For those who have not seen the movie yet, there are a few spoilers!

 

Marvel’s ever-expanding cinematic universe continues with what some might consider a third-tear superhero; but the fact is “Ant-Man”, starring Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas, is a genuine blast and surprisingly funny! Humor was certainly the best direction to take in the screenplay, and Rudd is indeed charming and very likeable in the role of Scott Lang, a former cat burglar trying to get back on his feet and be near his daughter, living with his estranged wife, after being released from prison.

 

While Douglas could have been relegated to serious mentor role, playing Hank Pym, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, he too is allowed a fun performance, revealed as the original Ant-Man years ago, which connects with the comic origin. In 1963, Pym, entomologist and physicist, discovered the subatomic particles that make Ant-Man's transformation possible and later guides Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) to take over.

 

I very much appreciated the reverence and acknowledgement for the comic book origin by having Lang follow Pym as Ant-Man. Getting it right by the fans is an attitude Marvel has mostly continued to hold in high regard throughout their franchise characters.

 

Director Peyton Reed, who took over for the departed Edgar Wright (Wright retains a story-writing credit), nicely blends this tale and its characters that can also be a bit on the fantastical side at times; ant army control most notably, while keeping his eye on the ball of being a quite human story and not just about larger than life heroes upping the ANT-y. Hey, you knew there had to be an ant joke in here somewhere!

 

One of the unique aspects of this film is that the action does not attempt to outdo everything else that has come before; rather going inward; as the small corners of a family home become the climactic battle field for Ant-Man and his nemesis, Yellow Jacket; a shrinking suit worn by Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), a former protégé of Pym, who takes over Pym's company, militarizes a similar version of the Ant-Man technology and creates the Yellow Jacket suit. Stoll’s Cross is steely eyed with a smile like a cat that’s finally cornered the mouse. Here, there’s no need for an ultra powerful being to become the villain; merely a corrupt man with a plan that’s about to be sold to Hydra. With this aspect, I did notice a similarity to the plot of the first Iron Man, but that was certainly not a detractor.

 

Michael Peña as Luis, a member of Scott Lang’s heist team, is hilarious in this movie, and the funniest I think I’ve ever seen him in a big screen role! He brings a lot of the humor to the film, accentuated by some quick cutting as Luis explains several situations Lang is hesitant to get himself into, along with two associates, played by Tip "T.I." Harris  and David Dastmalchian.

 

Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne, daughter to Douglas’ Pym, is a welcome strong female character, confidant to Cross while secretly assisting Pym and Lang, who eventually finds her way to an even bigger role that we’ll likely see in the next Ant-Man and/or Avengers movie. Bobby Cannavale as Jim Paxton, now married to Lang’s ex-wife Maggie, is serviceable but perhaps not that necessary beyond his connection to the original comic.

 

In one very funny and exciting scene, Lang as Ant-Man must infiltrate what Pym has detected to be an abandoned Stark Industries facility in order to “borrow” some necessary tech. However, it turns out that the Upstate New York compound has been turned into the new base for the Avengers (as seen at the end of “Age of Ultron”). This leads to a great, well-visualized fight with Sam Wilson, aka Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and possibly cementing Ant-Man’s future with the team.

 

Getting back to those ants; even though controlling these hard-working insects was definitely a part of the original comic, I felt as though their use in this first Ant-Man outing to be a bit more fantastical than they should have been. Granted, the Marvel franchise has moved from the grounded tech and world of Tony Stark in the very first “Iron Man” to wildly fanciful elements such as aliens raining down from the sky in “The Avengers”, as well as the realm of Thor and the creation of The Vision in “Ultron”. In the comics, such occurrences were and are commonplace. And while I yearn for the days when Marvel films were more connected with our Earth-bound existence (like the X-Men movies), just pushing the boundaries enough beyond what we as human beings are capable of (outside of non-mortals), the ability to talk to ants in “Ant-Man” is just slightly far-fetched without little more than a snippet of technical explanation.

 

Does the movie suffer for this? Not really, but I just felt as though they should have reeled in the ants abilities a bit more so it didn’t seem like a Pixar or children’s animated film.

 

While the effects of Ant-Man shrinking, then growing back to full size are handled brilliantly, especially during action sequences, the most spectacular sight in “Ant-Man” comes at the very beginning. 

 

The year is 1989 and we’re in an official-looking meeting in a big expansive room at the under-construction S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in Washington DC. John Slattery and Hayley Atwell, reprising their roles as Howard Stark and Peggy Carter, greet a man entering the room that turns out to be Michael Douglas. Then the realization hits; it’s as though the filmmakers went back in time to ’89 and brought a younger Douglas to the “Ant-Man” set for filming. Here before us is the most jaw-dropping CG enhanced face of a man who is now in his 70’s, looking very much the way he did post-“Wall Street” and pre-“The Game”. Stunning doesn’t even begin to describe how well Lola VFX, the same company that magically shrunk Chris Evans in the early scenes of “Captain America: The First Avenger”, has brought Douglas’ 26-year younger self visually to life!

 

This work is absolutely on par with Weta Digital’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”, and completely kicks the youth-making facial effects for Jeff Bridges in “Tron Legacy”, which was fair at best, in the teeth!

 

“Ant-Man” will definitely put a smile on your face with the right amount of laughter while adding to the Marvel Cinematic Universe mix in a uniquely refreshing way. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

 

Oh, and watch for a brilliantly sly cameo by the guy who actually portrayed Ant-Man on Saturday Night Live back in the 70’s.