Released: July 17th,
2015
Rated: PG-13
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll,
Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Michael Douglas, Judy Greer
Directed by: Peyton Reed
Written by: Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, Paul Rudd
Personal Bias Alert: never heard of Ant-Man, likes the cast
6 of 10
Remember
when Guardians of the Galaxy was
considered a risk? It was an expansion
of the MCU with little-known characters and a hint of nostalgia, all wrapped up
in a space-western bow? Then the film
and its star, Chris Pratt, became the beloved breakouts of 2014, leaving the
troubled Ant-Man as the last “risk”
of MCU’s phase 2. Let’s face it, anything
with that Marvel label isn’t an actual risk, financially or creatively, as they
are controlled and marketed by the most commercially influential studio of our
time. But with development and
production spanning nearly ten years and a director switch mere months before
shooting, the footing seemed especially shaky for the little hero that
could. As if on cue, Ant-Man rolled out to a resounding and
deserved ‘meh’.
If
you haven’t heard of Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), rest assured that his powers are
exactly what they sound like: he shrinks
to ant size, acquires the super-strength of an ant, and controls his ant
comrades. I guess this is a slight step
up from Aquaman, but really, I’m surprised that I’ve never heard this guy come
up in any ‘worst superpower ever’ debates.
Anyway, his MCU debut follows the tired and true origin story plot to a
fault, complete with an older mentor played by a famous actor (Michael
Douglas), a drawn-out training montage that acclimatizes the character and the
audience to his powers, and a cackling bad guy that is personally entwined with
our heroes. In fact, the setup and
training period is so yawn-inducing that I was surprised when no further
wrinkle to the plot was ever revealed.
As the film buzzed into its finale, I had the shocking revelation that
this was really all it was going to be, and that wasn’t quite enough for a
satisfying film.
Now,
small plots aren’t necessarily a bad thing, but they’re just plain boring when
the tone of the film is so lifeless.
Rudd, who has a wonderfully disreputable charm, is the perfect casting
choice for the burglar-turned-hero, but his hands are tied behind his back by the
utter blandness of his character. Like
so many heroes in the MCU, he gets a short background that relates directly to
his becoming a superhero, while the rest of him is left blank. Any emotional traits these characters have
lack nuance and are so simplistic that they can be described using caveman
speak. It’s sad to see Rudd so robbed of
personality, and the scattered jokes he does get were surely added by himself
and Adam McKay (who both get screenwriting credits). The rest of the characters don’t fare any
better, with Corey Stoll going way too big as the almost mustache-twisting bad
guy and Evangeline Lily getting hamstrung by a forced romance and
head-scratching motives. Douglas gets the
most fleshed-out character, but daddy figures don’t fare well in this universe,
plus his ‘revelations’ are so obvious that they can only be withheld until
midway through the film.
But
eventually that third act does kick in, and the final battle delivers the cool
but silly fun that should accompany a character called Ant-Man. From a technical standpoint, the way they
capture Ant-Man’s changing size is a nice visual change-up from the usual
punch-and-shoot battles. They vary the
scale that we see the fight in to match whatever size Ant-Man is taking, making
the action sequences a trippy little treat.
Despite its relatively modest budget (it’s the lowest production budget
of any MCU film), the effects are dazzling, providing the only interesting
element that spans the entire film.
The
idea of giving this largely unknown and offbeat hero an introductory movie that
matches his size wasn’t a bad call. It’s
the fumbling that occurred with the script, directing, and editing that makes
this film so lifelessly forgettable.
Perhaps this lack of spark is what caused original director Edgar Wright
to jump ship, leaving his replacement with only one last-minute defense: to lay there like a slug.
Other Notes (Ridiculous Plot Point Version):
Ø At
one point, it’s claimed that Ant-Man’s suit has more potential dangers than
Tony Stark’s, which is complete crap.
Ø Along
the same lines, what’s with the conceit that the suit would give the bad guys
such a grave upper hand if they got ahold of it? All you’d have to do is give the technology
to the good guys, too, and the playing field would be level again.
Ø The
mysterious long-term mental effects of the serum makes no sense in this movie’s
mythology.
Ø So
was Rudd’s character a Robin Hood-esque figure or a common burglar before he
became Ant-Man?
Other
Notes (Normal Version):
Ø I
really like the Ant-Man suit.
Ø Let’s
all take a collection and fund a solo movie for Michael Peña, because it was
painful to see him relegated to this role.
Ø *Credits
Sequence Spoiler*: Yeah, about time we get
a female character that can actually fight with the big boys.
