Ant-Man (2015)
With success comes confidence, and Marvel has had quite a bit of that success. Even by 2015, Marvel had fully entrenched itself in the zeitgeist, with audience confidence and staying power out that wazoo. When it came time to decide on who to introduce next, producers went with a character who actually predated some of the ones they had already adapted - Ant-Man. However, rather than start with the original Ant-Man, planned director and writer Edgar Wright instead turned to the much more relatable, more grounded Scott Lang, single dad and ex-con, to launch the brand. While Edgar Wright himself wouldn’t get to make the movie he dreamed of, director Peyton Reed would take that foundation and turn it into a surprise hit, one that would, in time, have an effect on the MCU as a whole.
Ant-Man follows Scott Lang as he tries to maintain a life on the proper side of the law, only for his criminal past to end up ruining those chances. Instead, Lang is forced to commit a robbery, and in doing so, puts himself on the radar for one Hank Pym, brilliant scientist and original Ant-Man. Pym has kept a low profile ever since he had a falling out with S.H.I.E.L.D., but his successor to his company, Darren Cross, is threatening to repeat all of his won mistakes, and so he needs a criminal element to help him stop Cross’s plans. Alongside him is his hyper-capable daughter Hope Van-Dyne, who feels she should ne the one donning the suit instead of Lang.
The plot is actually pretty fun, especially in the wake of such heavy consequences as the invasion of Earth or the destruction of an entire country. Ant-Man actually boils down to being a heist film, and that heist feel is pervasive throughout, including in the score. Lang’s an extremely smart Engineering grad from MIT, so his turn to crime is actually an interesting one. It’s made clear from fairly early on that Scott is a very good person, one who’s only real crime was punishing a corporation that took nearly everything from him. In doing so, he ended up in the penal system, and we see the effects that that can have on someone’s well-being. Scott can’t even maintain a job at a Baskin-Robbins because of his criminal record.
This realistic and sad dilemma is further explored in his relationship with his daughter, Cassie. Cassie truly loves her dad, something that’s a nice change of pace for this sort of story. Even his ex-wife, Maggie (played by ever-loved Judy Greer), isn’t exactly unreasonable with him. The only antagonism between the two is based around Scott’s trouble with making ends meet, and thus not providing child support. This friction is what eventually causes Scott to fall back into crime, but also ends up being his greatest choice.
Paul Rudd gives an equally witty and heartfelt performance as a man just trying to do his best.
Hank is an interesting character. While the comic character has had irreparable damage done to his character by an overzealous artist, this version of the character is an ornery but well-meaning man, one who has the conviction to make choices outside of the normal channels. Thus, he engineers Scott’s entire heist on his own home, simply to see if Scott has what he needs. He knows that his hands are tied in regards to Cross, and his only choice is to bend the rules.
Hope has even less qualms when it comes to the rough stuff, and she isn’t afraid to show it. I love Hope as a character, and not just because she’s played by the smoke show Evangeline Lilly. Lilly plays her in such a meaningful way, as she goes about the motions of training Scott, while also showing that she’s far, FAR more competent in these things. This power comes with hang-ups, though, ones we see when she tries to prove herself a bit too hard. Scott, a father himself, is able to tell immediately why Hank is sidelining Hope, but she herself is too caught up in the feeling of abandonment to realize it.
It’s probably noticeable that I’ve barely touched on the heist itself, and that’s for good reason. Like any good heist, the fun is in how it plays out, and I don’t want to take away from it, but there’s also the fact that it isn’t the most important part of this movie. This movie is a very heartfelt, meaningful story of two dads trying their absolute damnedest to make the world a better place for their children, even if it means breaking the law. It’s a story about heart, and that is much more important than riding flying ants and shrinking into machines.
Those things are cool, of course, and the use of macros lenses and slick camera techniques makes every moment feel visceral and real. It was interesting to see some behind-the-scenes footage of the filming and realizing just how much of the film was real, rather than CG. One might expect giant sets, and that’s a small part of it, but a lot of it was very, very small camerawork. Much of the shrunken scenes are filmed in real locations, such as the bathtub, and then Scott (or rather, Paul Rudd), is imposed over them. It’s cool stuff, especially if you’re a cinematography nerd like me.
Scott Lang’s introductory story isn’t a huge, global affair, but it trades those massive stakes for massive heart, and that’s something that persists throughout the trilogy of Ant-Man flicks, at least for Ant-Man and the Wasp. I haven’t had a chance to see Quantumania yet, but if it’s even a little like this movie, I won’t be disappointed.
