Quirky Ant-Man Breaks Superhero Traditions

Marvel Studios continues its rapid pace of superhero movies with the newly released Ant-Man. Yes, that is indeed the name of this superhero. Ant-Man. But, wait! Don’t judge this superhero just yet by name alone. We just may have found a hidden gem in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Marvel has provided some of the most recognizable names in comic book lore. Spider-Man. Hulk. Thor. Clearly Ant-Man doesn’t quite belong in this same elite group but many were not familiar with Guardians of the Galaxy before that movie made its debut. Ant-Man faces a similar uphill battle in the area of name recognition and it probably doesn’t help matters that the ubiquitous Avengers cast a long shadow courtesy of their latest adventure from earlier this summer. In spite of this, Ant-Man more than holds its own within the Marvel universe.

Paul Rudd portrays the titular character, otherwise known as Scott Lang, who encounters a scientifically advanced suit capable of shrinking the wearer to well, ant-size. Scott reluctantly wears the Ant-Man suit to prevent this advanced technology from getting into the wrong hands. Rudd brings plenty of charming wit to this character making Scott personable without really trying too hard.

Scott doesn’t have the unshakable confidence of Tony Stark or the duty-bound persona of Steve Rogers. In fact Scott’s day job is that of a burglar. Even Ant-Man’s signature superhero ability defies comic-book conventions. Yet these traits are exactly what make the character appealing and the filmmakers don’t shy away from it. They embrace the quirkiness of the ability to become ant-sized over and over again.

It is in these moments that the film hits its high points with laugh out loud moments that highlight the absurdity of a superhuman ability of becoming ant-sized. Plenty of jokes focus on the perilous circumstances encountered by a diminutive Scott as compared to the human sized perspective of the audience. Ant-Man masterfully walks the fine line between not taking itself too seriously and at the same time also not becoming a joke of a superhero film.

Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, and Corey Stoll also join the cast as the other principal characters but the real scene-stealer is Michael Peña who portrays Luis, a close friend who comically tries to help Scott in any way possible.

The film appeared to have a bit more instances of colorful language than previous Marvel films but not as much action violence. That might be an acceptable tradeoff in determining suitability for younger kids but obviously that will be a personal choice for parents.

Ant-Man may not have the over-the-top action scenes or star-studded ensemble cast of The Avengers but you won’t find it lacking in either category. The movie provides an entertaining, comical journey in an unconventional way but still remaining quintessentially Marvel.

P.S. You should know this by now but just in case this will be your first Marvel experience, you will want to stay until the end credits.

Disclosure: We were provided a complimentary advance screening of the film to facilitate this post. All thoughts and opinions are our own.