Following an unfortunate incident in the late 1980s, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) vowed that he'll hide the technology from both his own company and S.H.I.E.L.D that gives people the ability to shrink in size and increase in strength. Fast-forward to now, and his former protégé (Corey Stoll) reveals to Pym, Pym's daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lily) and multiple investors that he's close to perfecting the technology himself and plans to create an army of suits known as Yellowjackets. Horrified by this fact, Hank and his reluctant daughter take it upon themselves to destroy Darren Cross' work and hire an unwilling Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) - a criminal made famous for his Robin Hood act years prior and was recently released from prison, only to have financial difficulties and be unwanted his ex-wife and her cop fiancé (Judy Greer & Bobby Cannavale respectively) despite his devotion to daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder) - and later his select band of fellow criminals, consisting of the excitable Michael Peña, tech guy David Dastmalchian and blank canvas T.I to work with them, with Lang becoming the new Ant-Man - a hero who's interactions with ants and his interchangeable size is taken out of retirement.
As mentioned beforehand, the departure of Edgar Wright and co-writer Joe Cornish just before production was meant to start lead to a number of rewrites from Adam McKay (writer of a number of Will Ferrell films) and actor Paul Rudd, and the somewhat messy screenplay is the result of that. A couple of insights are quickly hinted at and dropped; the psychological effects of Cross' formula gets a single mention despite how it seemingly makes up his antagonistic turn; and some of the character-driven moments such as a heartfelt duologue between Scott and Hope come across less as a moment od development between the two and more of the case of 'obligatory romance' - something which is a practical necessity for superhero films but is rather forced in this case. That being said, it doesn't make the story bad, as following a somewhat slow start comes some fun training sequences and a third act which does make the price of admission worth it. And while its attempts of comedy could be considered the weakest and most prominent of some of the more recent Marvel Studios films, it does certainly have its moments with the biggest laughs usually coming from the charismatic Peña.
Director Peyton Reed is someone you'd least expect to direct an action film, seeing as the biggest films on his resume are Bring it On and Yes Man, but considering how big the blow of Edgar Wright's departure was and how so many of his contemporaries opposed to replacing him out of respect, it is admirable of how well a job he does. Certainly, there are moments such as an expository scene midway through which has some questionable camera operating choices, but each shrinking sequence is marvellous and looks good enough for an IMAX screen (I saw it in 2D so I can't comment there), and the visual effects done for said sequences is stellar enough stuff that it makes up for the occasionally cartoonish ants. But Reed nevertheless does a fine job.
As the titular hero is Paul Rudd in a role which is very outside his comfort zone, and yet is perfectly suited to him. While Rudd is no stranger to some of the more serious films than his typical fare, this blend of the two does lead to some great acting from him. Some of his ADR is a little poor at times - all taking place during scenes in which he's in the full Ant-Man gear - but this straight-faced approach is a surprising success. Mentor Douglas does a fine job too even if his sole purpose is to lead Rudd, while Lily as Hope van Dyne has a bit of a short straw. As the sole major female castmember aside from a barely-present Judy Greer and having an ongoing feud with her father about not being chosen to wear the suit, and done so only to have some form of satire on the lack of female superheroes in the Marvel roster which has been criticised by many, being limited to being a love interest to both Scott Lang and Darren Cross is a bit of a low blow. However, Lily is clearly having fun with the part. As are all three of Lang's lackeys, with a stand-out performance from Michael Peña and two fine roles for the other two who aren’t as memorable. They do have their moments though.
Meanwhile, poor Corey Stoll is certainly lacking in his role. While he does try his hardest, the writing does leave him as nothing more than a paranoid megalomaniac with a confusing reason by his villainous turn outside of a one-off comment about his sanity. He comes across more as a pantomime villain if anything, and could be considered as being similar to Jeff Bridges' Obadiah Stane from the first Iron Man. Another semi-villain is Martin Donovan as someone with a grudge against Hank, and it isn't really explained until a surprise reveal near the end, and even then it's only a presumed reasoning as opposed to a confirmation. There's also a cameo from another Marvel character (who if you managed to not discover at this point via TV spots, than consider yourself lucky) that could be counted as a antagonist to Scott, and he does a great job in a segment which is immense fun. Finally, Scott's family deserves some form of mention, with Ryder being a great child actress with great lines, Greer being as underused here as she was in Jurassic World, and Cannavale being the stereotypical clashing step-father protecting Cassie from Scott. He can be a little aggravating early on, but he does grow on you.
As a film that has struggled through an eight-year production process, Ant-Man is a miracle on its own. As a film part of a larger universe of superhero films and as the closing instalment to a strong run of movies, it's an iffy conclusion. While rarely dull, it doesn't gather speed until the heist preparations come to play, and the choices made in terms of character development are certainly debatable. But with an imaginative boss battle at the end and a surprisingly great leading performance by the usually off-putting Paul Rudd, and you have a film which can be considered some form of success. But instead of a sequel, let's just leave the character to appearances in other films like the upcoming Captain America: Civil War. It'll be better suited to him. 6/10.
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