The newest film for the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been viewed as its biggest underdog, but manages to come through for the franchise as Ant-Man delivers a fantastic mix of comedy and action. Many were skeptical if the film would bring justice to its comic book counterpart and bring in a profit.


                                                  WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD


    The film starts off in the late 1980s during the Cold War. S.H.I.E.L.D. is in its early developments as Howard Stark, Peggy Carter, and assorted allies are in a meeting when they are interrupted by the genius scientist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). Pym discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been trying to replicate his work on the “Pym Particle”, a discovery that allows the user to shrink organic matter without losing its strength or density. Pym takes his research and quits the organization, vowing that as long as he’s alive no one will have his work.

    Cut to the present day where Pym’s protégé, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), has discovered Pym’s research and is currently trying to replicate it so that he can sell his Yellowjacket suits to the highest bidder. If this technology winds up in the wrong hands then war itself will drastically change. Pym teams up with his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) to stop Cross before it’s to late. Unfortunately Pym is too old and Hope is to important to risk, so Pym decides to reach out and train Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) to become his new replacement as the mysterious and legendary covert operative, Ant-Man.

    Scott is an ex-cat burglar straight out of prison and, even with the aid of a master’s in electrical engineering, is unable to land a job. Without any form of revenue to help pay for child support, Scott is unable to see his daughter. With no other foreseeable options the ex-con goes to his former cellmate, Luis (Michael Peña), for a heist with a huge payout. Luis comes through and mentions that there’s a millionaire who has an old safe in his basement and won’t be in town for a week. Included in the mix are the hacker, Kurt (David Dastmalchian) and the getaway driver, Dave (T.I.). They break in, only to find out the safe contains nothing more than what appears to be an old motorcycle outfit. Scott takes the suit with him and tries it on at Luis’ apartment and quickly discovers it’s the Ant-Man suit. It is at this point where Pym radios Scott and tells him it was all an elaborate ruse to get him into the suit so that he could have an understanding of what could happen if the technology got into the wrong hands.

    When Scott finally meets the Pyms and hears the entire story, he agrees to help them stop Cross and destroy his research. They must work fast in order to train Scott on how to properly wield the suit. Scott learns that if the regulator is tampered with at all, then he could go sub-atomic. If that should happen then he would continuously shrink for all eternity with no known way to bring him back.

    Director Peyton Reed does a fantastic job in bringing Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, and Paul Rudd’s collaborative script to the big screen. Marvel movies are often seen as action movies with a bit of comedy, but this one flips it as a comedy with action scenes. The entire cast shows a great chemistry that will help amplify the success of the film. Peña himself gave a standout performance as arguably one of the most hilarious characters in the Marvel franchise. The purpose of this film was to be a bridge that ends Phase Two of the film series and  introduce Phase Three, with great success mind you. The visual effects were spectacular as viewers were able to see just how incredible the different viewpoints were. Watching the fight scenes zoom in and out were both intense and comedic. You are completely justified in shelling out the extra money to see it in 3-D.