Ant-Man (2015)

Title: Ant-Man (2015)

Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas

Rating: 4/5

Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is back with it’s twelfth installment, Ant-Man, just in time for the school holidays. The film was released last week, and despite the success of MCU, Ant-Man hasn’t been the big summer blockbuster that everyone expected. Maybe that’s because… ants? I mean, surely I wasn’t the only one who laughed out loud when imagining this superhero. If I had the choice between Spiderman, Thor, Wolverine or Ant-Man to save me from a dire situation, I think we both know who’d be the last on the list.

However, despite my low expectations, and the film not receiving great reviews (it was the second lowest grossing debut of a Marvel film, with The Hulk, 2008, taking first place), I was dragged to see the film by my family, particularly my younger brother – we are all massive Marvel fans.

As with all Marvel films, there was no shortage of big-name actors waiting in the wings to fill the lead roles. Paul Rudd secured himself the starring role as Scott Lang A.K.A Ant-Man, who starts out as a petty criminal being released from prison. He is determined to get his life back on track for the sake of his young daughter, Cassie, but of course this doesn’t quite go to plan. That’s where Michael Douglas comes in. His character, Hank Pym, was the original Ant-Man back in the day, and also the brains behind the suit that transforms the wearer to the size of an ant, but supplies them with super-human strength. A situation arises when his former apprentice, Darren Cross, produces a similar suit which he aims to supply to the military. Hank knows this is more than likely to end badly, and must use his own Ant-Man suit to put a stop to it. The catch? Hank can no longer wear the suit, his years as Ant-Man have taken their toll on him and he needs someone to fill his shoes. But is Scott really the right guy for the job?

The plot is actually pretty straight forward in comparison to the other Marvel films, most of which require prior knowledge of the universe or previous films to be fully understood.With Ant-Man you can just rock up to the cinema and let the story unfold, even if you don’t pick up the Spiderman easter-egg and the numerous references to the Avengers.

However, Marvel fans, Falcon does make an appearance, and it’s a funny, enjoyable scene. As a matter of fact, this is how I felt about much of the film. There are some really funny sequences, particularly when Scott’s criminal friends are describing a job.

There is also a great performance from Evangeline Lilly, star of LOST which just happens to be my favourite show EVER! Lilly plays Hank Pym’s feisty daughter, Hope. She is the love interest of Darren, which means she can feed back to her dad on his plans for the ‘new’ suit. I’m pleased to see Lilly’s addition to the Marvel Universe, but I do miss the messy, long curly hair she pulled off in LOST. Maybe when you’re not stranded on a mysterious island in the middle of nowhere, you need to spruce yourself up a little. Of course, there is a possible romance between her and Scott, but this isn’t really explored much and will be a bigger storyline for the second film (which is definitely happening).

As always, stay seated for the two after credit scenes, and the obligatory cameo by Stan Lee at the end. It might not have the wide-spread acclaim of the other Marvel films, but Ant-Man is defiantly one not to be missed. In my opinion, it’s more than earned every good review it gets.