There's something refreshing about the prosaic scope of Ant-Man, which is the first Marvel Studios feature in ages that does not deal with global apocalypse. The film concerns eminent particle physicist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), who once developed a suit that enabled its wearer to shrink to mere millimeters in size (and control all species of ant to boot). Long ousted from the company he founded, Pym and his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) are plotting to sabotage the imminent weaponization of the physicist's technology by his successor Darren Cross (Corey Stall). However, decades of wearing the suit have enfeebled Pym, so he recruits recently-paroled ace burglar Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) to assume the Ant-Man identity and stop Cross.
Helmed by comedy director Payton Reed (Down With Love, Yes Man), Ant-Man covers well-worn superhero origin story territory, right down to the obligatory training montages, although it also resembles a fizzy heist film in the mold of Ocean's 11 and The Italian Job. Despite the ludicrous premise, the familiar story beats keep the film relatively focused and grounded. When the sci-fi trappings are flicked away, Ant-Man is essentially a straightforward tale of parent-child relationships and moral redemption, presented with slick sincerity but without much acknowledgement of the abundant clichés.
Much of Ant-Man is mildly entertaining but unremarkable, and that includes the performances. Even Rudd's reliable comic sensibilities seem to recede within the dense, fantastical Marvel landscape, and the film’s humor is generally either bone-dry or reliant on unfortunate ethnic caricatures. The film's only definitive merit is its pint-sized action sequences, which are undeniably a smashing success. Boasting the imagination and momentum that Avengers: Age of Ultron only feinted towards, Ant-Man's set pieces make deliriously creative use of its premise, fluidly slipping between the micro and macro scales to thrilling effect.
Ant-Man opens in wide release Friday, July 17.
