Ant-Man

Just saw this movie again and, since I didn't review it on my first viewing, I shall do so now.  The movie opens in 1989 with Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) storming into the under-construction HQ of SHIELD (the one that got destroyed in Captain America: The Winter Soldier) and resigning because Howard Stark (John Slattery) has been attempting to replicate Pym's shrinking technology.

In the present, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is released from San Quentin for burglary and computer hacking.  His former cellmate (Michael Pena) picks him up and let's him crash at his place until he gets on his feet.  Despite having a Masters in Electrical Engineering, his felony record finds him at Baskin Robbins, scooping ice cream.  Though desperate to stay on the right side of the law, he needs to pay child support in order to see his daughter.  He turns to crime, which brings him to the home of Hank Pym and possession of the Ant-Man suit.  Scott becomes the new Ant-Man under the mentorship of Hank Pym and his daughter, Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly).  Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), Hank's one-time protégé, has gone bad.  He had staged a hostile take-over of Pym's company and has now perfected the Ant-Man technology himself.  However, he plans to sell it to the highest bidder.

 

This is a comedy heist movie.  It is one of the funniest entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Michael Pena steals every scene he is in.  His narratives are the funniest parts of the movies.  Particularly great was when Stan Lee delivered the line 'crazy stupid fine!'  There is this Mission Impossible feel except with superpowers.

 

The big failing is the physics.  The movie fails to follow the rules that it has outlined.  Pym explained that his technology narrowed the space between atoms, thus allowing an object to shrink while retaining its mass.  Ergo, a two hundred pound man who shrank down to the size of an ant is still two hundred pounds.  If that is the case, there is no way he can uses a carpenter ant as a mount; he'd crush it to pulp.  He repeatedly stands on people and they don't notice, until he hits them.  When he fell on the floor, he broke a tile.  When he fell on a car, he put a dent in it.  His weight varies depending on what works best for the movie.

 

Unsurprisingly, Scott adopts Hank's dislike for the Starks and becomes a natural ally to Captain America in the Civil War.  This was further setup with his humorous fight with Falcon (Anthony Mackie), who is proving to be Cap's right hand man in the MCU.  The movie also setup Hope van Dyne to be the Wasp in the next Ant-Man movie.  Sadly, it's still a couple years away.

 

All in all, a terrific movie.  Again, Marvel took what I thought of as a marginal character and created an awesome movie.  Highly recommended.

Captain America: Civil War

Captain America (Chris Evans) is in Africa, tracking down a Hydra agent.  With him are Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson).  There is much action but Cap finally finds himself face to face with Crossbones, a man he once considered an ally.  But Crossbones isn't going down easily and a part of a building is destroyed and people are killed.  Back at Avengers HQ, General Ross (William Hurt) confronts the Avengers about the destruction in their wake and insists that the Avengers can no longer be free agents; they must act only under the authority of the UN.  Ironman (Robert Downey Jr.) is all in favor.  Cap is opposed.  When the UN meets in Vienna to sign the Sokovia Accords that will require all 'super humans' to register, the bomb goes off and kills many of the delegates.  The perpetrator appears to be Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) the Winter Soldier.

 

The primary loyalties of all the Avengers are tested.  Cap wants to save the Winter Soldier, his childhood friend.  Falcon sides with Cap.  Ironman is for registration.  Vision (Paul Bettany), who is effectively Ironman's creation, sides with him.  So does War Machine (Don Cheadle).  Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) wants to avenge his father's death at the UN meeting and thus joins Ironman.  And on it goes.  What is great about this is that everyone's reasoning makes sense.  No one is just being stupid and joining a side because that is what the scriptwriter decided.  Moreover, unlike Batman vs. Superman, the characters do a lot of talking to one another before it finally escalates to fisticuffs.  And even then, they aren't trying to kill one another.  Batman went straight to kill!

 

The movie does demand that the viewer has been keeping up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  The sudden appearance of Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) would be jarring for one who had not seen that movie.  Despite that vast array of characters, no one gets short shrift.  Everyone gets an opportunity to shine.  Black Panther, who makes his first appearance here, has a great story arc. 

 

The big draw of this movie will be the airport fight where the Avengers face off with a surprise visit from Spider-Man (Tom Holland).  Spider-Man is great.  Ant-Man is really cool too.  Yeah, the bugs really take the show here.  It is a big and elaborate fight that tests the resolve of many of the characters to really force their view on their friends.  Some cannot.

 

Great, great, awesome film.  Highly recommended.  However, it is very long so use the restroom before you go.