The first Marvel film of the year is always as exciting moment for me as I feel it sets the tone for the blockbusters for the rest of the calendar.
It's usually the first big box office taker and with this franchise so deep into its timeline, the stories are just going to be stranger and hopefully more daring.
Especially with this current phase and saga is all about universes crossing over and timelines being disrupted and altered as well as our beloved characters encountering cosmic civilisations.
This latest release involves an Avenger that I think many of us never thought would get a third film as the titular character. But with Ant-Man, we somehow did. I was always sceptical about Ant-Man having his own films. I wasn't sure how you could make this character entertaining and being able to carry its own sub-franchise. But the first two Ant-Man films were surprisingly decent. I liked the backstory, how much they play with the technology used and that the tone is largely comedic.
Another thing that I've liked about the Ant-Man films, is the strong family connection. That aspect does get well utilised in this latest adventure. But the amount of world expansion and visual effects in this almost completely overshadows the family side of the story.
Paul Rudd continues to have that natural charisma and everyday man persona that works well once again.
I was disappointed to see Evangeline Lilly not be given that much to do. While she still looks great in the role. There is not so much to talk about apart from just be support.
Jonathan Majors was given a good introduction into the film franchise. That calm presence with sinister undertones has given a villain that has a lot of potential for this franchise to continue to be successful. But maybe not in the same way as it was by the end of the Infinity Saga.
Kathryn Newton was solid and believable in her role, Michael Douglas was perfectly functional window-dressing as you would expect and it was nice seeing Michelle Pfeiffer be a lot more pivotal character than originally expected.
There are a couple of surprises that I will leave for you to discover. One was unexpected but surprisingly fine in its execution. The other was odd and unintentionally funny, which was a real shame.
The production design is dazzling and highly imaginative. It continues to show how more cosmic the MCU has become. It's got flashes of Star Wars, Flash Gordon, Guardians Of The Galaxy and Valerian.
While the visual effects are spectacular in their creation, there were some jerky moments that made it too obvious that we were on a big green screen as the practical characters didn't seem to blend well with the digital.
I'm going to have to be harsh with the script as it wasn't that great. Apart from maybe some of the stuff Majors was given to say, the rest just felt like weak exposition and a lot of the vintage Marvel gags felt out of place or just not that funny.
So while the previous two Ant-Man films have had situations where the stakes have been a lot smaller and grounded. This one while small in scale from a literal sense has high stakes from a universe and timeline one. Sadly, I don't think the amount of content and cogs it had to make this story function matched for its quality of story-telling and pacing.
There is a lot that they are trying to develop here and as a piece of film it didn't feel completely engaging for me. It's most certainly not a bad film. There is enough to enjoy to a satisfactory level. But it is most definitely in the lower section when ranked against the other MCU installments.
It's clear that less is more with the Ant-Man character and his support, and it might be what this entire film series needs to be at the moment. I know that historically the source material does get sillier, which is why I have been accepting a lot of the more outlandish moments. But it still doesn't excuse the writing not taking bigger swings and the pacing not flowing as seamlessly as it could.
It's understandable why some audiences are losing interest in this current phase as it will be hard to match the satisfaction of Avengers: Endgame. But I will forever stick with it as I remain curious and I know that everything this franchise does has a purpose as the Marvel team themselves know where this is going and how it will conclude. So unlike certain other major franchises, they have a clear end goal.
In my view, the multiverse saga has been a mixed bag with its films but largely positive with its TV shows. We now move into phase 5 and I hope this concept can give us an adventurous vibe and a sense of fun as it's all been a bit too serious for its own good so far. Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness have been the exceptions and I still have a soft spot for Eternals. But with the best multiverse film to not be one made by Marvel shows that this concept is still yet to be mastered by this major studio.
As usual, there is a mid and post credits scene. Both are important as this could give us an indicator about what is in store for Marvel's next big blockbuster.
Rating: 7/10
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