Ant-Man
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll
117 mins; Class 12;
KRS Releasing Ltd

As the credits rolled on Ant-Man, listing the over a thousand people involved in the creation of this twelfth instalment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), I marvelled (sorry) at how the studio yet again delivered a film that was, as expected, super-strong on heroic action, yet still remained focused on fully developing its characters and story.

It is clearly part of the Marvel manifesto, with Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios and Ant-Man producer himself saying that “it’s always been about the characters and always making sure at the core of the film it is about being able to relate and connect to these amazing but flawed individuals”.

And, while the characters undoubtedly do connect the heart; that the studio ensures constant continuity in the universe’s overarching, tightly-woven storylines engages the brain.

And, sure enough, Ant-Man wastes no time in establishing its link to the MCU. Although it is a very straightforward origin story, about how Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) becomes Ant-Man) it comes with a rich backstory.

The film opens with a scene set a couple of decades or so ago, where we are introduced to scientist and industrialist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas looking remarkably like his 1980s self).

Pym is in a heated discussion with other members of Shield about his secret invention, the Pym Particle, from which he created a suit that allows the wearer to shrink in size and obtain superhuman power. In the present day, we discover that Pym has been forced out of his own company by Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), Pym’s former protégé.

Cross has discovered the secret of Pym’s invention and plans to use it for nefarious reasons.

So Pym recruits petty thief Scott and, with the help of Pym’s daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly), they plan a dangerous mission to prevent the impending threat.

Apart from the titular hero’s size, everything about Ant-Man is smaller and more intimate, starting from the core group of characters, who are a petty thief and a father-daughter duo with no Tony Stark-like egos in the mix.

It is a core cast that gels well. Rudd, with a plethora of comedic roles in his repertoire, may not have seemed the obvious choice for a superhero role. Yet, he slips into it with consummate ease.

Awesome scenes where we see things both from Ant-Man’s perspective and ours

He is equal parts funny, charming and rather smug. And even for all his wittiness, he makes for a believably warm and loving father. That he is also so unsure of himself and what is being asked of him makes him completely human and relatable.

The father-child dynamic, fraught though it may be, also drives the relationship between Pym and Hope. Douglas, clearly enjoying his foray into the superhero world, and Lilly play the relationship authentically.

The latter’s jealousy that her father chose someone else to carry on his legacy is nicely played, as she and Scott set up a tentative, professional relationship.

Stoll is suave and sneery in equal measure as Cross; while Michael Pena, Tip Harris and David Dastmalchian provide some added comic relief as Scott’s at times rather dim crew.

Even the action itself is more contained, with none of the mass destruction and mayhem the Avengers caused in their last outing (which Pym at one point hilariously mentions with thinly-veiled sarcasm).

Not to say that the action is small-scale; far from it. The movie’s VFX team, combined with some excellent editing, has generated some awesome scenes where we see things both from Ant-Man’s perspective and ours. The dizzying change in point of view adds to the experience.

The moment when Scott first puts on the suit provides a heart-in-mouth ride as he gets washed away in a tsunami (in a bathtub) and gets caught up in a vacuum cleaner, among other horrors.

There are many more delights to saviour – a fight with a second-tier Avenger is very, very funny; maintaining the humour that permeates throughout, with some genuinely touching moments for a slice of pure summer entertainment that more than makes up for the relative disappointment of some recent blockbusters. It is proof that, at times, good things come in small packages.

Ant-Man is the last movie in Phase Two of the MCU, another fantastic film that is sure to earn gigantic returns for the studio as it flexes its muscles for Phase Three.