I was a little nervous about Ant-man. While I tend to avoid reviews I’d seen some comments about it having a lighter tone than other Marvel films with more comedy in a bad way. I didn’t need to be nervous. There are funny moments in Ant-man but this remains a Marvel film in the same way that Thor is very much a Marvel film even with the Shakespearean touches.
What we get fits into the now well-tested formula for introducing a new Marvel hero in a leading role. The twist on the formula is this time the hero doesn’t create the suit themselves – instead they are selected to be the replacement by the original. Rather than another scientist super hero we get a cat burglar in a suit ideally matched for their skill set. Having defined that skill set and run a few training montages to take it to the level needed for a super hero we move into classic heist movie territory.
First we assemble a crew that I suspect Danny Ocean wouldn’t be quite so reliant on. Yes these are a group of comedy side kicks. Then there is a secondary heist to prepare for the main action and then we have the main event. This could be The League of Extrordinary Gentlemen or Oceans 11. Of course we have some Marvel twists. The secondary heist is against the Avenger’s HQ and we have a fight with Falcon to connect Ant-man to the wider MCU. The main heist turns out to be a trap which in turn is revealed to have been a sabotage mission. That leads neatly into the final fight to the death with the twist of it being in a childs bedroom largely fought by two shrunk heroes.
Overall I enjoyed Ant-man and look forward to seeing how he (and Wasp) develop over I would guess 3 films and an Avengers movie or two.
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