Ant Man

 

There is so much good here starting with the LEGEND OF THE ANTMAN which inspires Darren Cross (Corey Stoll - The Strain and House of Cards) to create the deadly Yellow Jacket armor. Of course he has a vision for an ARMY of Yellow Jackets ruling the world - something that we know is not a good thing for any of us.

But even though Hank Pym is too old to play hero we learn that he understands the job as he was ANT MAN during the WWII and the Cold War! He was America's secret weapon. All of those 60s comics were the TRUTH! I refuse to believe anything else.

Cross used Pym's research to build his Yellow Jacket but he is crazy and now he must be stopped and Pym is of time. That brings us to Scott Lange (Steve Rudd), a good guy who is a thief but he stole from an evil corporation so he is a good choice to be the hero. Paul Rudd has been around a long time and he is good in everything he does if you like that genre. Here he gets the joke and is in on the fun and heroics. I forgot how refreshing a one hero vs one bad guy movie can be.

When you have a superhero script this good, one that would have been great even on comic book paper, then you are already ahead of the game. Then you add all the special effect bells and whistles and a really messed up bad guy and you get another winner in a great summer of fun movies.

 

The Universe of Ant Man is virtually free of the continuity of the larger Marvel movie world that we know and that is a blessing. The film doesn't need the burden of the other heroes right now. But an Ant Man fits perfectly into any Avengers scenario you want to think up. He's another unique weapon with MAD skills both inside and outside the suit. How he gets into a vault is ingenious as are most of Rudd's solutions to the problems he faces throughout the film.

That makes Ant Man unique and why I have always been a fan of the character. The movie exploits everything that is cool about what a man the size of a ant can do and does it in a thrilling way. I love all the scenes of him in the suit for the first time. Brilliant and imaginative. Then he gets some excellent training and is ready to be a hero and actually save the day - which was something that I never doubted from the start.

The cast is uniformly excellent. Hank Pym as mentor is a great character as portrayed by Michael Douglas. Another brilliant casting choice. Remember, I have been reading these comics for 40 years so there is a lot that they COULD have gotten wrong but didn't. There are many nice moments (involving the Avengers and the death of Hope' mother) that I will not spoil by mentioning them here but to say they are a gift.

 

Inventing a daughter of Pym, played by Evangeline Lilly, is another great character. She would be in the armor if her father didn't think it was too dangerous. But she sure as God made little green apples could be the WASP in any future sequels. She has serious Daddy issues with a distant father who have only just reunited to stop Cross. I liked those moments and so will the kids.

What is all amounts to is a fantastic and thrilling superhero adventure. Here the CGI has matched the imagination but not overwhelmed the story. A sure hand is at work here. The scenes where Scott learns how to work with each ant member of his army are fascinating to watch. I also learned about five different species of ant as they become part of Scott's ant army. So much story potential there.

Imagine Ant Man saving the day at the end of the Infinity War? I do. He could beat mighty Thanos with the smallest of friends. He will certainly be part of every Avenger movie from now on. It's a great character and a solution to many story problems that can be solved by some Ant Man ingenuity. This one is worth a trip to the big screen.