Ant Man

Viewed – 08 August 2018 Cinema

I really enjoyed the first Ant Man movie and thought it was a fun concept with some excellent effects and comedy. This follow up has Paul Rudd’s Ant Man under house arrest following his actions during Captain America: Civil War and when Michael Douglas’ scientist and his daughter discover a way to possibly retrieve Douglas’ wife from the Quantum Realm, they turn to Ant Man for assistance.

Not the deepest of storylines and one of the failings of this sequel which is mostly surface level entertainment more interested in gags and some slick action than having anything new to say that wasn’t already covered by the last movie. The house arrest subplot also seemed shoe-horned in to tie-up loose ends from other movies. I’d also add the pointless appearance from Walton Goggins (in his unending quest to be forgettable in every movie he appears in), and that motor-mouthed friend who like last time balances awkwardly between funny and annoying … even if he still gets some of the movie’s best lines.

Thankfully then, this energetic romp is bolstered by plenty of memorable sequences and welcome support from Lawrence Fishburn who plays a rival to Douglas. The relationship between Ant-Man and his little daughter is also really charming (if underdeveloped since last movie). I should also mention the mysterious, bad-ass character of ‘Ghost’ – an assassin who can phase in and out of form, enabling them to walk through walls etc who nearly steals the movie. For such a concept Ant Man never stayed in shrunken tiny perspective for long enough for my liking, preferring to jump in and out of sizes … but usually to great comedic effect (the school sequence). So quibbles aside this was still a solid follow up, but hopefully for the inevitable Ant Man 3 we’ll get something with a little more ahem… scale.

Verdict: 3.5 /5

Viewed – 16 January 2016 online rental

Yes it’s taken me a while to get around to this one and perhaps my slight fatigue with the amount of comic book movies being churned out was a factor, but I can’t argue with the quality of the output and this latest is no exception. Paul Rudd plays a down on his luck former cat burglar newly released from prison and trying to rebuild his relationship with his young daughter and ex-wife. However the lure of the criminal world is always in the background thanks to a trio of never-do-well friends he’s forced to shack up with. At the same time a high-tech company is on the verge of a breakthrough to create a suit that can shrink a man down to the size of an insect, but are missing that key formula that only former company boss Michael Douglas knows.

This was a fun movie, with Paul Rudd mostly known for comedies on fine form with a few good one liners and suits the character well. An ageing Douglas also adds some acting weight to proceedings and we also get Lost’s Evangeline Lilly looking hot in a black haired bob as Douglas’ daughter. With thoughts back to Honey I Shrunk The Kids I got a buzz out of the shrunken perspective, to the point I wish the movie had stayed in that mode for the majority of the run time. However that would not make for much variety and so we get an army of ants at Ant Man’s command and a villain out to create his own suit. Casting of the main bad guy could have been better (what is he out of again?) and the three friends are little more than annoyances rather than being particularly likeable. Ant-Man’s circumstances leading up to becoming a hero, are also pretty contrived, which ultimately stops this becoming a classic.

But the action is very well done, the jumps from a shrunken Ant Man to full size and different plays with that are very well realised and the effects were state-of-the-art. Above all I still had a good time with this. One of Marvel’s more obscure creations, granted – but I was left thirsty for more.

Verdict: 3.5 /5