Marvel welcomes a new hero into their Cinematic Universe this weekend with the opening of Ant-Man.
Ant-Man is an origin story about the titular tiny hero starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, and Michael Douglas. Hank Pam (Douglas) tasks Scott Lang (Rudd) with becoming the Ant-Man after the new boss at Hank’s company, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), manages to create technology to turn anyone into a tiny hero… or villain. The new tech is similar to what Hank created himself much earlier in his career. The difference between Hank and Darren? The former knows it’s not good technology for the world.
Andrew’s thoughts: I enjoyed Ant-Man because the film feels like the underdog of the MCU — it’s grounded in reality and feels smaller in scale. It’s fun, light, and has a surprising amount of heart. It’s refreshingly different! Kevin Feig and the team at Marvel know that we don’t need the same huge stories over and over again.
My one main gripe with the film is its basic premise: It’s a movie about ants. I’m grossed out by ants and the film didn’t do anything to make me feel better about them. I like going to the movies to run away from my fears, which include being attacked by ants.
Verdict: See it, even if you’re not a fan of bugs. It’s fun and will make you smile! And if you fall in love with Evangeline Lilly’s character (Hint: You will), there’s a great surprise waiting for you at the end.
Marama’s thoughts: Given my general apathy towards the character in the comics, I was pleasantly surprised to discover how entertaining Ant-Man was. It was refreshing to see a film centered around a character who shares our sense of excitement and awe at the weird world he has found himself in. It’s also definitely the funniest Marvel film to date (or a close second, depending how you felt about Guardians of the Galaxy).
Some fans will understandably take issue with the treatment of the female characters, but if you can go into the film knowing that it really is a movie about the two Ant-Men (no matter what the promotional material indicates), I think you’ll find that aspect easier to accept.
Verdict: It’s a funny and fresh comedy about a tiny man and his army of ants conducting a heist, and it has a killer supporting cast. So yeah, go and see it.
Ant-Man is now in theaters.
What’d you think of ‘Ant-Man’?
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