The latest Marvel work sounds kind of silly, doesn't it? An ant man? Can he really be a threat? He doesn't sound very threatening. Well guess what? You're right. He really doesn't seem very threatening either. Even when there's potential for great threat, they do their best to still make him seem like a... miniature hero. Assuming super is a size and mini is the antonym. The little, funny guy. The comedic sidekick. Only he's the main character. The antagonist does seem pretty threatening though, despite his limited size! The villainous miniature Darren Cross played by Corey Stoll is as ill a villain as you'll find! Lab mice, goats... what¨'s the difference? (There's actually a pretty interesting dual meaning there! They aren't really that different are they? In the sense that: all living creatures should be treated equally, not that they are all inferior.)

The story lets us follow the journey of cat burglar Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), as he gets out of prison and, for the sake of his daughter attempts to get his life in shape again. It doesn't quite work out at first, yet after a desperate (and failed) score, with the help of Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), he ends up planning and pulling off a heist that will save the world! And more importantly: reunite him with his daughter. And become Ant-Man. And beat up an Avenger. There's also Hope (Evangeline Lilly), the e4xpected romance of the story. Even if Scott isn't all that menacing a character, that's also what makes him a good character. He's normal - anyone can relate to him, and his heart's in the right place.

The miniature scenes are pretty awesome, and I can see a ton of potential for further footage here! Mixing together close-ups of real scenery and fitting in the Ant-Man in it, occasionally with some helpful CGI, just gives birth to... an endless amount of creative locations to explore! They do explore plenty, but I still feel like the bathtub and the railway fight are the only places where this potential is fully used, for some other scenes (like the battle in the briefcase) there is just too much CGI.

All in all it's a fun, charming story featuring an unlikely hero, whose progression we follow and partake in until... finally, he's ready to take on the world! It's like... like he sprouted Antennae? :P

Well, i's great. Also notable are the narrative scenes where characters are all filmed mimicking the narrators voice (the narrator in these cases being Michael Peña). It's a clever and creative tale featuring one of the Marvel Universe's minor heroes; still, one more great superhero movie! I'm curious to see how this particular character will tie in with the rest of the Avengers in time.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle

April, 2022

It's still good! Sill comedy and feelgood gold. Still got that initial introduction scene right back from 1989 too! Whoop whoop.

The miniature fights are a highlight, as are the relations, as are two planning sessions with Hope. And the back it up, back it up, back it up...

They back it up well.

I think I notice more ants this time around too. It's all in the details. Only thing that bugs (pun intended) me a bit are the occasionally exaggerated sci-fi sound effects and fake camera pan/zoom/sway motions with the less authentically filmed scenes.

Like when he's running through the fake miniature city as it incinerates around him. Don't like that. Looks fake.

Overall though: shit's great.

 rated 4.5/5: almost awesome