THIS JULY, HEROES DON’T COME ANY BIGGER.
Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is persuaded to break into a house, but has no idea that it’s a trap that will set him on a path to becoming the smallest superhero the world has ever seen.
At a time when Marvel is in need of a change of pace comes this supremely satisfying action-comedy that is firmly grounded in the Marvel cinematic universe, but still finds its own way. What might have been ridiculous is treated seriously as potential for laughs and thrills, and we get both. Great visual effects in 3D throw us into a miniature world that triggers our imagination.
Rudd has the right attitude as the hero. And the big finale is not a letdown, unlike so many other Marvel blockbusters.
2015-U.S. 117 min. Color. Directed by Peyton Reed. Screenplay: Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, Paul Rudd. Comic Book: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby. Music: Christophe Beck. Cast: Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man), Evangeline Lilly (Hope van Dyne/Wasp), Michael Douglas (Hank Pym), Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Anthony Mackie, Michael Peña, Judy Greer… Hayley Atwell, John Slattery. Cameos: Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Stan Lee.
Trivia: Co-writer Wright was originally slated to direct. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was reportedly considered as Scott. Patrick Wilson was originally cast in the role that Cannavale plays. Ant-Man next appeared in Captain America: Civil War (2016). Followed by two sequels, starting with Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018).
Last word: “The whole core of what Edgar and Joe created, the idea of doing Ant-Man as a heist movie structure, the idea of making Hank Pym the elder statesman, the mentor and Scott Lang the pupil and also driving toward a third act where the big battle took place in a little girl’s bedroom. That’s all Edgar and Joe conceptually. When I came on, Adam McKay and Paul started rewriting and we all worked together and, you know, we added concepts like the quantum realm. I wanted to get to a third act where we’d see him shrinking all through the movie, but let’s take it a further step. Embrace that sort of Silver Age psychedelic era of Marvel Comics.” (Reed, SlashFilm)