Ant-Man

Ant-Man is an extremely fun origin story and a superb addition to the MCU. Paul Rudd is incredibly charming in the lead role with Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas and Michael Peña giving great supporting performances. The CG is great and the action sequences are extremely impressive. The humour works really well and it's consistently funny. Unfortunately, it does suffer from the weak villain problem that some other Marvel movies suffer from.

There's a particle that can make you miniature, scale you down the size of ants and even more, and Scott Lang, is just the man, who has the chance to be less than, with Dr. Pym and Hope Van Dyne, there to make sure; that the devious and the scheming Darren Cross, doesn't get the chance to beat them, and to boss, by releasing Yellowjacket, to those called Hydra and their racket, causing misery and torment, and great loss.

It's one of those cinematic episodes that gets better with subsequent viewings, a great story and you feel there's genuine chemistry between Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly and Michael Douglas - plenty of humour too, well worth a revisit.

OK, so I will probably target the wrath of a legion of fan-boys but as a PhD Physicist I will categorically state that much of the science in the Marvel universe is total nonsense. For example, it requires a certain suspension of belief that whole cities can be levitated. But it's called "Science Fiction" for a reason, right? "Ant Man" pushes that suspension of belief to whole new levels. The concept that a miniaturised man, were such a thing even possible, could exert the same moment and force as a full sized person would make Newton spin in his grave.

With these nagging doubts I watched the trailer increasingly comfortable in my view that, (even with a free cinema pass), this was a film I would avoid like the plague. That was until the final scene, featuring Thomas the Tank engine, that was ludicrously and surprisingly comical. Could it be that, like last year's "Guardians of the Galaxy", Marvel had pulled its pompous head out of its ass and come up with an 'Avengers-lite' that could entertain a broader audience? I decided to risk it. And I was glad I did.

Paul Rudd ("Friends", "Anchorman") plays ex-con Scott Lang who is recruited by brilliant scientist and would-be superhero Dr Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and his gorgeous daughter Hope ("Lost" and "The Hobbit"'s Evangeline Lilly) to steal a jacket. (No, really). The owner of said jacket, albeit a high-tech jacket, is businessman and all-round bad-guy Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), with evil intent. (You can tell he's evil by what he does to a cute little lamb - this is the worst viewing for sheep since "Far from the Madding Crowd".) By miniaturising Lang and securing the help of an army of ants, the stage is set for a heist of a most unusual kind.

This sounds ridiculous to even write. So why does it work? First up, the script by Edgar Wright ( of "3 Flavours Cornetto" fame), Adam McKay ("The Other Guys"), Joe Cornish and Paul Rudd himself is as tight as a drum, with some situations and lines that are downright hilarious. A couple of brilliant lip sync scenes, one featuring the requisite Stan Lee cameo, are grin-inducing pleasures.

Supporting the screenplay, the three leading players pull off their roles with enormous panache. Rudd is hugely likable, with all of the smart-whip humour of Downey Jnr.'s "Iron Man" but with none of the appalling arrogance. Michael Douglas, in his one outing this year, seems to be revelling in his role and (presumably with the help of some clever makeup and/or CGI) looking very dapper in the 1987 version of his character. And Evangeline Lilly enters the Avenger's world with a bang and looks very comfortable there. In an effective supporting role, Michael Peña ("American Hustle") adds a comic lightness of touch as fellow robber Luis. Abby Ryder Fortson also deserves special mention (and an Oscar for cuteness) as Lang's young daughter.

Whilst real fan-boys might object to the flippant nature of the film, there are a number of clever cross-overs into the 'mainstream' "Avengers" films, with one B-list Avenger guest star and (eventually) an A-list appearance. And (as is common in these films, and notable as 80% of the audience stayed in their seats for the full credits) there is both a mid-credits scene (that's a set-up for the sequel) and a final post-credit scene that (so I'd told) is hugely significant for next year's "Captain America: Civil War" (in which Rudd is set to reprise his "Ant Man" role).

The director is Peyton Reed, whose limited movie portfolio to date includes Jim Carrey's "Yes Man" and "Bring it On".

As I found myself thoroughly enjoying the experience, my rating, against all the odds, is twice what I expected it to be. I can't believe I'm saying this… but I recommend you go see this for a fun movie summer experience.

For a few brief moments, the unstoppable juggernaut that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) looked like it was about to grind to a halt with Ant-Man. Unlike most other films under the Marvel Studios umbrella, this production has been haunted by doubt and dissension. Fans were nervous about the narrative decisions to relegate Hank Pym – the original Ant-Man in the comic books – to the sidelines, while killing off his wife Janet Van Dyne (who, as the Wasp, is one of the founding members of the Avengers). Then came that hugely publicised parting of the ways between Marvel and original director Edgar Wright, who oozes so much geek cred that people understandably mourned his departure from the project after years of development. And yet, the final product – Peyton Reed's Ant-Man – is a fun, frothy delight, one that proves once and for all that Marvel knows precisely what it's doing and where it's going with the most crazily interconnected movie-and-television franchise of all time.

