Keeping Up with the Marvel Universe: ANT-MAN

by Le Anne Lindsay, Editor

T&T’s Look at Marvel Cinematic Universe:
ANT-MAN

I was reading about the comic book version of ANT-MAN and it seems although certainly not your household superhero, he does go back quite a ways – actually, a founding member of The Avengers. Ant-Man’s alter-ego is Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) a brilliant scientist, possibly more brilliant than Tony Stark (Iron Man) or his father, yet that seems to be in some debate.

Dr. Pym specializes in “Alice in Wonderland” like technology of shrinking and enlarging people and objects, done by manipulating the space between atoms and such. His wife Janet was also a superhero called the Wasp, wearing a similar shrink-able suit like Ant-Man’s; however, Janet’s not in the movie, I won’t give away why. Also in the comics Ant-Man/Pym goes through some identity crisis where he’s not always on the good side of the Marvel Universe, at those times he’s called Yellowjacket. In the movie, it’s his protege Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) who develops similar technology and calls himself Yellowjacket.

Did you take note that it says Pym created Ultron, not Tony Stark and The Hulk as we know from MCU

Similarly to the comics Ant-Man II comes in the form of a cat burglar, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd). The movie opens with Scott getting out of prison having done time for a corporate Robin Hood-ish type crime. He’d like to go and be with his daughter Cassie, but he’s estranged from his ex-wife (Judy Greer) Sidenote: If I were Judy Greer I’d be sick of playing the cameo quirky mother/girlfriend/wife role, when was the last time she got to be funny? Anyway, instead Scott goes to live with former inmate, wine tasting/impressionist art loving Luis (Michael Peña) it’s through Luis’ (humorously orchestrated) Latino network of “associates” that Scott learns of an old rich guy with a safe in his basement…

T&T Observations: Scott thinks his degree in engineering is going to allow him to easily re-enter the workforce, but he winds up having to work at Baskin Robbins and when they find out he’s an ex-con, he’s fired, even though he’s been a great employee. Coincidentally, I got to attend Barack Obama’s Presidential Address to the NAACP here in Philadelphia (7/14/15) and he spoke on the need for Prison Reform, not just while inside, but those who have served their sentence and continue to be punished by not being hired and not being able to vote. See more of T&T @NAACP

Dr. Pym has a daughter, Hope played by Evangeline Lilly this must be the hairstyle for 2015 which represents the no-nonsense, sexy, corporate business woman. Because Bryce Dallas Howard in Jurassic World (click for T&T post) had the same do:

Despite the suit and the ant minions, for some reason, director Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man has a somewhat more realistic feel too it than most superhero movies, so much so, that I was slightly jarred when references and characters from The Avengers started popping up. Can’t help but wonder what the feel of Ant-Man would have been under the inventive mind of Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, The World’s End) had they allowed him creative control.

Bottom Line: (click links for T&T posts) “Ant-Man” doesn’t have quite the humor of Iron Man or The Avengers movies; it’s not as tight as the second Captain America; not as entertaining as Guardians of the Galaxy; of course Paul Rudd is no Chris Hemsworth, so I gotta put Thor ahead of it too, yet still, #AntMan holds it’s own. Plus, the miniature world special effects are top notch, technology has come a long way since “Honey I Shrunk the Kids”.

T &T’s LAMB Score: 3.5 outta 5