Okay. We all know the story, but it's impossible to talk about this movie without it. Development for Ant-Man began way back in 2003 when Edgar Wright, who hadn't even released his debut feature, Shaun of the Dead, yet pitched a story idea to Artisan Entertainment (who held the rights at the time) and Marvel. Both parties loved it, but never moved forward with it. When Marvel Studios was formally kickstarted a couple of years later, they brought on Wright as the writer and director of Ant-Man. Alongside Jon Favreau, Louis Leterrier, Kenneth Branagh, and Joe Johnston, Wright was to helm one of the films that would eventually lead up to The Avengers. However, Wright became involved in his other projects, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, and The World's End, which took time away from developing Ant-Man; thereby preventing the character from appearing in The Avengers.
Finally, in 2013, Edgar Wright was able to fully commit to the project. He began work on the film with his long-time friend and co-writer Joe Cornish. Paul Rudd was cast as Scott Lang, Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, and Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne. Filming was months, perhaps even weeks, away from beginning. Unfortunately, things had changed at Marvel Studios. The higher ups insisted that Wright throw in more references to the MCU, which Wright refused because he still envisioned his film as completely stand-alone. Ultimately, with his movie going through unauthorized script revisions, he left the project in spring 2014, barely one year before its release date.
Without a director and writing team, Paul Rudd took over writing duties, calling in longtime collaborator Adam McKay to work on the new script while trying to keep as much of Wright and Cornish's original vision intact. Meanwhile, Marvel Studios somehow lucked into finding the one other director in Hollywood who likes Ant-Man: Peyton Reed, best known for films like Bring it On and Yes Man (a joke could be made of how fitting the latter title is to his position on this set).
Yet despite all of this insane behind the scenes drama which led to hardcore fans turning on the film due to it losing one of the most creative directors working today, Ant-Man still turned out as a fun, well paced and well written picture. It's far from Marvel's best, but it is better than it has any right to be. While it is interesting to think about what could have been, I certainly have no problems with the movie we got.
What works most about Ant-Man is its razor-sharp pacing. The movie clocks in at just under two hours, but it is one of the easiest watches in the entire MCU. Right from the start, the movie briskly introduces Hank Pym and his explosive personality (plus some cameos from Howard Stark and Peggy Carter, with Iron Man 2's John Slattery and Hayley Atwell reprising their respective roles), then quickly shifts to Scott Lang and his less-than-desirable life. The movie hardly ever lets up, zooming from plot point 1 to 2 to 3.
Despite this lightning-fast pacing, Ant-Man doesn't forget to dive into the nitty-gritty details, much like Michael Peña's Luis character does whenever he tells a story. We see the step-by-step process of Lang breaking into Pym's vault, Lang becoming accustomed to the suit and his six-legged allies, the breakdown of the final heist, etc. Like any good heist movie (and Ant-Man is definitely a heist movie), it knows the devil is in the details. Audiences enjoy learning about how a plan will play out, and they get into it when they watch it unfold, either successfully or ending in failure.
The characters in this movie admittedly aren't the most captivating of the MCU, but they have enough memorable qualities. Paul Rudd does a solid job making Scott Lang a likable, virtuous dude who gets pushed to desperate measures to be with his daughter. One of the most refreshing aspects of his character is that he doesn't try to win back his ex-wife, in fact he seems pretty content in the end with who she's chosen. Instead, his main concern is being with his daughter and trying to be a better dad that she can look up to. It's a cool, unique arc for a Marvel Studios hero. His main goal isn't saving the world (though he does do that, too), he's just trying to make a humble living even if he can't help but do the right thing.
Michael Douglas plays Hank Pym, giving him the hard edge his character is famous for (minus the wife beating). As far as mentor characters in the MCU go, he has the bold distinction of not dying. He's also got some tense chemistry with his daughter, Hope, played by Evangeline Lilly. I've never been the biggest fan of the actress, but she does pretty well here. She's given plenty to do, showing lots of frustration that her father refuses to let her take action. Her forgiveness of Hank and her acceptance of Scott are gradual and earned. Finally, Scott's support team are all fun comedic characters who are a tad bit stereotypical, but have many of the best lines in the film. Once again, though, Micheal Peña steals the show. His energy and all-smiles-all-the-time attitude are just charming, and there's some great subtle character work with his knock-out punch.
The rest of the characters, well, they kinda just exist. Corey Stoll does what he can as Darren Cross/Yellowjacket, even though he's not much more than a mustache-twirling villain from the get-go (I'm not sure how the particles affected his psyche, turning him insane). Still, he gets some great small moments to show his cold-hard villainy like the flick against the cage holding the shrunken lamb. He also has a great scream, but that's just a tiny (heh) note. Bobby Cannavale plays Paxton, Cassie's step-dad, and he starts off as the step-dad who wants the old dad out of his life. But he does have some solid growth, learning to respect Scott enough in the end. He's certainly more captivating than Scott's ex-wife who's just...kinda there.
Oh, and there's a cool cameo from Sam Wilson/Falcon in a fun drawn-out fight scene between him and Ant-Man. Yes, this was obviously an addition forced in by the studio execs to tie this film in with the rest of the MCU, but it is woven in mostly organically (and uses the Avengers theme more prominently than Age of Ultron did). Still, Anthony Mackie gets more time to shine, even if we see Falcon lose yet again (I don't think he's won a fight yet). Plus, it's great set-up for why Ant-Man gets involved at all in our next film.
Well, we can't talk about a movie where a hero shrinks and grows without talking about the shrinking and growing parts. The bulk of the movie is frankly shot rather boringly (lots and lots of flat over-the-shoulder shots), but the Ant-Man scenes are visually awesome. Like I hinted at earlier, this is where the film really shines creatively, as it should. The visual effects are fantastic, even remembering to show dust and other microscopic details. And I am a total sucker for the after-image effect when Ant-Man shrinks, it just looks cool. Finally, the microverse sequence has some fantastic mind-bending imagery and some cool subtle hints about what's to come in the sequel hitting theaters this July.
Overall, Ant-Man mostly succeeds. Yes, it doesn't have much directorial style to it and a lot of the characters exist mostly as one-dimensional plot devices. But the core cast comprised of Rudd, Lilly, and Douglas carries the show. The visuals are stunning, it's funny, and it'll make you learn to respect and love ants all over again. Plus, it gave us the greatest TV spot of all time. That alone puts this film above Age of Ultron, both Thor films so far, and The Incredible Hulk. It may be fun to think about what could have been, but hey, Edgar Wright got to make Baby Driver and we got a solid entry in the MCU thanks to his initial enthusiasm which kicked the whole thing off the ground. While I can understand why he's bitter about the whole thing, I don't think his fans should be. There's still enough of Wright in the final product to make it a worthwhile watch.
Phase 2 may be done on the movie side of things, but we're going to go back to Netflix for our next installment as we introduce the second Defender. Unlike Daredevil, this series isn't interested in action. It delves into scars, pain and trauma not on physical levels, but mental. It is a story of a trauma survivor, the hard life she leads, and her completely bullshit-free attitude.
Next time: Jessica Jones
No comments:
Post a Comment