Movie Talk: Ant-Man

JBird · 07-17-2015

Haven't done one of these in a while. I'll keep it spoiler-free, though I'm sure most of you can deduce how the movie plays out from the trailers. I liked the movie, which is serviceable while having odd issues here and there.

Pros:
+ Paul Rudd is very likeable and doofy as Scott Lang. I very much like how smart they made his character out to be. And his willingness to do whatever it took to support his daughter, Cassie. Speaking of, she was downright adorable, and not too terrible for a child actor.
+ Michael Douglas played a really good and guilt-ridden Hank Pym. From the very beginning of the movie, it is established that Pym worked for SHIELD as one of their spies as Ant-Man. It was only until he discovered that someone within the organization was attempting to steal his formula that he left to start his company, and lock away his suit and formulas.
+ Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne is very much her mother's daughter to the point where she could have easily been a youthened Janet van Dyne.
+ Corey Stoll as Darren Cross was almost likeable for a villain. Not quite on the same level as Loki or even Killian, but a step above Malekith, in my opinion. Think more along the lines of an evil Steve Jobs.
+ The ants. Seriously, the ants were some of the best parts in this movie. Last time I cared for a fictional ant was from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. And I'm normally squeamish when it comes to macro photos of insects, but because it was all CGI, I was fine with the ants.
+ The special effects and creativity that went into ants, the powers and the fight scenes are a treat to watch. And watching someone having close-quarters-combat with a guy who can literally pop between sizes is entertaining.

Cons:
- The plot is more or less that of an Iron Man movie with elements of a heist sprinkled in.
- Three comic relief characters who serve the purpose of being Scott's crew who thankfully are not there throughout the whole movie. That being said, Michael Peña plays a Hispanic stereotype whose only shtick is to awkwardly tell Scott how he received tips for their heists. The other two are stereotypes, as well, but not as obnoxious as Peña's.
- The painfully unfunny Baskin-Robbins scene that is more unbelievable in its setup than the fictional science throughout the whole movie.
- There are moments where the movie is not sure what audience it's trying to appeal to. Some scenes border on awkward humor, while others are grim out of nowhere.

Overall, I would recommend this as a matinee viewing. It starts off slow but ramps up to an even pace until it goes crazy fun near the end. And honestly, of the Phase Two movies, I would put this above Age of Ultron, which I found to be a little disappointing.

07-17-2015	#1
JBird Casual Artist Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Louisiana, USA Posts: 2,268	Movie Talk: Ant-Man Haven't done one of these in a while. I'll keep it spoiler-free, though I'm sure most of you can deduce how the movie plays out from the trailers. I liked the movie, which is serviceable while having odd issues here and there. Pros: + Paul Rudd is very likeable and doofy as Scott Lang. I very much like how smart they made his character out to be. And his willingness to do whatever it took to support his daughter, Cassie. Speaking of, she was downright adorable, and not too terrible for a child actor. + Michael Douglas played a really good and guilt-ridden Hank Pym. From the very beginning of the movie, it is established that Pym worked for SHIELD as one of their spies as Ant-Man. It was only until he discovered that someone within the organization was attempting to steal his formula that he left to start his company, and lock away his suit and formulas. + Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne is very much her mother's daughter to the point where she could have easily been a youthened Janet van Dyne. + Corey Stoll as Darren Cross was almost likeable for a villain. Not quite on the same level as Loki or even Killian, but a step above Malekith, in my opinion. Think more along the lines of an evil Steve Jobs. + The ants. Seriously, the ants were some of the best parts in this movie. Last time I cared for a fictional ant was from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. And I'm normally squeamish when it comes to macro photos of insects, but because it was all CGI, I was fine with the ants. + The special effects and creativity that went into ants, the powers and the fight scenes are a treat to watch. And watching someone having close-quarters-combat with a guy who can literally pop between sizes is entertaining. Cons: - The plot is more or less that of an Iron Man movie with elements of a heist sprinkled in. - Three comic relief characters who serve the purpose of being Scott's crew who thankfully are not there throughout the whole movie. That being said, Michael Peña plays a Hispanic stereotype whose only shtick is to awkwardly tell Scott how he received tips for their heists. The other two are stereotypes, as well, but not as obnoxious as Peña's. - The painfully unfunny Baskin-Robbins scene that is more unbelievable in its setup than the fictional science throughout the whole movie. - There are moments where the movie is not sure what audience it's trying to appeal to. Some scenes border on awkward humor, while others are grim out of nowhere. Overall, I would recommend this as a matinee viewing. It starts off slow but ramps up to an even pace until it goes crazy fun near the end. And honestly, of the Phase Two movies, I would put this above Age of Ultron, which I found to be a little disappointing.