Ant-Man Review

Ant-Man Synopsis (Rated PG-13)

The next evolution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings a founding member of The Avengers to the big screen for the first time with Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man.” Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

Marvel’s “Ant-Man” stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang aka Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne, Corey Stoll as Darren Cross aka Yellowjacket,Bobby Cannavale as Paxton, Michael Peña as Luis, Judy Greer as Maggie, Tip “Ti” Harris as Dave, David Dastmalchian as Kurt, Wood Harris as Gale, Jordi Mollà as Castillo and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym.

Although I had read about the Ant-Man movie in magazines in previous months, I really had no idea about this super hero's backstory.  Could a movie about a tiny super hero really be as interesting as one featuring the other Marvel characters?

The answer is a huge "yes."

I was so intrigued with the story from the start, which began with a young Hank Pym (kudos to the CGI team - Michael Douglas looked so realistically young!).  Pym, creator of the Pym Particle, which has the ability to shrink the distance between atoms, refused to share the formula for the Pym Particle in fear of the potential destruction it could cause.

The movie then cut to the present day, where we see Scott Lang being released from jail.  It's where he spent some time for burgling, and during his time there, he realized just how much he missed his daughter.

Unfortunately, his former wife tells him he basically need to make a better life for himself if he wants to spend more time with his daughter.

Realizing it would take too long to get his life in order with a new apartment and a good job, he becomes desperate.  With the help of a trio of misfits - Luis, Dave, and Kurt, he breaks into a safe in hopes of striking it big so he can get his life back on track.

But in the safe, all he finds is a funny-looking suit - nothing that would help him become the person that his daughter believes in and looks up to.

Or so he thought.

He eventually dons the suit only to realize its shrinking power.

And that was Hank Pym's plan all along.

Knowing that the formula for Pym Particle is close to being replicated by his former protegee, Darren Cross, who could unleash chaos around the world with Yellow Jacket, his own version of the Ant-Man suit, Pym knew he needed Scott as Ant-Man to steal the Yellow Jacket, and prevent world-wide destruction.

After learning how to control the suit, as well as how to communicate with ants, Pym, his daughter Hope, and Scott, along with his buddy trio, as well as thousands of ants, set out on their mission.

As expected, things don't go so smoothly, but unexpectedly, the climax of the movie almost brought me to tears!

I won't give away much more, except to say that I really enjoyed the movie, and so did my kids.

There were a few scenes which made them a bit uneasy (primarily when Cross was testing his shrinking formulas), but they loved the action scenes and watching how Ant-Man interacted with the ants.

Their favorite part involved a very popular toy train (if you've seen the preview, you'll know what toy I'm talking about).

I loved learning the history behind Ant-Man, and I admit - Paul Rudd as Scott was a big reason why I wanted to watch Ant-Man, but ultimately the story is what really pulled me in.

I really loved Scott's partners in crime (or partners in doing good?).  They were so hilarious, especially Luis.  Even though Ant-Man had many funny moments - both subtle and not-so-subtle, whenever Luis came on screen I knew I'd be in for a good laugh.

Ant-Man was thoroughly entertaining - full of action, humor, and even heart.

Ant-Man is now in theaters. Click here for showtimes.

Thank you to the sponsor for providing complimentary tickets to the screening.