Promotional art for Ant-Man. Photo/Entertainment Weekly
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]fter some rewrites, a change of director and a little handwringing, Marvel’s hotly anticipated second-string hero Ant-Man finally hits theaters. The results are impressive and certainly Marvel caliber, but it’s not quite the surprise kick Guardians of the Galaxy turned out to be.
Ant-Man centers around Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) who gets out of prison and is conscripted into taking up the mantle of the buggy hero by ex-Ant-Man Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) whose technology and company are misappropriated by evil protege Darren Cross (Corey Stoll).
Aiding Lang on his mission of redemption are Pym, Pym’s daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly), a motley crew of thieves he crashes with led by good buddy Luis (Michael Pena), and a swarm of insect helpers.
The film’s setup is rather standard and feels a bit rushed. It follows a formula similar to Iron Man — wealthy industrialist fights the injustice his life’s work is being used for.
The big difference: family dynamics. There is a lot of that to be had here. Pym has a strained relationship with his daughter (who wants so badly to go on the mission and wear the suit, and Hank hasn’t been honest about how her mother died), and with his villainous heir Cross — pretty standard stuff.
Scott is estranged from his young daughter, his biggest motivation to be a hero and turn his life around. This is the most poignant hook of the story, and comes straight from the comics.
But still, by the time they reach the action and the training montage, a lack in emotional investment in the characters lingers. The ants garner more sympathy, and have more personality at times.
Ant-Man is distinguished by the father-daughter relationships at its heart. All Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) wants is to be a hero to his little girl. Photo/Fandango
Ant-Man has its Kodak moments, but its tone is more reminiscent of Green Hornet than a Marvel film — everything seems built around the antics. While Marvel is known for slapstick and light comedy, they normally build the laughs around the drama and action. Guardians of the Galaxy was full of gags, but they served more to ease the tension (like Peter Quill’s big dance number, which occurred during an apocalyptic climax).
Also unlike Guardians and its other brethren, Ant-Man shows us glimpses of a visionary, uncharted interdimensional world, but only sparingly. When it does, things kick into high gear: the best parts involve Scott falling through floors, diving through keyholes, riding ants (all to get the hang of his powers), fighting Cross when he becomes Yellow Jacket, and going “subatomic” (which is risky).
To that end, visual effects are breathtaking and seamless. Could they have put more focus on strengths like this? Of course. However, origin stories are always a bit unwieldy (see X-Men Origins), and difficult to get right the first time.
Ant-Man may not be perfect but that doesn’t make it contrived or ponderous. The wait has been long and hard and fans have a lot to be excited about, especially with Civil War on the way. You can guarantee Scott Lang will be on the frontline.
