Paul Rudd Explains Why He Decided to Play ‘Ant-Man’

It’s fun and will make you smile! A lust for power becomes rage, and it all builds into a fantastic third act that plays out in the bedroom of Scott Lang’s young daughter.

The setup is easy to get comfortable with.

As a hopeful skeptic, I went with fear, trepidation and crossed fingers to see Marvel’s new superhero 3D action flick, “Ant-Man“. There’s a microscopic mission in plan and they’re looking for the right guy for the job. So there was more backstory for Hank Pym than for any of the so-called reality movies that I might have done. It’s all familiar so just roll with it. Once he is contact by Pym, he discovers he is being asked to break into Pym’s company to destroy the technology that causes Ant-Man to exist. The costume allows the wearer of it to shrink down to the size of an ant, going small but giving the wearer super strength and supplying the elements of a blockbuster that delivers both tons of action and laughs.

Not exactly a spoiler for those with the internet, but at the end of the film, “Ant-Man will return” is flashed across the screen. It’s as insane as doubting Chuck Norris in a firefight.

Parents should be aware there is some moderate profanity, a mild sexual reference, and violence in Ant-Man, consistent with other Avengers movies.

“Marvel and Disney can take a risk like introducing new characters because of the connected fabric of the brand”, said Dave Hollis, Disney’s executive vice president of theatrical distribution. But what would the Avengers want with Scott? Forget what you ever knew about ants. Thrown in for good measure is Pym’s estranged daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly), who’s put herself in the dangerous position of getting close to Cross in order to spy on him.

Pretty bad, with one or more redeeming scenes. Pathos, depth and poignancy don’t exist here and that is fine. With its recent wave of Comic book hero themed movies, it dominates the theaters, raking in your hard earned dollars. So our pair of heroes are on their own? While Douglas has a couple of the more serious scenes, the rest of the cast is in on the “let’s make a fun if not noteworthy summer diversion” idea. Stoll is an appropriately sleazy villain. This is gravy – not a steak. Without Rudd, this movie just wouldn’t work.

Scott’s first shrinking experience, which starts with an impressive bathtub sequence, is the best of all of these sequences. From the fittingly heroic theme to the surf-tastic closing number “Tales to Astonish!” (named for the comic in which Ant-Man made his first appearance), Beck’s music perfectly reflects the genre-layering story, really working a flawless balance of whimsy and peril, criminal and hero.