Marvel’s Ant-Man opens today and with it the hopes and dreams of myrmecologists everywhere. It is a rather open secret that those who study ants for a living are counting on Ant-Man to do for their science what Jurassic World (and its lesser known prequels) did for paleontology, which is only slightly less impressive than the work Cheech and Chong did for botany. It’s a lot to pin on one little character, but as the film’s star Paul Rudd will surely attest, size doesn’t matter.
Ant-Man is about an ex-con named Scott Lang (Rudd) who finally realizes his lifelong goal of manning the counter at 31 Flavors, only to have it taken from him by “the man” as further punishment for a “justified” crime despite time served. To make matters worse, Lang is also losing hope of ever seeing his young daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson) again, and, as tough times are prone to dictate, he soon finds himself in the middle of a heist movie. It would be easy to blame the hilarious Luis (Michael Peña) for talking Lang into another bad decision, but at this point in the film he is still a grown-ass man and probably should have known better.
The plot thickens and Lang winds up with the Ant-Man suit and the tutelage of its creator (and previous wearer) Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), much to the chagrin of Pym’s daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly). Note: Based upon the relationships at play in this movie it may also do wonders for chemistry. Cross your fingers, nerds.
At this point we are in the required training montage, which is full of action and very funny, but then things get weird. Enter Eric (Jade Calegory), a young boy who loses control of his wheelchair on a grassy hill and soon finds himself plummeting to certain doom off of a huge cliff. Fortunately, he lives, and Mac, an alien on the run from NASA, is there, along with Ant-Man, to save the day. Friendships are formed and hilarity ensues.
It might be better if I let Paul Rudd explain it:
Pretty amazing, right?
But seriously, Ant-Man is a very funny film, and it is full of all the awesome backstory and superhero action that we have come to expect from a Marvel blockbuster, but more than anything it is a family film. It is about the relationships between Lang and his daughter, his ex-wife Maggie (Judy Greer) and her new husband Paxton (Bobby Cannavale), the dynamics between Pym and Van Dyne, and even between Pym and his former protégé Darren Cross (Corey Stoll). The relationships connect the movie, and they, specifically that between Lang and his daughter, will connect with you.
In fact, the whole fatherhood angle has become something of a new trend in Marvel films—assuming you’ve seen the latest Avengers film—and I can’t help but wonder: Does S.H.I.E.L.D. provide paternity leave? Does the Avengers Tower have changing tables in their men’s rooms? What about on-site daycare? Make a statement, Marvel!
But, you may ask, is it is a film for families? There is a scattering of light cursing, the tension of a child in danger as battle is waged all around her, and, probably the most disturbing, a cute little lamb being popped to a puddle of slime (it also happens to a human, but the lamb is cuter)—basically, if your kids have seen any of the other Marvel films they’ll be fine. Atticus (12) and Zane (9) loved it. See:
Bottom line, Ant-Man is excellent and you should see it. And you need to stay until the very end of the credits as there are two extra scenes.
No word on a sequel to Mac and Me.
