Sandy Kenyon reviews “Ant-Man”, starring Paul Rudd

Ant-Man’s suit provides Paul Rudd with the ability to shrink in size and gain strength and also talk to ants. This movie is fantastic for all ages, sans a slight bit of language.

“Ant-Man” is never boring, nor is it anything close to rousing. Set against the lovely backdrop of San Francisco, Ant-Man can shrink to the size of a subatomic insect, with the help of a bionic serum. This is a world where SHIELD has been around for years and The Avengers exist.

Admittedly, I spent most of the film daydreaming about what it could have been if it had been left in the hands of Edgar Wright (who left the project a year ago over creative differences).The latest Marvel film is unspectacular and forgettable – but still entertaining. They need a thief. And he’s, well, let him run down his list of particulars (per the “Ant-Man Prelude” comic): “I was a failed criminal, a convict and a awful husband”.

It’s nice to see Douglas back in his element. He’s tipped off by a friend about a safe filled with valuables. So Scott returns to his life as a burglar and successfully breaches an old safe to grab the goods. No gold, no cash and no jewels. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Paul Rudd (who still looks fabulous) was going to take over the role. Unfortunately, his past follows him and he once again finds himself reluctantly delving into the darker side of society in order to try and pay child support. As soon as he has it on, he presses a button on the glove, not knowing what it does. At the height of the Cold War his creation, the Pym Particle, was a breakthrough but he refused to allow its miniaturization properties to be used as a weapon.

Enter Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), a legendary scientist. He makes his way to the street as an ant-sized man.

For Lang to succeed, he must convince Pym’s most faithful ally – no, not the armies of ants with whom Pym can communicate telepathically. On his way out of Hank’s house Scott is arrested for breaking and entering. Despite his situations he maintains his dry humor and always tells it like it is. He puts it on and escapes jail. Cross is now in charge of Pym’s company and has worked to develop the technology with an eye toward selling it to the highest bidder, a.k.a., HYDRA.

Much of the credit for making “Ant-Man” work goes to Rudd, who manages to convey both rugged heroism and boyish enthusiasm at Lang’s newly acquired superpowers. Ant-Man is entertaining, despite a slow start, with decent performances.

Its less scrupulous CEO Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) wants to sell the shrinking technology to some very bad people.

Ant-Man is a great addition to the Marvel cinematic universe. “You gotta be more specific because we’ve got guys that do this and that, ‘ and it just made sense for the story”.

But toward the end of his critique, Truitt said that Ant-Man was able to come up with the best stuff in a movie about Marvel superheroes. If there’s one thing you should know, it’s that there’s more to this Avenger than meets the eye.

The 3D is exceptional in this movie.