#ant_man

The last movie in Marvel’s “Phase 2″ is one of sheer brilliance. Honestly we are used to Marvel constantly producing masterpieces of cinema which are annually shunned at the Oscars, Ant-Man is no acceptation. Going into Ant-Man I felt conflicted between one of my favorite directors (Edgar Wright) and my favorite studio (Marvel). While I believe the movie would of hugely benefited of his presence the ideas that were implemented which set in motion his departure really benefited the movie as a whole in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the movie actually has an explanation of why we cannot just call up the Avengers to settle any independent conflict. Some things just require a little guy.

I saw this on the day of release in IMAX 3D and as usual the cinema was packed with fans of Marvel and I can tell you that if you have the chance to experience it in 3D it is definitely worth it as it adds another dimension when the background is blurred in the scenes where Ant-Man is in his element. Edgar Wright’s presence is definitely felt as the footage in Comic-Con last year is a good portrayal of what is in the movie and it is good that they gave him credit during the end credits as I would of brought it up as a complaint if not as he did make a huge contribution to the script.

So how well does it tie into the Marvel Cinematic Universe? The movie gives us just enough to be a part of the universe while keeping it toned down and giving reasons not to contact The Avengers which benefits the movie giving it a more contained feel in comparison to other Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.

So now lets compare the movie in the ranking to the other Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. The movie does not come to the top of the list of stellar movies Marvel has produced over the years but that is to be expected, with so many big hits both in the box office and critically acclaimed it was a hard task for Ant-Man to beat some of these true juggernauts. I would say the movie lies between Thor and Captain America The First Avenger which is an achievement unto itself.

Michael Douglas gives one of the best performances in the movie as a whole leaving me demanding for a prequel with him to be made! Paul Rudd as Scott Lang was a perfect casting choice as he seems to play the part with ease giving one of the funniest performances since Tony Stark or Starlord. This movie I will say is one of the more funnier movies in Marvels lineup with Luis taking center stage for the majority of the comic relief. A standout would be the lip syncing scenes. Also the scenes where Scott is shrank down to the size of an Ant are truly beautiful to behold as I did not ever think “This is CGI” as I was truly immersed in the movie to notice otherwise. One scene for me which is the standout of the movie could possibly be one of the most emotional moments of cinema and all I will say is that it involved sugar cubes.

So lets get to some negative points. The villain of the movie was definitely lacking any motivation as he seems to be evil because evil is awesome? He does remind me of a poor mans Obadiah from Iron Man. Also the pacing of the movie is way off as we go from a very slow beginning to action scenes with no flow to them as I could not tell the shift between first, second and third act.

Ant-Man gets a 6.5 From Mason09lid