Things Get Weird in a New Ant-Man Spot

Unlikely underdog, Scott Lang AKA Ant-Man, (played by Paul Rudd) is the happy-go-lucky optimist trying to do the right thing for his family.

Spoiler Warning: We strongly urge everyone to actually see the film before reading ahead, as there may be spoilers below. “It didn’t have the interest”. And that’s one of the things that makes the movie work so well. The audience I was with obviously anticipated this, as they were a bit raucous, for a movie crowd, from the get go. Maybe it’s because I know the director, Peyton Reed, from one of my favorite movies Down with Love, but there’s a throwback quality hat calls to mind the old spy series mixed with surprising special effects. I am very much looking forward to the promises made by Ant-Man’s post-credit scene.

As he also plays Ant-Man, Rudd is relieved to say the double duty paid off.

Desperate to get things turned around, he agrees to help his friend and former cellmate, Luis (Michael Peña), break into a house and empty a safe of its lucrative contents. Lang’s Superhero 101 course in the Ant-Man suit (there are also, as you’d imagine, lots of ants), his determination to be a hero in the eyes of his daughter (Scott is divorced and his ex-wife has married a cop – not a good look if you’re breaking crime in a super-shrinking suit) and the bond he builds with Pym and van Dyne are all elements at this movie’s heart.

“Ant-Man” can also use his mental power to control armies of ants. You get him, you understand what makes him tick and he doesn’t feel like he’s there just because a bad guy is needed. His hero is realistic, his physique reflects his the skills needed for his ill chosen career.

With the help of his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly), Pym recruits and trains Lang with the aim of an act of industrial espionage.

Updated estimates showed both new entries finishing at the lower range of Friday estimates – which had hit $65 million for “Ant-Man” and $35 for “Trainwreck“. “We were making it our own”. Again, a far jump from the comic since Yellow Jacket is another alter ego of Pym from a different timeline. Sure, Tony Stark makes mistakes, but he overcomes them, while the defining characteristic of Hank Pym, Scott Lang and Eric O’Grady is their mistake.

“When I first started getting into comic books it was Marvel superheroes, X-Men, Spider-Man, The Hulk”. The filmmakers must either find a point where the characters are relatable or rewrite their history until we get there.

Bonus takeaway: As “Easter egg” teases to future films, listen to the specific superpowers described by a woman journalist – and pay careful attention to what you may glimpse in the subatomic realm.

The secrecy is a huge part of these movies, I have now found out firsthand. The antagonist, Darren Cross, is so villainous he might as well be wearing a black cape and twirling his mustache. After revealing the real cause of her mother’s death earlier in the movie, Hope learned that her father doesn’t want her donning the Ant-Man costume in order to protect her from the same fate. Can Ant-Man, arguably the strangest Marvel film (on paper) yet, continue with the trend? There are snapshots of dialogue between Cross and Pym that allude to their failed father-son dynamic, but I don’t believe it’s quite enough justification for the scientist to turn around and sell his life’s work to the highest bidder, all for short-term gain.