Ant-Man Review
By Tahlia Merrill Kirk
Heading into the theater to see Ant-Man opening weekend, I’ll admit I was a little worried that this was going to be one of those movies where all the good parts are in the trailer, leaving nothing new for audience members to enjoy. I also had concerns that the humor might be too cheesy, pushing it into the cringe-worthy realm of the ridiculous ( *shudders* Seth Rogen Green Hornet, I’m looking at you).
Fortunately, Ant-Man is more Guardians of the Galaxy than Green Hornet, minus the catchy 80’s soundtrack. It delivers exactly what the trailer promises
a Honey I Shrunk the Kids-esque action movie where the hero has to macgyver pseudo-physics to successfully pull off a heist. There’s a generous peppering of punchlines, some predictable, but plenty you won’t see coming.
The only reason I call this movie good, rather than great, is its flat attempt at heartfelt moments. Every emotional beat feels cookie cutter and is obviously designed to fit a checklist of necessary elements. Hero’s motivation = Daughter. McGuffin = Fancy tech-suit. Training montage time! Cue inspirational pep talk from the mentor to his protege…you get the picture.
One of my friends complained that Scott Lang’s portrayal was basically Paul Rudd being Paul Rudd, but having never seen Rudd in any other movies, I can’t give my opinion on that. Plus, don’t get my inner feminist started on Evangeline Lily’s “strong female character” who is physically strong, but completely superfluous to the movie’s plot (c’mon, I found the goofy sidekick more interesting!). Check out the trailer here and see a link of the best of Paul Rudd here
Ant-Man might not break new ground in the never ending series of Marvel movies, but I’m glad the studio hasn’t forgotten how to have fun. Dark and gritty is all well and good, but let’s not underestimate feel good movies where you leave the theater chuckling.
P.S: I really hope Marvel makes an Ant-Man video game. Wouldn’t it be brilliant to have a character who can shrink himself and other objects AND have an arsenal of different-powered ants? It could be puzzle based, but with combat–kinda like Overlord meets Portal.
7 out of 10
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