The character of
Ant Man is over 50 years old – 53+ to be precise. It debuted in 1962 and about 17 years on, he
appeared on Saturday Night Live. Of
course, it wasn’t remotely popular as the other “mans” around that time which
would probably explain the 5 decades that we’ve had to wait for the big screen debut
of a character which will be part of the Avengers next year.
But until then,
like any other Marvel movie, walk into the theatre, strap on your seat-belts
(hold onto the arm rests on your seat – they really need to provide seat belts
for a movie like this) and enjoy this recreation of a 50 year old comic
character. I had to ask myself at the
end of it all – When was the last time that Marvel actually disappointed you
with a movie? The answer was of course – NEVER.
Scott Lang (Paul
Rudd) is released from San Quentin prison, San Francisco for a high profile
burglary that he committed a while back.
He has a Masters in Electrical Engineering but has to settle for a job
at the local Baskin Robbins. All of this
to get visitation rights to his 5 year old daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson).
But, as luck
would have it, Baskin Robbins finds everything and Scott is left without a
job. So he chooses to go back to commit
a heist that should sort him out for a bit.
All he finds at the house is a motorcycle suit. So much for the hi-tech stuff he uses to
break-in. Of course, his curiosity gets
the better of him.
He dons the suit
and voila! You have Ant Man – A human being who can shrink and expand at the
touch of a regulator button on the suit.
Why not shrink man or micro man? Because he uses his mind powers through
an ear piece to talk to ants of all varieties.
Don’t mistake him to be weak because he can pack quite a punch.
A slow start
notwithstanding, Ant Man picks up pace in about 20 minutes but one has to wait
till the 2nd half to really enjoy the roller coaster ride. Director Peyton Reed is not really associated
with the superhero genre but seems to be a really quick learner. He keeps it crisp and delays the tempo till
just the right point. Any longer and you
would have lost interest.
Paul Rudd as Ant
Man and Evangeline Lilly (Tauriel from Hobbit) form a great pair but it is the
evergreen, charismatic, septuagenarian known as Michael Kirk Douglas who steals
the show. Douglas plays the scientist Dr. Hank Pym who invents the Pym Particle
that allows Ant Man to come into existence. Douglas’ presence is actually a tad
unfair to the rest of the cast who get completely overshadowed but all to a
good end.
There is a lot
of technical mumbo jumbo through the movie so pay attention to the
dialogue. And of course, as always, wait
for the post credit revelations and this time there are 2 of them so be patient
till all credits finish rolling. 7.5 on
10. I genuinely cannot remember if a
Marvel movie ever disappointed me.
Watch the
trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3829444633/
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