Best summer spectacle in minimalist trappings.
Ant-Man
Grade: A-
Director: Peyton Read (Yes Man)
Screenplay: Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz), Joe Cornish (The Adventures of Tintin), et al.
Cast: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas
Rating: PG 13
Runtime: 117 min.
by John DeSando
“Scott, I've been watching you for a while, now. You're different. Now, don't let anyone tell you that you have nothing to offer.” Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas)
The little Ant-Man movie has much to offer: a likeable, understated Marvel hero, a believable story of families in transition, and fewer explosions than any other blockbuster this summer or any time for that matter. In other words, it’s my fav Marvel, a shrink-wrapped Iron Man with more humor than Tony Stark has altogether in his Avengers canon. Think a minimalist Guardians of the Galaxy to get an idea of the fun.
Paul Rudd plays Scott Lang/Ant-man, an ex-con with a big heart, who wants to win visitation rights with his young daughter. Rudd has the sweetness, comic timing, and athletic composure to be a pint-sized hero with a smile: “No, I'm the Ant-Man! I know, it wasn't my idea.”
Join him with classy-actor Michael Douglas as the scientist, Dr. Hank Pym, who started it all by creating the suit that could shrink Scott to bug size but with very big power (in the comics, Pym also created Ultron). Pym says, with characteristic seriousness and only a hint of sarcasm: “This is not some cute tech like the Iron Man suit!”
It’s not Hulk’s size or Thor’s hammer giving Ant-Man the otherworldly strength—it’s the suit and the armies of insects he commands that can infiltrate even the most secure system. Rudd’s low-key charm makes him standout from most Avengers for his diffidence and sense of irony. Tony Stark has the sense of humor but lacks Scott’s everyman subtlety. Because Ant-Man is essentially about family bonds (even Pym needs his daughter’s affection and allegiance), it has a more congenial and humane feel than other spectacles in the Marvel universe.
Notice how CGI can take 30 years off Michael Douglas and also make us believe we are in Lilliput where our hero, Ant-Man, rides “Anthony,” a sizeable flying insect. It’s all summer fantasy but done with unusual grace and humor: “Sorry I'm late, I was saving the world. You know how it is.” Scott
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts WCBE’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics. Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.rr.com
