‘Ant-Man’ — Starring Paul Rudd, Corey Stoll, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lily and Michael Peña
8 out of 10

By Joseph Valencia ’17
THE ROUNDUP

Marvel’s newest film “Ant-Man” delivers exciting action and clever humor in an excellent and well organized film.

“Ant-Man” takes place in the same universe as other Marvel blockbusters such as “The Avengers” and “Iron Man.”

Though being standalone for the most part, the film does make offhanded remarks about characters from other Marvel films and even features an Avenger playing a prominent role in the plot.

The film’s protagonist, Scott Lang, played by Paul Rudd, is a former burglar who is trying to support his daughter through honest work.

He realizes he can’t make enough money in his job and decides to rob the house of the previous Ant-Man, Hank Pym, played by Michael Douglas.

Lang’s partner in crime, Luis, played by Michael Peña, provides much of the film’s comedy relief.

Luis speaks very rapidly and often embarks on vividly detailed monologues about his efforts to find expensive items to steal.

Pym sees Lang’s proficiency in burglary and decides to enlist him in his crusade to stop his former protege, Darren Cross, played by Corey Stoll, from making weapons using the Ant-Man technology.

The Ant-Man suit allows the user to shrink down to the size of an ant while bolstering their strength, allowing them to strike with devastating force at a size barely visible to the naked eye.

Cross is attempting to use the Ant-Man technology to create a suit that he will sell to the highest bidder. Pym wants Lang to use original the Ant-Man suit to steal Cross’s weaponized suit before he is able to sell it.

One of the film’s greatest strengths is watching Lang learn to use the Ant-Man suit with the help of Pym and his daughter Hope, played by Evangeline Lily. Lang learns to shrink, grow and utilize ants as a means of transportation and support in combat.

Lang’s antics with the ants he meets are well animated and a delight to watch. The ants come off as likable creatures despite their grotesque appearance.

Though the film offers a balanced and enjoyable cast of characters, its weakest point lies in the villain, Cross.

Cross is very one dimensional. He comes off as maniacal and ambitious, and remains that way for the entire film.

He doesn’t have much interesting exposition to justify his villainy. Cross’s main purpose in the film is to make Lang a hero.

Even so, the final battle between Lang and Cross is cleverly handled, mostly taking place in a child’s bedroom. Both Lang and Cross utilize their suits’ shrinking ability to fight on and around a toy train set.

“Ant-Man” is an excellent addition to Marvel’s plethora of movies and a great film overall.