It’s summer, and that means it’s time for superhero movies. Big muscles, big explosions, big box office receipts, and big …
Wait … what? “Ant-Man”? What’s an Ant-Man?
Have we exhausted the Batmans, Supermans, Spider-Mans and Iron Mans, such that we’re now reduced to making movies about an Ant-Man?
Look, the pint-sized superhero may be a key figure in the comic book world, but does that really translate to the big screen?
Yes. Yes it does. And quite well.
“Ant-Man,” surprisingly, is one of the most memorable, fun and positive-themed superhero movies of recent years, in part, because it doesn’t try to be those other movies. It doesn’t try to be too serious or melodramatic or action-packed, but instead strikes a simpler, lighter, occasionally corny tone that makes it simply delightful to watch and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny.
The movie picks up years after the original Ant-Man, Hank Pym, has locked his incredible, shrinking technology away from the world. But when his former protégé, a bitter young man named Darren Cross, redevelops the technology with ambitious designs, Pym must find someone to don the Ant-Man suit again and sabotage Cross’ plans.
He chooses a new protégé, Scott Lang, who reminds Pym of himself – a man who has made a mess of things and is desperately hoping to find redemption in the eyes of his daughter, whom he adores.
Lang is challenged to see the Ant-Man suit as a “second chance” and the ability to “earn that look in your daughter’s eyes.”
“You’re her hero,” he’s told. “Just be the person she already thinks you are.”
And that’s the emotional thread that holds the film together: a story about seeking redemption and reconciliation and putting your life back together when you’ve made a mess of it. It’s also about self-sacrifice.
“This isn’t about saving our world,” Pym says. “It’s about saving theirs (meaning their daughters).”
“Ant-Man” is definitely a movie that requires suspension of disbelief and rarely makes any scientific sense. There’s a few times the storyline is nonsense, too (like training a new superhero in a matter of days). There are also some anti-big business elements, and you could argue self-redemption is a poor imitation of redemption in Christ. All valid criticisms.
But none of these criticisms succeed at spoiling what is a very entertaining film. If the moviegoer is seeking fun and funny, with a touch of heart and a positive message, “Ant-Man” is a hit. Worth the movie ticket.
Content advisory:
- “Ant-Man,” rated PG-13, is oddly a little more foul-mouthed than some of the other popular superhero films, containing roughly 35 obscenities and profanities.
- The film has some minor sexuality, including a man mentioning the first time he “touched boobs,” a shirtless male and a brief kiss.
- The movie contains significant violence, including several scenes of physical combat, some gunfire, Taser fire, a child in peril, explosions and scenes where a man and some test animals are reduced to goo by advanced technology.
- The film has no overt religious or occult content, save for some comments about evolution, and a villain who states, “The laws of nature transcend the laws of man, and I’ve transcended the laws of nature.”
