Pym's past really showed the film's emotional core which balances its film's constant action and humour. The pace really did build up to a point that it got more interesting within the last act and it paid off to a cool yet hilarious battle. It started off slow towards the first act, introducing the characters; how the suit works, the main character working in Baskin Robbins just felt unnecessary but funny nonetheless. But the heist planning and training was definitely interesting to watch throughout. The performances were just refreshing to watch. The chemistry between them are flawless. From Michael Peña's awkward interactions to Corey Stoll's eerie and unpredictable evil performance. However, I expected more from Paul Rudd's comedic side, there were a few chuckles every now and then, but just didn't have the hilarious charisma I was expecting.

It was interesting that there were still moments when you know it's injected with Wright's wackyness, and they just used the right kind of humour, taking advantage of its absurd superhero skills. It really felt like director Peyton Reed really controlled the film's pace and stayed true to Wright's weird script but still relevant to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which seemed very hard to do. So kudos on him. The success of this film really proves that Marvel can easily handle new characters in the upcoming films like Doctor Strange, Black Panther, and others, and shows a bright future for them.

Overall: Another fresh entry from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's a simple heist film that works well, with absurd but hilarious moments and sequences. Good things does come in small packages.

8/10

In cinemas now