Ant-Man (2015): A Fresh yet Ordinary Superhero Film
Originally posted on phrasingcinema.blogspot.com on July 25, 2015.
The genre ‘superhero’ is sometimes, in my opinion, a particular genre some people use as an excuse to forgive the mediocrity that a film of said genre has. It’s when you say something like, “that was an enjoyable film, but it’s just that. Nothing special,” and then being replied with, “but it’s a superhero film. That is all one can be, right?”, as if superhero films couldn’t be treated and criticized the way films in general are. As if superhero films couldn’t be any better than and different from those that ever existed. And, to me, Ant-Man is just another example of a mediocre superhero film.
In this Marvel superhero film, Paul Rudd plays the role of Scott Lang, a professional thief just released from prison, who’s trapped between two opposite things: the promise he keeps for himself not to steal again, and the need of money for his little daughter. Wanting to be the hero for his daughter, he can’t help but plan another burglary with his friends. He breaks into a house of a scientist, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) who, little that he knows, has always been wanting to use his talent in thievery for a heroic purpose. Pym recruits Lang to prevent Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) from using a shrinking soldier as a weapon for evil. Lang must wear a suit that can shrink him into the size of an ant, and learn to lead an army of ants. Now he, again, has two opposite things to choose: accept the heroic yet dangerous task from Pym and be a real hero for his daughter, or say no to it and he can return to jail. Sounds unique and interesting, maybe, but the whole film itself is not extraordinary.
As a film, Ant-Man has nothing special, like it’s just another blockbuster film. I personally think that the story itself is actually good, and kind of different from another superhero films. It’s pretty simple, it deals with the redemption and recognition issue in family level that’s wrapped in sweetness and fun. But if I look at the directing, writing, scoring…, it’s all just regular. It’s at a state where you can’t say it’s great nor bad, like it was done only to entertain the audiences, nothing more. It’s unfortunate that with a good simple story like that, the filmmaker fails in developing the story into a beautiful film. Ant-Man seems low in direction and writing (maybe Edgar Wright could’ve done in a much better way?), although it excels in the aspect of entertainment. The cast is the one I should thank for that, I suppose. They succeed in presenting such delightful characters and burst audiences into laughter with their straightforwardness and foolishness that seem very spontaneous. Thus, I’d like to praise the cast for their performances that, in my opinion, surpass the other aspects of the film.
Let us now look at the film from a Marvel cinematic universe perspective. Compared with its predecessors, Ant-Man is quite a standout. It doesn’t have a heavy saving-the-world story. This film talks more about the simplest meaning of a superhero: a father to his daughter. Ant-Man stands out from the former Marvel superheroes because of its simplicity. It’s a fresh Marvel solo superhero film.
No, Ant-Man is not a bad film. Yes, it is entertaining and enjoyable. But, again, it doesn’t offer something special from its aspects such as its directing and writing, although sadly it actually has a potential to be a magnificent film. Superhero films are not made only to entertain their audiences by their action and humor without enriching the other aspects of a film, are they? I mean, we still can have a superhero blockbuster film that is both entertaining and rich in most of its aspects at the same time, can’t we? I’m personally thirsty for a splendid superhero film that will surprise me in every second of it. I may sound a bit visionary, but take a look at The Dark Knight Trilogy and Guardians of the Galaxy as an example. Their directing, writing, dialogues, acting, visual, and even their soundtrack and scoring are all marvelous. They surprised me. Ant-Man didn’t. I want to see those surprises again in the superhero genre. Well, I don’t know, maybe it is me that’s being too visionary.
My final rating: 7/10.
