Ant-Man (2015) [Blu-ray]
Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, cat burglar Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

Storyline: Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world. Written by @PtotheSmizzo

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, November 18, 2015 -- The movie marketplace is so flooded with good, great, and even instant classic Marvel Universe Superhero movies (TV spinoffs, too, and don't forget the numerous D.C. Comic film adaptations in competition) that it's a wonder some of them don't get drowned out in the deluge. Add one of the lesser-known Marvel characters to the "cinecomic" soup and the recipe seems set for something of a letdown, the inevitable movie that's bound to slow the train and prove that superheroes in cinema aren't quite so invulnerable as they appear on the screen and aren't made of guaranteed money as every studio executive has been led to believe. Director Peyton Reed's (Bring It On) Ant-Man has all the makings of being that movie. After all, Ant-Man isn't Captain America or Spider-Man or Superman or Batman. That's not to disparage the little guy, that's to say that his popularity isn't quite so astronomically high or infused so deeply into the cultural landscape as many of his peers. But the film proved a success, anyway, to the tune of more than half a billion dollars in worldwide gross, proving that viewers haven't tired of the Superhero genre and that even some of the more out-of-the-way characters can carry a movie to major success so long as that Marvel name, spirit, and filmmaking finesse come standard.

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has just been released from prison. He's not a violent criminal. He has a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering and served time for exposing fraud and electronically returning stolen money to innocent people. But with his record -- even considering his education -- he can't hold down a minimum wage job. That's getting in the way of visitations with his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson), whom his ex-wife Maggie (Judy Greer) and her cop fiancé Paxton (Bobby Cannavale) don't want him to see, at least not until he gets his life straightened out. Desperate, he agrees to a heist with friend and former cell mate Luis (Michael Peña). He cracks the target safe but finds only a peculiar costume inside. Soon enough, he realizes he's in possession of something special, a suit that can shrink him to the size of an ant. It's also revealed that his involvement in the heist was carefully orchestrated by reclusive businessman and inventor Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) who has for decades refused to share his breakthrough miniaturization formula with his own company, or with S.H.I.E.L.D., fearing it will be used for nefarious purposes. He has recruited Scott to don the suit and lead the fight against his company's new CEO, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), who has invented his own version of the formula that has allowed him to create the miniature "Yellowjacket."

Ant-Man doesn't live up to the astronomical successes of its Marvel predecessors. That doesn't make it a bad movie. It's simply a bar that's just a bit too high for Marvel's tiniest (when he wants or needs to be) hero to reach. But that doesn't make it a failure, or even much of a disappointment. The movie offers good, if not fairly predictable and dramatically routine, fun. It's a little slow out of the gate and the story details -- major corporation has invented a significant serum and a rotten apple wants it for nefarious purposes -- are more than a little trite, but the movie soldiers through and produces a perfectly entertaining romp through a big world brought down to size by way of a barrage of entertainingly seamless visual effects. The movie necessarily resorts to a good bit of well-placed humor that juxtaposes the sense of big action inside something like a tumbling briefcase filled with an iPhone, candy, and other assorted goodies that feels like World War III but, when seen from a "normal" perspective, almost looks cute rather than deadly. The movie plays to its comic strengths both in terms of advancing the story and in one-off jokes about Baskin Robins and Titanic that work very well but never overstay their welcome or get in the way of the central story arcs, themes, and action.

Ant-Man prioritizes special effects and its ability to effortlessly draw the viewer into the tiny world in which Scott often finds himself. There's a tremendous sense of adventure in his early experiences with the suit, sort of like an updated, slicked-up version of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids in which Scott must deal with the raging waters of a common bathtub, avoid being trampled at a night club, and hang on for dear life on a record's grooves. The movie gets the sense of scale just right, where it's clear the characters are small, and not only thanks to forced perspective or supporting digital effects. Paul Rudd is strong in the lead role, perhaps a little too readily accepting of his newfound powers and too easily a master of them after a montage or two, but he has fun with the part, delicately balancing the serious drama, intense action, and light humor that surround him. The rest of the cast is fine, if not a little generic by necessity. Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, and Corey Stoll play their parts well enough, through both Douglas and Lilly are hindered by their unimaginative roles and trite family dynamics while Stoll isn't quite so menacing as other super villains in other movies. The film could have also benefited from more time with Falcon (Anthony Mackie), though with a slight wardrobe modification. His costume is so similar in color and design to Scott's Ant-Man outfit that, on first look, one might briefly think he's another shrinking superhero in some slightly altered version of the costume, not one who instead takes to the skies.

Ant-Man could have been something of a flop, but credit the diverse, yet interconnected, source material with a staying power that's as impressive as any other film franchise, perhaps even more so considering the shorter period of time in which these films have been topping the charts. While Ant-Man doesn't approach the pinnacle of Superhero movie excellence, it's a fun and energetic little (literally) movie with more than enough action and special effects to satisfy undemanding audiences. Even considering that it's dramatically hollow and repurposes its basic plot from other Superhero films, Ant-Man does a fine job of bringing one of the lesser-known superheroes to the big screen, and there's a sequel scheduled for release in 2018. Disney's Blu-ray release of Ant-Man sports top-tier technical presentations, supported by an average allotment of extra content. Recommended.

[CSW] -3.6- I went in with very low expectations (I am not a big fan of movies base on graphic novels) and was very surprised. The humor element reminded me of how it felt watching Iron Man 1. The action is good but mostly it feels like it is being played for laughs and 3D. The film itself was cute, which is an odd thing to say about a Marvel film. Overall it was a very solid movie with very colorful characters. The after the credits scene and the 'after the after-credits' scene were both very vital towards the future of the Marvel movies. I may add the 3D version to my collection. With 3D and D-Box I'll bet it will be a great Saturday afternoon popcorn flick.
[V5.0-A5.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box codes were available at the time of this rental but they are available now.


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