However, this latest venture is only their second original release in the last four years.
The other one was Guardians Of The Galaxy and that ended up being the highest grossing-film of 2014 in the United States.
However, the hype surrounding Ant-Man was nowhere near as much as GOTG. But I think these days, the film will be successful. That is because, if it says Marvel, it will sell. It is quite hard to believe that superhero films are so popular, that we are now seeing films like Ant-Man being made with a blockbuster budget.
I tried to avoid as much trailer footage as possible to go into my screening with as much of an open mind as possible.
I'm glad I did, as I feel Marvel have made another fun and action-packed flick. It has a great mix of a superhero movie and a heist movie and is definitely a solid addition to the MCU.
This may be the film that ends phase two of Marvel's Cinematic Universe, but it managed to be done on a small scale (no pun intended) which was nice to see after Age Of Ultron.
About a third of the way through watching it, I thought that 'Honey, I Shrunk The Kids' would make a great companion piece.
The general structure of the plot was very general and basic that has been seen far too often in superhero/action films. But that usually works and Ant-Man fits into that category.
It is easy to see Ant-Man as a well produced mess because the name sounds silly. But there is a lot of logic in the mythology of this superhero that worked nicely into the tone of the film. For anyone unsure about whether or not to see it, there are some nice references to other Marvel films, including a few special appearances.
It was nice to see Paul Rudd take a lead in a film that is not a comedy or a rom-com. His presence was pretty solid all-round. Evangeline Lily played a good powerful character that seems to be her best quality. Michael Pena has nice comedic moments in his role. However, the real star of the show is Michael Douglas. You instantly feel safe every time he is on screen and his character has a wonderful father figure to all the other main characters.
Sadly, Corey Stoll played a very weak and heavily cliched villain which seems to be all too common in Marvel films.
The big positive is obviously Douglas. But I think the way the crew approached the source material was the right way in doing it. The action was well choreographed and fun as always, and there are some good laughs. Not all the comedy works, but the majority does especially towards the end.
Sadly the main negative is pretty much the same as any other Marvel film. The villain is weak and not memorable at all. The plot may not be a negative, but it is just not that spectacular and a bit too safe.
All in all, it is another welcomed addition to the MCU. Everything about it is passable, but nearly all of it is what you would expect from a Marvel. The plot was simple to follow, but a bit too basic for me. But it was nice to see the film work on a small scale compared to the star studded Avengers films. The only exceptional part of the film is Michael Douglas. It is easy to forget how great he is.
It was sad to see the villain be so forgettable. He could be the worst developed villain in the MCU.
However, another positive that I haven't mentioned is the soundtrack which definitely felt a lot different to other Marvel scores. Also, the visuals were quite impressive, especially in the final action set-piece which had its best comedic moments as well.
As this is a Marvel film, there is some bonus scenes during the credits. Unlike Age Of Ultron, we are back with a mid and post credits scene. The mid one is predictable but good, but the post-credits scene is interesting and gives us a nice flavor for the next film within the MCU.
Rating: 7/10
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