'Ant-Man' - Movie Review

'Ant-Man'

U/A; Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Director: Peyton Reed

Cast: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll

Rating: 

'Ant-Man' poster. Pic/Santa Banta

A superhero needs to be big and strong, he needs to be a gigantic force of nature with incredible abilities to bring down the tyrannical powers of this universe and restore peace and order. He also needs to be angsty and brooding all the time because of his damaged past. He also needs to have a heroine who is kind of disconnected with him because she doesn't fully understand what his goal as a superhero is. Those are the standard definitions of a superhero film that we have come to accept and love. But it's 2015 and audiences have grown tired of seeing the same shtick being thrown at the wall and applauding at whatever sticks. Enter 'Ant Man' – a superhero movie unlike any other.

Directed by Peyton Reed, after taking over from Edgar Wright who left after creative differences with Marvel, 'Ant Man' is the kind of movie audiences had been waiting for a long time. When things get bigger and bigger in the Marvel universe, as the population of superheroes and supervillains rise, the only way to go ahead is by being smaller. In 'Ant Man' the superhero shrinks to the size of an ant at his own will, and executes his missions. The concept is certainly cooky, and the Marvel team were smart enough to understand the inherent silliness of this. So the real stroke of genius is that 'Ant Man' is a comedy, and quite self-aware a lot of times.

There are a lot of unlikely things in 'Ant Man' – starting with the central character. The hero in the film is originally a bad guy, who is later turned into an unlikely hero. The guy playing the hero is Paul Rudd, who is mostly known for being Phoebe's boyfriend in 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' and for his parts in comedies. Casting him was actually perfect because his comic timing feels like a breath of fresh air in the increasingly serious tone of recent superhero movies. Yes, there is a bit of schmaltz, but it's directed so well by Reed the drama adds to the story than detract from it.

The real draw of 'Ant Man', however, are the incredible special effects which take use of the hero's shrinking abilities. Every shrinking sequence is entertaining as hell, and the final battle with the villain, instead of destroying another city takes place inside the bedroom of a little girl, and it's executed with humour. There's little to complain about the film, aside from the 3D – so if you're in the mood for a good time at the cinema make sure you see the film in 2D only.