‘Ant-Man’ is One of Summer’s Best Films

Michael Clemens '16, Assistant Editor-in-Chief

Marvel Studios has released many films starring its biggest characters, from Iron Man to Captain America. Films starring their less prominent characters, however, tend to fly under the radar. Movies such as “Ant-Man” tend to fit into this category. Despite being overlooked by many, “Ant-Man” is one of the best films of the summer.

“Ant-Man” stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, a former systems engineer at VistaCorp. He was sent to prison after hacking into the company’s systems to pay back money it had been stealing. After he is released from prison, Scott is unable to find a job due to his criminal record. Scott decides to help his former cell mate Luis (Michael Peña) rob a house in order to pay child support so he can see his daughter. Upon robbing the house, Scott finds no money, but instead he finds a strange looking suit. After putting on the suit, Scott accidently shrinks himself. After a series of terrifying events, he returns the suit to the house and is arrested upon doing so.

Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), the owner of the home Scott robbed, visits him in jail, smuggling the suit into Scott’s cell. Scott puts on the suit and escapes from jail. He later finds out that Pym meant for him to steal the suit to see if he was capable of becoming the new Ant-Man. Through a series of events, he must stop Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), the new owner of Pym’s company, from replicating the Ant-Man technology.

“Ant-Man” nails every category in the story department. All of the lines are well written. The cast is very likable. The compelling plot keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire movie, and not once will you feel bored by it. The pacing of the film was executed brilliantly; nothing feels rushed nor do scenes ever drag.

Perhaps the best part of the film is the humor. “Ant-Man” is quite possibly the funniest film Marvel has ever produced. Even in the more serious scenes, the writers managed to slip in some comedic material. Luis is easily the funniest character in the movie. Michael Peña did an excellent job at portraying his character and draws laughter from the audience whenever he appears on screen during the film.

The film focuses less on action scenes than other Marvel films, but that works to its advantage. This allows the film to focus on other areas and makes the action scenes feel more exciting when they do appear.

Overall “Ant-Man” is an excellent movie. The plot is interesting, the characters are interesting, the action scenes are exciting, and the humor is hilarious. Even those that do not like superhero movies will find enjoyment in this film. “Ant-Man” is an incredible movie and has set the bar high for future Marvel films.