Small in Stature, Big on Formula

Where's the fuckin' Ortho man when ya need him?

 E  ven if you're not a Michael Douglas fan, the first five minutes of Ant-Man will have you scratching your head in awe. In it a "young" Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) explains how he will never let his formula out (presumably one which can shrink a human into the size of an ant and give him super-human strength) right after he cold-cocks a business associate for talking about his wife in not so kindly a fashion. 

The year is 1989 and either through CGI or some other aspect of special effects/makeup wizardry that is taste fully abundant in this film, Douglas somehow looks better than he did from An American President, a film from 1995.

 As the simple story would have it, there is indeed a way to transform humans into ant-sized "Hulks", but only Pym knows the way to do it until his now disgruntled former protege turned CEO/villain finally figures out how to perfect the method and stops turning colleagues who disagree with him into snot-sized mucous he is able to wipe up off the floor and literally flush down the toilet. Pym then calls on our hero Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) to break into the Cross building now run by villain Darren Cross (Cory Stoll) and steal the formula before it gets sold and turns into a weapon that literally could destroy the world.

Part caper flick, Ant-man has the perfect blend of action, drama, humor and special effects that make it the best block-buster 2015 summer movie so far. The audience cares about the characters— especially Scott Lang, an ex-con convicted for being a modern day Robin Hood, who is trying to gain rights to see his incredibly sweet 4-year-old daughter. 

We laugh at the comedic relief provided by Lang's "criminal" buddies, headed by his friend Luis (Michael Pena) and our hearts break for Pym's daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly), also Lang's love interest, who is seeking to know the truth about her mother's death. We tap our feet at the hip Christophe Beck super-hero score which also smoothly incorporates the short 1973 Roy Ayers piece Escape, last used in Jackie Brown, and we learn all about ants, the bravest of which is aptly named "Antonio".

Ant-man is slick, smart and yet thoroughly inoffensive, and it is a joy to watch a film that does not take itself too seriously but still has the sense to know how to please an audience. 

In a time of when movies about desolate wastelands and villains who enslave women are hailed as masterpieces (Mad Max: Fury Road), a good and wholesome story about redemption and the potential goodness of the human heart that people of all ages can enjoy is hard to come by and should not be missed.