Part of what makes Ant-Man work is they have assembled an incredibly charismatic and likable cast. I’ve been a huge Paul Rudd fan for years going all the way back to Clueless (and totally have a crush on him). He plays Scott Lang a thief who is recruited to be the next Ant-Man. As always he is a complete charmer in the role.
There is a fair amount of humor and pretty much the entire plot of the movie is centered around Michael Douglas’ house so it feels very small (forgive the pun) in its scope. It is not like an Avengers movie where the entire earth could be destroyed by the rising of a city. This is a single building with one technology and one madman trying to control it. In truth it is a heist movie.
The training montages are a little ‘seen it all before’ but I liked the way they filmed the interactions with the ants and the CG looked very good in those scenes. Except for a CG rat which made me shout in the middle of the theater it caught me off guard!
I could see how some might say this is a light weight superhero movie and in a way it is but I had so much fun with it. Like I said it is funny and for the most part has actors who can pull it off.
It also doesn’t get too mired in the MCU (which I kind of like those clues to the broader universe but I know others hate it). There is one cameo that is very well done and a few name drops but not distracting at all.
I also liked that Bobby Cannavale plays the new love interest of Scott’s ex and for once he is actually a good guy. It’s such a cliche for the new guy to be a total jerk (I’m talking to you San Andreas!).
The entire family can go to Ant-Man. There is nothing offensive or off putting in it aside from a few very mild fighting.
There’s not that much to say about Ant-Man except this is the kind of movie I can have fun with. It does everything I need it to do and doesn’t distract me with big plotholes, annoying characters or a meandering script. I really enjoyed it.
Overall Grade- A-