Airaku on 17 July 2015
Ant-man had GIANT expectations from Marvel fans while having SMALL expectations from casual moviegoers. Many fans were divided on how much potential this film could have after all of the major changes that were required in order to have Hank Pym fit into the MCU. He didn't create Ultron, he isn't responsible for the Avengers, and he's presence was too small to even be worth mentioning. I'm the kind of Marvel fan who thought Age of Ultron and Iron Man 3 were crap because of the inconsistent and unnecessary retcon changes. Ant-Man had me appalling the changes in order to adapt to the MCU while trying to be as faithful as they possibly can without any retcons in the MCU. There a many references including a "Tales to Astonish" quote and that is just one of many! I can't say that I could be any happier, Ant-Man is one of the best Marvel solo-adventures films to date and easily rivals Iron-man and sits just under The Winter Soldier in my books. I was unconvinced when I heard that Paul Rudd would be playing Scott Lang. I like Paul Rudd as an actor but to be in a Marvel film that was more on the serious side? I can safely say that he nailed it hard and rest assured the humor is well placed and very well timed making it the funniest Marvel film to date. The humor doesn't take away from the film and cause people to take it less seriously in the sense that the Avenger films did. It actually adds the story and benefits the characters within the world while allowing the audience to feel more engaged with the film. Ant-man has an odd but near perfect synchronization of being dark and serious, yet lighthearted and humorous without ever feeling "lighthearted". The film is indeed an origin story for Scott Lang but as he grows it is beyond any debate that Ant-Man is definitely a hero that is fit for the big league of our heroes in the Avengers.
Ant-Man feels more isolated and stands out on its own more so than most of the Marvel films these days. At the same time it is very deeply connected with the MCU in in ways that doesn't tie it down or feels like a bridge in the universe it persists in. There are tons of references and surprises in this film that will blow the minds of any Marvel fan. It contains ton's of references to other superheroes and some very unexpected appearances of other characters, or soon to be heroes, many which I am very painfully withholding myself from spoiling. This movie has some well kept secrets that will push the already impressive cast in the MCU forward and undoubtedly have a far greater unforeseen impact on the MCU. I strongly suggest that every one stays for the end credit scenes. Both Ant-Man's mid credit and after credit scenes are respectively the biggest tease that Marvel has put in their films to date with the exception of Thano's in the first Avengers. Even the end credit scene is very important and is not "fan service" as most of the very end credit scenes have been since mid-credits became a thing.
The film is very fun, clever, and astonishing all at once. The overall plot is kept simple while adding multiple layers of complexity. Ant-man feels a lot more mature than most Marvel films and would be more enjoyable for adults than it would be for kids. I can't recall seeing a single kid in the theater and the auditorium was more packed than Age of Ultron was on day one. It is also worth mentioning to those who want to take their kids to see the film that film contains themes more suitable to adults and feels more mature. While the action is spectacular, there is much more story being told in Ant-Man and a little less *pew pew*. This is also the first Marvel film to actually use words like p*ssy rather than damn or a simple oh sh!t, which no doubt came as a shock and caught people off guard and hilarity ensued shortly after.
Ant-Man is also Marvel's most visually impressive film to date. Many of the scenes are actually shot under a microscope and when you see a regular sized view of a fight when Ant-Man and Yellowjacket are small; things start to look more toy like and the sound effects are non-existent as you would not be able to hear something that small. Giant laser beams start to look like laser pointers and explosions look like tiny sparks that someone would walk past without noticing. The portrayal of microscopal events and normal sized events are very well done and the film gives a huge sense of satisfaction. The trailers do a good job at throwing the viewers off and giving us a different movie than what we expected. Many of the corny scenes in the trailers were so well misdirected that these very same scenes made sense in the film. I also highly recommend that people see this film in 3D, I am well known for bashing 3D in theaters and feel screwed over every time I need to pay that extra $3. Most films make no use of 3D and fails to add any additional layer to the film. Ant-Man is an exception that offers the best 3D experience I have EVER seen in a film. The movie never once offers a scene that feels that it was forcedly filmed for 3D, yet it naturally transitions to 3D so well that it almost feels like 3D technology was made solely for this film. It is hard to explain but every time Ant-Man shrinks in size you get a sense of awe every single time. There are many more surprises that makes fantastic use of 3D that I will refrain from saying because they contain some major spoilers.
I would like to know what everyone else thought about Ant-Man and throw in your input. The above is my random free thought of the film with no structure. Simply just stating my thoughts to my minds content! :)
Ant-Man feels more isolated and stands out on its own more so than most of the Marvel films these days. At the same time it is very deeply connected with the MCU in in ways that doesn't tie it down or feels like a bridge in the universe it persists in. There are tons of references and surprises in this film that will blow the minds of any Marvel fan. It contains ton's of references to other superheroes and some very unexpected appearances of other characters, or soon to be heroes, many which I am very painfully withholding myself from spoiling. This movie has some well kept secrets that will push the already impressive cast in the MCU forward and undoubtedly have a far greater unforeseen impact on the MCU. I strongly suggest that every one stays for the end credit scenes. Both Ant-Man's mid credit and after credit scenes are respectively the biggest tease that Marvel has put in their films to date with the exception of Thano's in the first Avengers. Even the end credit scene is very important and is not "fan service" as most of the very end credit scenes have been since mid-credits became a thing.
The film is very fun, clever, and astonishing all at once. The overall plot is kept simple while adding multiple layers of complexity. Ant-man feels a lot more mature than most Marvel films and would be more enjoyable for adults than it would be for kids. I can't recall seeing a single kid in the theater and the auditorium was more packed than Age of Ultron was on day one. It is also worth mentioning to those who want to take their kids to see the film that film contains themes more suitable to adults and feels more mature. While the action is spectacular, there is much more story being told in Ant-Man and a little less *pew pew*. This is also the first Marvel film to actually use words like p*ssy rather than damn or a simple oh sh!t, which no doubt came as a shock and caught people off guard and hilarity ensued shortly after.
Ant-Man is also Marvel's most visually impressive film to date. Many of the scenes are actually shot under a microscope and when you see a regular sized view of a fight when Ant-Man and Yellowjacket are small; things start to look more toy like and the sound effects are non-existent as you would not be able to hear something that small. Giant laser beams start to look like laser pointers and explosions look like tiny sparks that someone would walk past without noticing. The portrayal of microscopal events and normal sized events are very well done and the film gives a huge sense of satisfaction. The trailers do a good job at throwing the viewers off and giving us a different movie than what we expected. Many of the corny scenes in the trailers were so well misdirected that these very same scenes made sense in the film. I also highly recommend that people see this film in 3D, I am well known for bashing 3D in theaters and feel screwed over every time I need to pay that extra $3. Most films make no use of 3D and fails to add any additional layer to the film. Ant-Man is an exception that offers the best 3D experience I have EVER seen in a film. The movie never once offers a scene that feels that it was forcedly filmed for 3D, yet it naturally transitions to 3D so well that it almost feels like 3D technology was made solely for this film. It is hard to explain but every time Ant-Man shrinks in size you get a sense of awe every single time. There are many more surprises that makes fantastic use of 3D that I will refrain from saying because they contain some major spoilers.
I would like to know what everyone else thought about Ant-Man and throw in your input. The above is my random free thought of the film with no structure. Simply just stating my thoughts to my minds content! :)
