Typically, I would use this space to share my opinion on the darker side of cinema, but today I figured I would briefly touch on something different. Tonight I went to the cinema to watch Marvel’s Ant-Man (directed by Peyton Reed, written by Edgar Wright and starring Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas). When I first heard that Marvel was going to do a live action adaptation of Ant-Man, I was fairly surprised. Out of all the heroes in the Marvel Universe, why choose a character that is relatively obscure to the general public. Then I saw Guardians of the Galaxy, and my expectations went up. Unless you are a fan and reader of comic books, you probably had no idea who Star-Lord and Groot where. Unless I’m wrong, this was Marvel and Disney‘s first attempt at taking a B title and giving it the big screen treatment. Guardians was an amazing movie, and has made this rag-tag group of adventurers a house hold name. I have to give Disney and Marvel all the credit in the world. They know how to do it right.

Scott Lang (Rudd) is a down on his luck ex-con who can’t seem to catch a break.  All he wants his to make his young daughter proud. Before he knows it, he becomes involved in a struggle between the science company Pym Tech, and their founder, the now retired Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas).  Dr. Pym recruits Lang ( a master burglar) to retrieve a weapon that has been developed by the corrupt head of Pym Tech, Dr. Darren Cross (Corey Stoll). Cross has plans to sell the technology to an infamous terrorist organization. With the help of Pam and others, Scott Lang becomes the Ant-Man.

I will keep this short and sweet. Marvel’s Ant-Man is full of pleasant surprises. There is a perfect balance between action and comedy relief. Paul Rudd has his trademark dry sarcasm, but the best comedic performance comes from his best friend Luis, played by Michael Peña. I really hope his character returns. The fact that Ant-Man can shrink adds a whole other world for the action to take place in. The use of actual ants throughout the film is pretty cool as well. Unlike a lot of other superhero movies, the action is not distracting and does not take over the film at all. Also, please stay until after the end credits role, as in typical Marvel fashion, there are a couple “hidden scenes”.  All in all, Marvel’s Ant-Man ranks up amongst my favourites with Iron Man, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Guardians of the Galaxy. I can only hope that the next Marvel adaptation to be released, Deadpool (Feb 2016), is as clever and fun to watch as Ant-Man.

I highly enjoyed Marvel’s Ant-Man. Go see this film if you like fun movies, but that is just my opinion.

T.