After (finally!) seeing Ant-Man over the weekend, I wanted to share some of my spoiler-filled thoughts about Marvel’s Biggest Little film to-date in my official Ant-Man review.
Going in, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Not because I wasn’t familiar with the character, the reviews or the film’s long pre-production history (more on that in a bit), but because there were so many different ways to go with Ant-Man. For starters, Hank Pym is a weird, unlikable guy. This is a hero who at various points in the comics has beaten his wife, had complete personality splits, and has been prone to wild mental instability and episodes of depression. So…if I were going to pick a superhero to win over an ignorant public, he’d be pretty low on my list.
Given the character’s past, it’s no wonder they opted to build the film around the infinitely more likable Scott Lang. Understandable decision, but unfortunate since it becomes apparent very early on that Pym is way, way more interesting. Part of this, no doubt, is because Michael Douglas is an absolute powerhouse. I really like Paul Rudd, but he—along with the rest of the cast—are completely outclassed by Douglas. Basically, when Hank Pam is on-screen, the rest of the actors might as well be set pieces.
The other reason this happened was that Scott Lang is pretty boring. I was really excited when Paul Rudd was cast in Ant-Man. He’s got killer comedic timing and presence. He reminds me a bit of Will Ferrell or Tracy Morgan in that respect—it almost doesn’t matter what he says, his delivery is so damn funny that you just crack up anyway. Unfortunately, it seemed like Rudd was working with a much tighter leash this time around. He never really got a chance to fill the role and turn in a trademark performance. A film like this doesn’t have much leeway for improvisation, which would have allowed for a more “Rudd-esque” performance. That didn’t happen, and we got a very-by-the-book lead. Basically, the film would have basically been the same had Nicolas Cage played Ant-Man.
I thought the story moved along well, but there were many places where things were rushed or incomplete. Often, it felt like the film was trying to do too many things: tell the story of the original Ant-Man, show Marvel Universe-related things, depict a heist, be an action movie, show Scott learning his powers, explain the science of the Pym particles, show why the bad guy was actually a bad guy, and reunite fathers and their daughters. There was just too much going on to do everything justice, so rather than do a few things well, they sort half-assed 10-12 themes.
The Sting and Ocean’s 11 are two of the best heist movies ever. They rely on a mixture of memorable characters, tension-building, cleverness and keeping the audience in the dark until the very end. Ant-Man, however, doesn’t have time to do any of these things particularly well. It’s too busy spending time off at the Avenger’s new base, running extensive training montages and establishing that Scott Lang really loves his daughter. Don’t get me wrong—those are all things that I liked seeing. The film is fun and never gives you a chance to get bored. Still…I really wished that they’d cut some of the diversions and focused on doing a really good heist/adventure.
Reading between the lines, it’s easy to see why Edgar Wright, the project’s creator and initial director, split. His movies (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) are frenetically paced, but above all, purpose-driven. Everything supports the next big payoff. Marvel’s insistence on world-building never felt more out-of-place than in Ant-Man, and if I had to guess, these differences led to Wright’s departure.
It later occurred to me how heavy-handed the studio’s involvement with the film felt, and how surprising that was, given the success of last year’s out-of-nowhere Guardians of the Galaxy. Part of what made Guardians work was its commitment to playing in its own sandbox. We didn’t need 20 minutes of Rocket fighting Thor to make it a Marvel movie—it just tells its own story and any overlap with the MCU at large happens out of plot necessity. Ant-Man would have been stronger and more coherent had it given the finger to the Universe at large and just done its own thing. Let Paul Rudd be Paul Rudd. Don’t bother with Pym’s history in the MCU or waste time with an unnecessary fight scene with the Falcon—build your characters, build your heist and show us an honest-to-goodness caper film. You wouldn’t even need a villain with superpowers. Ocean’s 11 in the MCU, staring Paul Rudd, is a movie I’d kill to see.
This film is probably destined to be a forgettable entry in Marvel’s movie history (kind of like Thor 2). That’s a shame because it has glimmers of being so much more. But for all its flaws, Ant-Man is still extremely watchable. It’s fast, funny and exciting. The action sequences are like nothing you’ve ever seen before, while Michael Douglas’ and Michael Peña’s performances are worth the price of admission by themselves. You should go see it…but you probably don’t need to buy it.