Movie Review: Ant-man..not that big a deal

When I first heard of a movie titled Ant-man, I hoped it was some sort of metaphorical title and that it wasn’t meant literally. If you’ve seen the trailers by now, you know otherwise. Unfortunately, if you’ve seen the trailers you’ve also seen most of the interesting stuff and pretty much know the story – because beyond that the movie doesn’t offer all that much.

If you must watch Ant-man go with low expectations, to watch a movie that on the face of it doesn’t ask to be taken too seriously and has more than a healthy dose of humor. Those are the best reasons to watch Ant-man. Sure they’ve done a lot of talking trying to establish depth and meaning to its characters and storyline but it all seems superficial and one doesn’t really build connect.Those are not the reasons to watch this one.

On the bright side, the special effects are right up there. They had to be – else it would’ve been one dizzying ride with the camera zooming in every now and then. The action, for the most part, runs at a speed where you are able to follow what’s happening and that’s good because plenty of it actually happens at a scale that would otherwise be too hard to notice. On the downside though, the 3D is practically non-existent and I think that’s a missed opportunity – especially given the context of this particular superhero.

The ant support, as it were, is a good idea but with ants being the main subject, it makes a for a very creepy crawly affair. What this movie desperately misses is those moments of disbelief when you say - No..that didn’t just happen. Unfortunately, that never happens. To make matters worse, the storyline of this movie is predictable to a fault and there is nothing that surprises you..ever.

The joke on its own Avengers is a brave move and comes off really well – adding to the many laugh out loud moments the movie manages. The acting is decent as well, though to be fair, the kind of characters the movie has – it didn’t require really great acts to begin with – and veterans like Michael Douglas can now probably do this stuff in their sleep.

Ant-man then is a predictable bite sized adventure that does all it can despite its weak foundation. While it may not be a great addition to the franchise, in its own right it still gives you a fun ride and plenty of laughs. Go for a fun time but don’t expect to be blown away.