TGSD: Ant-Man (2016) Or: Appreciation for the Art of Villainy, which this film does not have

Directed by: Peyton Reed

Produced by: Kevin Feige

Screenplay by: Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, Paul Rudd

Based on: Ant-Man by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby

Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michael Pena

Cinematography: Russell Carpenter (Ooo, he did Titanic, nice!)

Production company: Marvel Studios

Release date: July 17, 2015

Cinematic Universe: MCU (#12)

Logline: An ex-con finds himself caught up in an uncomfortable family squabble between an aging superhero and his daughter. He takes up the mantle of Ant-Man from the old guy to...um...stop a guy from...killing cute baby lambs? And making evil Ant-Men for the military? Also the ex-con is trying to be a part of his own daughter’s life but his ex-wife won’t let him until she changes her mind because he puts his daughter in danger and why would she do that and...geez...what the heck is this movie about...memory...fading...into nothingness...zzzz...also the whole movie realizes that Hope really should be the main superhero but doesn’t know what do about it other than lampshade it and throw in an apology in a post-credits scene zzz...

Bone Ranking: A Potato Chip of a Movie.
It’s a fine flavour for a moment, but you ultimately forget you ever had it and are left unsatisfied.

Quickie Review:

No more Mrs. Nice-to-the-MCU. Time to get angry and break some stuff.

Ant-Man is a small film in more ways than one. That’s a nice thing, a good break after having my head pounded on either side by the twin garbage pail lids of Age of Ultron and the rest of the MCU’s Phase 2. But while having smaller and theoretically more personal stakes is a good idea, being a slight film is not. I’ve seen this film three times now, and each time I retain less and less. Truly, there are two parts of the film that make it worthwhile: the end fight sequence on the Thomas the Tank Engine playset, and the character of Luis, Scott Lang’s old cellmate. He has two great qualities: he appreciates abstract expressionism, and if his mouth could somehow separate itself from the rest of him it ‘d leave Usain Bolt in the dust. I also enjoy the camerawork in the ‘shrunk’ scenes, where the shallow depth of field and sonorous sound work sell the big, dangerous world. However, the journey to get to the climax doesn’t really add up, and the resolution feels unearned. Why would Scott be allowed into the family he directly endangered?

On the whole, Ant-Man is...fine. It’s just fine. After the disappointment that was every singe film in Phase 2, fine was better, but still not good enough. I’d started to tune out after my personal disappointments with Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. This was not the one to bring me back. If anything, its reuse of Iron Man’s formula was deeply apparent and made me even less excited to see what Marvel would rehash next. But it was the film that finally broke me on one score...

Alright, Let’s Talk Marvel’s (and everyone else’s) Villain Problem:

Why Good Villains Make Good Stories Make Good Heroes

Everyone knows about the MCU’s villain problem. Kevin Feige, CEO of Marvel Studios, has indicated it’s intentional - that he wanted their company to be the one that focused on the heroes. They do sell more toys, after all. He’s been quoted saying they don’t really want spotlight the baddies at all, that they’d rather make it about the hero’s inner journey. That can work - Iron Man proved as much. But Iron Man did so because, as I’ve previously written, Iron Man is both hero and villain of that story. He has a lot of personal issues to overcome. The same can’t be said of Scott Lang, who, yes, is a former criminal trying to go straight for the sake of his kid, but he still begins the film a decent person and ends the film as more-or-less the same decent person. In fact, the film goes to great lengths to reveal that his supposed ‘crime’ was more of a Robin Hood affair, protecting the little guy from the big, bad corporations and being unfairly punished for it. I suppose the real journey belongs to Hank Pym, who learns to trust Hope, his daughter, with both the truth of her mother’s death and in her abilities to save the day and get home safe. But she herself also has no real character arc. In my opinion, both of these problems can be tied to the larger one in the MCU; that goshdarn villain problem.

TGSD - Superman (1978)

Directed by: Richard Donner

Screenplay by: Mario Puzo

Starring: Christopher Reeves, Margot Kidder

Based on: Superman by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster

Distributed by : Warner Bros.

Release date: December 15, 1978

Logline: After someone left the stove on, the alien planet Krypton explodes. But not before Jor-El, a leader of the planet who uses far too much bleach in his laundry, sends his only begotten son to Earth. Somehow, the kid turns out alright.

Bone Ranking: A Hug in Cinematic Form

A charming film that somehow manages to overcome cynicism and make you not only believe a man can fly, but hope for it.