We’ve got a sweet mega-review for Ant-Man, Marvel’s opening act for Phase 3 of it’s Cinematic Universe and the debut adventure for Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) in the Ant-Man costume.
The basic story is that Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), the original Ant-Man, has grown old and has discovered that his former pupil, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), is very close to replicating his secret shrinking technology. Pym then recruits former criminal Scott Lang, masterfully played by the unaging Paul Rudd, to use the Ant-Man suit to thwart Cross with the help of his estranged daughter, Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly).
Read on to see how four members of the Sub-Cultured team break down the film as well as their feelings on how this stands against previous films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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To say I entered Ant-Man with minimal expectations is putting it lightly. I wasn’t quite sure how the whole Hank Pym/Scott Lang story was going to fit in the MCU. Since announcements that Ultron would be Iron Man-created instead of the brain child of Pym, I had been feeling bitter; production issues added to the sour taste in my mouth. Luckily, Marvel has churned out another hit with the charmingly handsome Paul Rudd in the title role. Although the villain is laughably cheesy (seriously, Marvel, write your villains better), and the one female lead is frustratingly sidelined (but there’s Hope for the future), there’s still a lot of really good heart in the film.
Toss in a few cameos, and a scene stealing side character, and I was entertained enough to leave the theater grinning. Also, minus the handful of swear words, Ant-Man is definitely friendly for the whole family. But be warned, all viewers may leave with a soft spot for the ants themselves!
Leia Calderon
Editor
@ladyvader99
The second most prominent feature would is been the fight scene with the Falcon. It sort of felt stuck in, but it was used quite effectively when Hydra became involved in the story and of course in the second post credits scene showing how Ant-Man is going to be drawn into Captain America: Civil War. Not only did that fight give Ant-Man an informal introduction to the rest of the Marvel franchise, it was a great demonstration for how powerful the Ant-Man suit is and helped develop another point in the plot: Hydra is coming back.
There were two things that did annoy me in Ant-Man, not that I’d refuse to see it again, but are big enough for me to mention them as problem areas. The first would be that the humor I appreciated so much during the film sometimes made characters into unflattering caricatures. I am talking mostly about the side characters Lang works with for the heist scenes and to a lesser degree Darren Cross as a villain. It’s tough to create minor or opposing characters that aren’t punch lines in some way, but it might have been nice to give them some depth beyond their respective skill sets and roles. The other, which is more pressing, is a huge lack of Hope. Aside from the generic training montage, we don’t actually get to see much of her in action and that’s disappointing. Throughout the movie we are given a first rate education on how she’s so much better at controlling ants and being in charge of the suit than Lang. It’s even a huge part in the dialogue that she’s more qualified in every way to stop Cross than Lang, but the plot and Hank Pym prevent Hope from doing so. Alas all we get is a post credits scene and the vague promise she’ll be in a future film; not even her own film.
I liked Ant-Man. I liked Paul Rudd, especially when he was wearing his hoodie. I think the cinematography was the best part of the movie. I haven’t read any Ant-Man books, but I thought that this fit well into the MCU. I wish that there had been more for Hope to do, or that she had actually been trained after her fight with Hank, instead of just agreeing to train Scott. It felt like a strong attempt for a feminist hero, but ultimately a failed one. I hope that the final scene means that the next movie will be called “Wasp” –but realistically that’s not going to happen.
Sam Wilson’s extended cameo was fan-fucking-tastic. The post-end credits scene certainly wasn’t long enough–I miss me some Bucky on the big screen. In conclusion, Bucky.
Jen Schiller
Staff Writer
@jenisaur
While Ant-Man was an enjoyable movie, in my opinion it was the worst Marvel movie to date. Hank Pym was a weaker character and not at all like the Hank Pym from the comics that I know. I would have like to see them push the envelope and show a bit more of his aggression/ego issues. Especially since he isn’t the main character. Darren Cross was incredibly flat as a character, which made him a super one dimensional villain which annoyed me and felt he could have been done significantly better.
Jeremy Harris
Contributor
Images and video courtesy of Marvel.com
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As I sat down for the pre-screening of Real Steel, the hosts of the event did the usual “give away t-shirts” bit and then dropped a bombshell on the audience. Steve Jobs was dead. They said it as simple as that. Nobody could check, because the theatre required we turned our cell phones off during the movie to prevent anybody recording it. They talked about what a loss it was for us and they were right. Steve Jobs took our idea of the future and created it, changing media, entertainment, and countless other avenues forever. We were told before Real Steel began that this was especially saddening as much of the movie uses concepts taken directly from Apple. From robots controlled by touchpads, to cell phones that are clearly near-future versions of iPhones, Real Steel is a movie about technology and what it can do for people. But in the end all of the soul of the movie is found in the humans, and especially a little boy. Read on.
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In the upcoming two-part prequel to his Lord of the Rings phenomenon, Peter Jackson has announced a new character among his all-star lineup, and as usual, his casting couldn’t be more perfect. Evangeline Lilly will be stepping out of the LOST forests of Hawaii and into the Mirkwood forests of Middle-Earth as an ethereal Elven beauty written specifically for The Hobbit.
Taking place before Lord of The Rings, back when Bilbo was even smaller, The Hobbit will return us to Jackson’s visual orgasm of Middle-Earth where we be seeing more of the familiar faces we’ve grown to love, (Ian McKellen’s Gandalf comes first and foremost to mind) cameos from fan favorites that we just can’t do without, and even meeting some new characters along the way. This recent announcement fills out most of the major casting decisions, as Jackson plans to flesh out the roles that the many unnamed Mirkwood Elves play in the novel.
Jackson immediately took to his Facebook page to confirm the casting and taunt us with teensy scraps of information, stating, “Her name means ‘daughter of Mirkwood’ and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing! (No, there is no romantic connection to Legolas.)” No other details have been specified except for the name of the Jackson-invented character, Tauriel.
Adding the character has generated a lot of mixed feelings and even some spouts of nerdrage amongst the Ringer Purists, but the point remains the same – how visually bland would it be to visit Tolkien’s Mirkwood? Two characters are mentioned by title only, and even their roles are minor. It’s hard to feel an attachment to faceless characters, and the idea that there would be no lovely Elven ladies wandering the forest is ludicrous at best.
Evie’s future seemed ready to take off after the LOST finale, while at the same time a rumor was circulating that she had no intention of returning to acting – a statement met with dismay, as there are very few ladies in the biz with the kind of natural talent and beauty that this dimpled dame does. The rumor seemed more and more likely to solidify once she moved from LOST to boring, generic L’Oreal commercials, but those at least were more legitimate than LiveLinks. Now she looks to be coming back from her acting hiatus with the blockbuster work that was expected of her immediately after the LOST finale, with at least one movie released per year until 2013. It may not be much, but I’m getting my fix!
Now that the initial hype has started dying down and more people are getting used to thinking of Evie in Elven garb, details about what kind of personality her character will have still remain elusive. Will we be seeing the ancient Elven ancestor of Kate Austin? Will she pull an Eowyn and kick some ass at the Battle of Five Armies? Or will she follow the Liv Tyler path – stand around, look pretty, here’s a tear? Unfortunately for us, Jackson is good with handling leaks, so it looks like we have a year to wait before we meet Tauriel. I always hope for brunette badasses, personally.
Whatever the case may be, I’m even more pumped now to see The Hobbit than I was before. Didn’t think that was even possible. And after seeing the EE’s, I completely trust in Jackson’s choices regarding Tolkien’s world 100%, this being no exception. Don’t you?
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