Lock up your picnics
A more down-to-earth hero…
ANT-MAN
OUT 30 NOVEMBER DVD, BD, 3D BD, DIGITAL HD
In a summer in which blockbusters consistently equated bigger with better – “more teeth,” in Jurassic World’s pithy terminology – Ant-Man stood out for demanding that audiences bring their dental mirrors. Credit Marvel for the savvy to dodge expectations, especially after delivering Avengers: Age Of Ultron, one of the biggest (some would say stodgiest) of 2015’s crop. Here, a shrunken superhero is “wow enough”.
Admittedly, it didn’t feel like that prior to Ant-Man’s arrival. If the premise didn’t already make it an underdog, a much-reported directorial departure left the studio’s 12th movie looking somewhat unheralded. Yet, like its diminutive hero, the film uses that element of surprise to its advantage. We’ll never know what original helmer Edgar Wright might have brought, and perhaps the limits of Marvel’s experimentation have been reached. Yet don’t forget that Wright’s replacement Peyton Reed has form for likeability ( Bring It On) and visual invention ( Down With Love). Ant-Man fizzes with similar warmth and brio.
Freed from MCU continuity, the film runs parallel to Marvel’s A-list, be it Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym holding out on S.H.I.E.L.D. to Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) besting a familiar face during a training mission. It shares something of Guardians Of The Galaxy’s insouciance, without being dragged down by any guff about Infinity Stones. Here, the stakes are much – yes – smaller.
It takes time, though. The opening stretches are weighed down by soon-to-be partners-incrime Pym and Lang’s dual backstories. Where Guardians threw its gang together with breathless impatience, Ant-Man studiously details both Pym’s battle to protect his shrinking secret from amoral protégé Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), and Lang’s attempts to seek redemption as a dad. The pace flags but the faults are structural; it’s unclear what Wright might have done differently, or better.
An ace break-in sequence raises the film’s intelligence via Lang’s ingeniously leftfield approach to locks. Suddenly, the extensive story building makes sense: this film delights in tearing down the established edifices of Marvel movies and rebuilding to suit the changing scale.
With moments of science both plausible (greater density brings ant-like strength) and implausible (communication with ants via vibratory earpieces), Lang’s adoption of the Ant-Man suit is a hoot. Yet each joke progresses his tactical nous; compared to the Avengers’ brawn, Lang absloutely requires nimbleness in movement, timing and thought, giving a satisfyingly cerebral thrill to the action.
So Rudd and Reed’s union delivers a breezy character comedy, a caper movie that happens to revolve around a fantastic(ally small) hero. Rudd nails the irreverent tone required, aided by an admirably self-deprecating Douglas and a wryly sceptical Evangeline Lilly, although Michael Peña steals proceedings as Lang’s hyper-enthusiastic pal. With entire sequences shot and edited to Peña’s manic jabber, Marvel brings fresh meaning to calls for “more teeth”. Modest extras take in C-3PO impersonations, the importance of dust motes and Reed badgering an evasive Rudd to reveal which side he’s on in the upcoming Civil War.
Extras › Commentary (BD) › Featurettes (BD) › Deleted/extended scenes (BD) › Gag reel (BD)