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Elsewhere, Michael Peña is Scott’s best friend and fellow ex-con Luis, whose only ability seems to be to talk pointlessly fast for one of the film’s apparent plot points – something that’s repeated later to absolutely zero effect, leaving you with a “Huh?” in your mind. He has two accomplices in tow, but stereotypes is the only way to describe them. And then there’s Corey Stoll as cardboard cut-out baddie Darren Cross. Stoll knows only two acting stances: (a) shouting, and (b) shouting louder.
Still, at least it’s only 2 hours long, whereas other Marvel films have drifted towards the two-and-a-half-hour mark, with no good reason for doing so.
Three good things about the film:
- 1. There are a few mild laughs in the film if, albeit, very few and far between.
2. Evangeline Lilly’s toned upper arms
3. It’s not Terminator Genisys
However, the acting on view from everyone concerned would give the cast of Eldorado a run for their money. In fact, everyone just looks so bored like they’re just waiting to get paid. Hell, Douglas even said in an interview that he only took the role because he knew there’d be sequels. Clearly, at 70 years of age, he hasn’t got much else to go by!
Oh, what would it have been like if Edgar Wright had stayed on to direct? His name’s still on the screenplay, story and executive producer credits, but knowing he left the project early on, it’s clear there’s not the clever touches there that he would’ve provided.
In short, Ant-Man is boring.
If you’re curious about what there is after the credits then there are TWO scenes – one mid-credits and one post-credits, as follows:Midway through, Hank and Hope are shown with the former showing off the prototype Wasp suit in a secret room. The suit was never finished, so they plan to get to work on it, so as to give her something else to do in the sequel.
And then after the credits, I assumed we’d get a clip for Fantastic Four, but no. The widescreen ratio changes from 1.85:1 to 2.35:1 – or rather is 2.35:1 within the 1.85:1 image, so the picture won’t expand or anything, and we see Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson, with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), who’s in their custody. They’re not sure what to do with him, but Sam states that he knows someone who can help (i.e. Ant-Man). This will then lead into 2016’s third – and hopefully final Captain America film – Captain America: Civil War.
Time for a big moan, though. Every now and again you get an extra dickhead and there was a bloke who suited that perfectly. I was sat at the back of the Premier seats, and had a spare ‘guest ticket’ so thought I may as well use it on the biggest screen even if the IMAX in the Trafford Centre’s a let down compared to Manchester, and Ant-Man was not shot in 3D or with IMAX cameras anyway), but behind me, at the end of the row was a man with his son.
As the film began, he surreptitiously slipped into the Premier seats at the end of my row (and not far away, sadly), and for the best part of the first hour, his son was talking rather a lot. I don’t blame the lad, I blame the parent because (a) he wasn’t doing anything to dissuade the lad from talking, but was actually encouraging it by continuing to reply as if they were home watching the film; (b) he completely ignored any of my attempts to ‘shush’ him, and (c) when I snapped twice and, somehow politely, said something like “Mate, will you stop talking?!” he did nothing, except he might’ve tried a retort to one of them.
Somehow, the lad settled down after that, so he could get on with the important business of replying to text messages, and a lot of the second hour was quite loud so would’ve drown him out.
Clearly he missed the instructions at the start which state quite clearly: “Are you a selfish bastard? Then do fuck off, there’s a good chap!”
Ant-Man is in cinemas now and will eventually be released on 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 117 minutes
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Year: 2015
Format: 2.35:1
Released: July 20th 2015
Rating: 1.5/10
Director: Peyton Reed
Producer: Kevin Feige
Screenplay: Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay and Paul Rudd (based on the story by Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, and the comic book by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby)
Music: Christophe Beck
Cast:
Scott Lang/Ant-Man: Paul Rudd
Dr Hank Pym: Michael Douglas
Hope van Dyne: Evangeline Lilly
Darren Cross: Corey Stoll
Paxton: Bobby Cannavale
Sam Wilson/Falcon: Anthony Mackie
Maggie Lang: Judy Greer
Cassie Lang: Abby Ryder Fortson
Luis: Michael Peña
Kurt: David Dastmalchian
Dave: T.I.
Peggy Carter: Hayley Atwell
Gale: Wood Harris
Howard Stark: John Slattery
Mitchell Carson: Martin Donovan
Young Pym: Dax Griffin
Janet Van Dyne/The Wasp: Hayley Lovitt
and…
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.