'Ant-Man' is fairly good fun when not bogged down in exposition
As Marvel superheroes go, Ant-Man doesn鈥檛 seem very high in the聽pantheon. It鈥檚 all a bit confusing: He鈥檚 tiny but as powerful as a full-grown man.聽At times he expands to normal size, and then he鈥檚 tiny again, bouncing聽through storm drains and air shafts, dodging rats and cars and people鈥檚聽feet. Size matters when it comes to superheroes, and Ant-Man, at least for聽me, is at least one size too many.
Now that I鈥檝e cleared my throat, I admit that 鈥淎nt-Man,鈥� starring Paul聽Rudd as Scott Lang, the genial ex-con who ends up as the shape-shifty Marvel marvel,聽is fairly good fun, especially around the edges, when it鈥檚 not bogged down聽in exposition. (My favorite moment comes during a high-tech break-in,聽when one of Ant-Man鈥檚 human-size helpmates, well-played by Michael聽Pe帽a, sings a few bars from 鈥淚t鈥檚 a Small World After All.鈥�)
Rudd is a good choice to play this hero because his derring-do is made聽to seem both suspenseful and risible. His nemesis, Darren Cross (Corey聽Stoll), the renegade prot茅g茅 of good-guy scientist Dr.聽Pym (Michael Douglas), creator of the clandestine Pym Particle that gives rise to Ant-Man,聽is a standard-issue baldheaded meanie, which by聽contrast somehow makes Ant-Man鈥檚 exploits seem even loopier.
I wish the film had gone even further into loopiness. Like Ant-Man, the聽film, directed by Peyton Reed, comes in two sizes 聽鈥� it鈥檚 sometimes big on聽laughs but often small on risk-taking. Grade: B- (Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence.)
