Review of Ant-Man (2015) by Jlplatten — 19 Jul 2015

Simply put, this movie is fun! It's definitely a change of tone from the typical Marvel movie, which actually works to its benefit. Our hero is not some super ultimate being that's able to destroy anything with sheer strength or firepower, rather he's an average Joe with a great talent for breaking into secure places who comes across a rather unique suit. I found myself constantly smiling throughout the movie. Not only are the side characters hilarious with their shenanigans or propensity for drawn out anecdotes, but the action sequences themselves have a lot of humor to them. The visuals are amazing, and the use of the ants themselves were creative and fun. The concept of a superhero controlling ants could have turned into something really stupid, but Marvel in all their genius pulled it off perfectly. I was cheering for ants! Can't believe it...

Unfortunately, my major problem with the film was the villain. I don't know if it was the actor who played him way over the top, or if it was written way over the top. Every scene with him made me feel uncomfortable. So much so that it made me lower my score on a film that should be higher. Also, the final fight with the boss felt like it borrowed from the first Iron Man movie. Our hero in his new super suit fights an evil corporate guy with his better equipped super suit. Definitely done more creatively, but I did notice.