In 2015, Marvel launched a new character: Ant-Man. Initially, Edgard Wright was supposed to direct this first opus but because of artistic differences, the director of the Cornetto trilogy and the recent Baby Driver slams the door, replaced by Peyton Reed (Yes Man, The Breakup). In front of the camera, Paul Rudd is Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly will be the future wasp, Michael Douglas, the great scientific genius and Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man. On the occasion of the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp, back on the first opus.
The first Marvel back on a human scale
After the mastodons like the Avengers but also the sagas Thor, Captain America, The Guardians of the Galaxy and Iron Man, Marvel Studio launches Ant-Man. A more intimate character and much more on a human scale. As the Avengers confront cosmic threats, as Guardians of the Galaxy visits the depths of the universe, there's Ant-Man, a much more down-to-earth hero. With a smaller budget and an exclusively comic approach, Marvel's message is clear: come see Ant-Man, our character on a human scale, your buddy who will make you laugh. Paul Rudd lets loose completely in his character of daddy hen with a troubled past. Peyton Rudd wants to make his character a magnificent loser, a talented galley, a good man who has no luck. And the recipe works wonderfully. Friendly and entertaining, Ant-Man is probably the Marvel with the least ambition. The promise is simple and kept: casual entertainment. Soon, Marvel will try the experiment again with Spider-Man: Homecoming who chooses the same approach as his elder. Funny and rhythmic, Ant-Man is to be taken to the second degree, as it comes, a humble film that offers 2 hours of entertainment. You could almost compare him to Deadpool. Much less trashy than the mad mercenary, Ant-Man nevertheless retains some similarities: valves galore, impossible situations, laughable bad luck and a talkative character. And while waiting for the purchase of Fox by Disney and thus the obtaining of Deadpool, Ant-Man serves as a good compromise.
A classic story
It is this simplicity that also sets the limit of Ant-Man. To want to make it too simple, Peyton Reed also falls into the classic all-comers Hollywood. First because of a lazy antagonist. The Yellowjacket, ultra conventional nemesis, is a deadly bore. Played by an unconvincing Corey Stoll , this big villain lacks panache and originality. A pretentious megalomaniac, this villain is a copy and paste of Obadiah Stane, the big villain of Iron Man played by Jeff Bridges. Also a megalomaniac, he was also Tony Stark's former associate before betraying him for his personal ambition. One of the great flaws of Marvel Studio: its interchangeable and identical antagonists. Too bad. Then comes the classic redemption of the hero after the traditional fall. This Ant-Man is an original story, so there are the usual courses to learn how to control his powers but Peyton Reed does not expand more than reason on this passage and stages it in a very playful way. Finally, we will highlight the pleasant appearance of an Avengers for the connection. In short , this Ant-Man is a nice entertainment if not taking great risks.
Reed's film has the merit of being a humble blockbuster, presenting characters on a human scale, not relying on a wave of action and explosion. The character of Ant-man is endearing and close to the viewer, unlike an enemy who pales in comparison, an old caricature of a villain. The fights remain enjoyable thanks to a subtle game of scale and size, playing with humor and intelligence on the differences in size between an ant-sized Ant-man and his environment, a little sometimes in the manner of Night at the Museum and its miniatures. But what makes the real success of Ant-man is the omnipresent humor, relatively heavy, but still very effective.