After serving his jail sentence, Scott Lang (Rudd) just wants to reunite with his daughter Cassie and get his life back on track. But he soon discovers that people in the outside world – including his ex- wife Maggie (Greer) and her new cop boyfriend Paxton (Cannavale) – aren't particularly kind to former convicts. Beaten down by circumstances, he agrees to pull off one last heist with his eternally optimistic buddy Luis (Pena). It's a crime that places him squarely in the path of Dr. Hank Pym (Douglas), a retired, semi-reclusive scientist who decides to enlist Scott in his life-long mission of preventing the Pym Particle – a technological breakthrough that allows him to become the super- small, super-strong Ant-Man – from falling into the wrong hands.

Truth be told, Ant-Man gets off to a somewhat shaky start. The tale of an honourable rogue who's looking for a shot at redemption is a well-worn storytelling trope, one that the film initially seems to embrace rather too eagerly. As we watch Scott soldier through a host of tiny indignities, the dialogue – still credited to Wright and his co-writer Joe Cornish, with rewrites by Rudd and Adam McKay – is uninspired, and oftentimes uncomfortably on-the-nose. There's no subtlety here, and the sense of fun that accompanies Scott's attempt to hold down a job in Baskin Robbins feels a wee bit forced.

But the film kicks into higher gear, and stays there, once Scott stumbles onto or, more accurately, steals his second chance. His discovery of the Ant-Man suit and all that entails – working with Hank, meeting Hank's aloof but eminently capable daughter Hope (Lilly), training to prevent Hank's former protégé Darren Cross (Stoll) from replicating the Pym Particle for sale to the highest bidder – give the story the shot of adrenaline it needs. In the blink of an eye, this superhero heist flick finds its feet, and transforms into a whirlwind of action, humour and heart. Reed's camera zigs merrily from Luis' unique method of exposition (brilliant) to Scott's attempts to survive Hope's training (bruisingly hilarious), before zagging into the dark, trembling heart of Hank's troubled relationship with his daughter.

Indeed, what makes Ant-Man work so well is its insistence on respecting its characters and taking their concerns and relationships seriously. This provides the film with an emotional anchor amidst all the madcap chaos and gleeful irreverence. Scott's overpowering love for his young daughter runs parallel to Hank's own concern for Hope, and even Paxton – initially caricaturised as the stereotypical brutish new boyfriend – is given layers and depth beyond what might be expected of a film that seems so silly on the surface. This culminates in the film's best action sequence: one that manages to be utterly ridiculous, as the camera cheekily zooms in and out of a conflict that's entirely proportional to the size of its participants; but also deeply heartfelt, when Scott makes a split-second decision between life and probable death.

For anyone concerned about Ant-Man subsisting in its own little bubble within the MCU, rest assured that there's plenty on display here to please even the most die-hard of fans. The film features not only a welcome cameo from a very popular agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., but also ties Scott firmly into MCU continuity with a hugely pleasing direct reference to Avengers: Age Of Ultron. The subsequent semi-aerial battle that takes place between Ant-Man and a certain Avenger proves that this miniscule hero has what it takes to stand proud alongside the world's mightiest champions. (Stay through the credits, by the way, for two incredibly exciting hints at what's to come for the MCU in the future.)

As with all the other films and television shows in Marvel's burgeoning media empire, the cast of Ant-Man is pitch-perfect. Rudd puts his goofy and amiably sexy charisma to excellent use as Scott, allowing us to believe that this one man can be as silly as he is strong, and as serious as he is funny. Lilly gets the big-screen role she richly deserves in Hope, who's acknowledged at every point in the film as being better, stronger, and more capable than the men around her think she is. Douglas plays a far more palatable version of Dr. Pym (who can be tough to swallow in the comics), and does so with his trademark charm and magnetism, while Stoll gives good psychopath as the increasingly unhinged, patently cruel Cross.

Ant-Man may not edge out the other films that make up Phase Two of the MCU in a straw poll – it does, after all, face some pretty serious competition in what has been an unbroken run of truly excellent superhero films. But it's an incredibly solid effort: smart, rich, deep and funny, teeming with ideas, genres and the potential for so much more. Now if that doesn't make for a great superhero movie, what does?

Excellent story, just the right amount of comedy, perfect casting and performances, and great S/VFX!