Movies / Comics Movie Reviews

Marvel's Ant-Man Blu-ray review

By Leroy Douresseaux
December 7, 2015 - 19:24

Ant-Man Blu-ray box art

Marvel Studios has given movie audiences two movies featuring The Avengers.  Now, Marvel brings to life one of the original Avengers in the Summer 2015 international hit film, Marvel’s Ant-Man.  Now, audiences can bring home an epic heist tale as Ant-Man embraces his inner hero and harnesses the unique ability to shrink in scale to save not only the world, but also his daughter.

Just in time for holiday gift-giving, Marvel's Ant-Man is available on Blu-ray and Digital HD, 3D Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack, Blu-Ray, DVD, Digital SD and On-Demand on December 8, 2015.  Marvel's Ant Man has been available on Digital 3D, Digital HD, and “Disney Movies Anywhere” since Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Ant-Man opens in the year 1989.  Scientist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) discovers that his colleagues at S.H.I.E.L.D. are attempting to duplicate his shrinking technology, which he calls the “Pym particle,” so he quits.  Pym once used that shrinking tech to power his “Ant-Man” suit.  In the present day, the now-retired Pym discovers that his protégé at Pym Technologies, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), is also trying to duplicate the “Pym particle.”  In fact, Cross is very close to doing so and has even built his own shrinking suit, which he calls “Yellowjacket.”

Pym and his estranged daughter, Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), believe that the only way to stop Cross is to steal the “Yellowjacket” suit and all of Cross' data and research.  To do that, they will have to break into the heavily-secured Pym Technologies building, and that means someone will have to wear the Ant-Man suit.  Is down-on-his-luck ex-con and master thief, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), the perfect person to be the new Ant-Man?

As Marvel's superheroes go, Ant-Man is D-list, as far as familiarity with the public is concerned.  To bring him to the big screen, Marvel needed the right actor.  Paul Rudd is the right actor; he is irresistibly likable.  I have been a fan of his since I first saw him in Clueless about two decades ago.  His affable charm sells the idea of Scott Lang as a well-meaning criminal with a just cause.  If you find Ant-Man to be a silly concept, Rudd makes it all seem less so.  Everything about him says just-right.

Meanwhile, the rest of the cast is pretty good.  Corey Stall, who has been giving dramatic heft to FX's summer vampire television series, “The Strain,” since 2014, is Marvel's best villain-of-the-first-movie since Jeff Bridges menaced the first Iron Man film.  Michael Peña as Luis, Scott's friend, is good, although the character sometimes seems a bit like an out-of-place oddity.  Evangeline Lilly is lost in make-up as Hope van Dyne, who is also an oddity in this film.

I guess “odd” is the theme for Ant-Man the movie.  I can't believe how much I like this movie.  I saw Ant-Man at an early matinee on a Friday afternoon.  There were a few children in the audience, and they loved the movie, often squealing with delight.  I was dignified enough to force my squeals into hearty laughs.

Of all the Marvel Studios films, Ant-Man is the one that most effectively uses the avalanche of CGI and special effects we have come to expect of modern summer blockbusters, fantasy films, and superhero movies.  I would dare say that just about every use of computer-generated imagery and effects in Ant-Man is in context, serving the narrative.  Ant-Man is like The Matrix (at least the first one) in that all of the movie and computer magic is justified.  I want a sequel, so I'm asking the rest of the world to join me in loving ants and Ant-Man as you never thought you could or would.

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BONUS CLIPS from Marvel's Ant-Man:

Ant Man: Michael Douglas as Hank Pym
Youtube: https://youtu.be/xcROGSeoc0Q

Ant Man: Bloopers
Youtube: https://youtu.be/7m05juc9CYM

Ant Man: Macroverse
A behind the scenes look at the specialized filming and digital effects used to create the incredibly small world of Ant Man
Youtube: https://youtu.be/8PNUiv-JLTI

Ant Man: Looping in the Avengers
Ant Man's first encounter with one the Avengers.
Youtube: https://youtu.be/yVBK_i6LQZM

Rating: A /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12