*Warning: This post contains spoilers to Ant-Man*
I was wary about Ant-Man, when it was announced that Edgar Wright had left the production. What piqued my interest with the film again was announcement of Evangeline Lilly being in the film. A part of my problem was I never really pictured any of the actors in a Marvel film, but I should have learned by now Marvel generally excels at casting. Michael Peña definitely gets the MVP for the film (as well as Paul Rudd’s face which never ages). His character made this film feel like a mix between a heist and superhero film. The whole knowing a guy scenes were a delight with him telling the story.
The film also didn’t hurt with Sam Wilson’s (Falcon) appearance. It joined the movie to modern day Marvel Cinematic Universe. The world needs more Falcon. I would also like to applaud the film with Scott Lang suggesting they call the Avengers to help out. The thing about watching single character films after the first Avengers movie is they generally leave me asking why the character didn’t call up their new buddies to help out?
The one thing that caught my main focus is some Marvel movies can actually give more than one origin story in a film. Captain America had two origin stories. The forefront story was Steve Rogers, but then we also learned about Bucky Barnes who became the Winter Soldier between the first film and Captain America: Winter Soldier. Ant-Man dealt with Scott Lang’s origin, but it also showed Hope van Dyne’s story. I fell for Hope and believe there was not enough screen time with her character. The mid credits scene appealed to me because Hank Pym was finally giving Hope her own suit. It shows potential with her character.
Sebastian Stan who plays Bucky has a 9 picture deal with Marvel. If Marvel has this deal with him, why can’t they make Hope’s character a bigger player? Yes, Bucky is big in the universe, but so is The Wasp. If Marvel is going with a new direction with her then let Hope become a bigger part. We need more ladies in these films. Captain Marvel is eventually going to come out in theaters, but what about the other characters? Marvel needs to give more screen time for Hope, and they could easily. They don’t need to worry about an origin story. We already got it with Ant-Man.
The film altogether was enjoyable. I don’t think it was absolutely necessary for Scott and Hope to be caught kissing in the end, but it was still an enjoyable film.
*Other observations*
*I was absolutely surprised and excited to see a Hayley Atwell appearance as Peggy Carter, at the beginning of the film.
*Major kudos to giving the girl a train set. It showed a girl does not have to have a room full of dolls.
*I think Kevin Feige is starting to walk a thin line by not exactly including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Grant Ward is taking over Hydra so it makes me wonder how Mitchell Carson is tied into Hydra with no association with Ward. Yes, I know there can be different subsets, but it is still becoming a fine line.
We Watch for the Plot 