The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic:
on ANT-MAN (2015, 117 minutes, PG-13)
Superheroes come in many shapes and sizes. This one is a bit
small...
Some critics found ANT-MAN entertaining and light-hearted.
Others found it lacking, using cliché story points and seemed quickly pasted
together. I found both to be true.
The jokes were plenty and kept with the Marvel formula. The
film is good for a filler in the MCU and a fun-flick. But I found it to be an
average addition to the collection. The simplistic approach to Ant-Man plays
out well enough but I believe the director switch-a-roo may have been too much.
Edgar Wright (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, THE WORLD'S END, SCOTT PILGRIM VS.
THE WORLD) was to direct and was the major contributor to the screenplay. When
Wright left, Peyton Reed (YES MAN, THE BREAK-UP, BRING IT ON) took over the
project in mid-stream and did not fallback to regroup. We will never know if
this was a good or a bad move on Marvel's part.
.... don't read further if you want to like the film and not
be swayed by an over-thinking critic ...
Truth is, I enjoyed it without putting too much thought on
the subject. The effects were great and were the strongest part of the film.
Paul Rudd, disliked by many, was not as bad as people feared. This role fit his
personality and he pulled it off, so suck on that haters. The bad guy, Darren
Cross / Yellowjacket, played by Corey Stoll, was plain horrible, and I don't
mean in the nice way. They made him out to be a particle-twisted, mad
scientist. It felt like the typical approach from Marvel, to not have
morally-ambiguous antagonists, keeping with a clear excuse to not have
'naughty' humans responsible for atrocious acts. Think about it; if you're not
a deranged alien, you are either insane, mind-altered, or overly power hungry.
They should have taken a page from 'Daredevil'! Marvel missed their chance to
have an interesting villain, and will never catch up to DCU with this continued
softballing.
The proof of rushing the production is with Michael Douglas
and Evangeline Lilly's roles and how they were portrayed as both their father-daughter
relationship and contributors to the overall story. Knowing that these two fine
actors can perform, I felt they were disconnected from their parts. I was not
convinced, like I was watching clips from practice shots and the actors not
fully vested in the roles. The transfer to screen made it more a collage of
emotions with abrupt changes than a seamless development in their characters.
Like I said, it is worth a watch and better than some of the
MCU films, but you will not find the strong writing you get from the CAPTAIN
movies or the humor from GUARDIANS, and definitely not as octane-paced as an
AVENGER movie. ANT-MAN will always be trapped in the second-rate category
thanks to the need to compare it with the other MCU films, and the possible flubbage
in not regrouping after a change in director.
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