Ant-Man [Blu-ray]

Ant Man continues the Marvel Cinematic universe, set after the events of The Age of Ultron. It even ties back somewhat to Agent Carter Hailey Atwell and John Slattery appear as aged versions of Agent Carter and Howard Stark at the beginning of the movie as a set up to the rest of the plot. There are even tie ins to the next Captain America movie (with a post credits scene) and ultimately to the Avengers Infinity wars movies (which will include Ant Man).Without giving too much away, Michael Douglas's character Hank Prym one of the original S.H.E. I. L.D. agents, and inventor of the ant man suit, a technology that allows humans to shrink to the size of an ant, and gain the equivalent of an ant's strength to its size hires burglar Scott Lang, played by Paul Rudd to break into his former company and steal a second suit being developed by Prym's one time protege now rival Darren Cross (played by House of Cards' Cory Stoll). Evangeline Lilly plays Hope van Dyne, Prym's daughter who reluctantly helps Lang train to become ant man.At its core the film is a heist movie wrapped up in a superhero movie. It is like Oceans 11 meets The Avengers. It does very well as the origin story for the various stand alone characters, yet blends into the existing Marvel Universe, with the biggest cross-over being the meeting between Ant Man and Falcon about halfway into the movie. Paul Rudd does a great job with being a hero that is on the fringe of being a true good guy, who is willing to break the rules or the law to do the right thing. He also brings an air of every man with a smart ass quality that he is know for from his other work. It has a lot of the humor that many of Marvel Films have had in doses.For those who get the actual disc, the movie looks and sounds great on blu ray. I have the one disc version, which for extras has a few short behind the scenes and making of features, about 10 min worth of "news" footage that help flesh out some of the character's backgrounds, some deleted scenes and a gag reel. Good for what is there. I think those who are fans of the Marvel Universe movies and TV shows will enjoy this. It is also different enough that if you are having super hero movie fatigue, you can find it enjoyable because it is definitely not like any of the ones that have come before it. While some of it is a bit silly to be sure (but really all the superhero movies are to some extent) this movie plays on that a bit and almost does it tongue in cheek. The acting is very good, it it does well staying on the fringes of the larger story, while telling its own.

"Ant-man", like "Guardians of the Galaxy", is a marvelous one-off Marvel superhero movie. The leading characters are likable and their problems are human-scale, except for the whole superhero thing. Scott Lang is a down-on-his-luck former electrical engineer, just out of prison for a high-tech burglary, unable to get a job, and barred from seeing his young daughter. He draws the attention of Dr. Hank Pym, the somewhat legendary original Ant-man, who has chosen to hide the secret of miniaturization. When it becomes clear that an untrustworthy former protégé is on the verge of rediscovering Pym's formula, Pym will have to persuade a reluctant Lang to take on the role of Ant-man. The stage is set for an incredibly dangerous heist, one that Lang will need his former burglary crew to pull off.Paul Rudd is a very believable Scott Lang, someone easy to root for. Michael Douglas is excellent as Dr. Pym, a man with a guilty secret or two. Evangeline Lilly is perfect as his estranged daughter, who thinks Lang isn't up to the task of pulling off the heist. The supporting cast is solid, including a cameo by one of the Avengers. The special effects are decent without overwhelming the storyline, and Lang's former crew more than pulls their weight in the drama and humor departments. Highly recommended as good entertainment.

After an ok film in Avengers: Age of Ultron, I don't think anyone was ready to hear "WAIT!, we have one more film!"When I heard that Ant-Man was going to be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, knowing the success of 'Guardians of the Galaxy', I felt that this would be one of the biggest surprises. Also, when I heard that Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish penned the screenplay I was even more excited for the film. You know what, this was such a fun film!The more trailers I watched for Ant-Man the more excited that I got. Knowing that actors like Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly and Michael Douglas were going to be joining the MCU my hopes got higher. Now, this film is far from perfect. However, the characters and the story and the pace of the film are what sell this film and give Ant-Man his rightful place among the big guns like Iron Man and Captain America. For a character that has the power to shrink and control insects, no one would look at a character like this relevant. This film, makes him relevant. Adding additional pieces to the story like Hank Pym's past and a few additional surprises into the mix and topping it all with a heist which is a Marvel first was just fun and fun to watch! The one weakness of this film was probably Corey Stoll as Yellow Jacket. I just didn't find him as intimidating as other villains we have seen so far but, there are been many villains already introduced that were the same way. (Ultron)When this movie comes to a close you are just craving more fun and it looks like Ant-Man is going to bring that element full force in future films and because of the success of the Ant-Man solo film we will be getting a sequel and I am very excited to see it. Now we are entering Wave 3 of the MCU and after the great work with Ant-Man I am hoping that wave 3 will bring the MCU back to form.(End of Book 2)