Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Ant-Man’

Written by Scott Edwards and John Edward Betancourt

Scott’s Review
It is hard to pull away from something that you really like doing, or something that you are really good at. This is your comfort zone and whether it be for work or fun, you know what you are doing and do not want to stop, especially when you are stressed. Sometimes you are told that you cannot do these things anymore for fear of someone getting hurt, or yourself getting in trouble for moving forward with it. But if you cannot find anything better to do, you always find yourself circling back to it, since it could be who you are and what you really enjoy.

After being released from prison, Scott Lang has only one thing on his mind and that is to see his daughter once again. When arriving at her birthday party, Scott sees that he is not welcome in the house, even though he has been trying to turn his life around with a legit job. After getting fired from his job, Scott’s friend Luis has the perfect opportunity for the struggling burglar to get back on his feet, but when he could tell that it was not a legit job, Scott tries to shy away from it. But knowing that this is the only way that he can make some money to get back on the good graces of his soon to be ex-wife, he has no other options.

Arriving at what appears to be an abandoned house, Scott has no problems in bypassing the security systems and makes his way to the vault. Being able to crack the vault door open with ease, he sees that there is only an old suit in the room and does not understand what the score was supposed to be. Taking the suit and trying it on, Scott is changed into a miniature of himself with an unknown voice in his head and has to make his way out of the apartment without being killed by anything he would consider everyday activities. Being transformed back to his normal size, Scott wants nothing to do with the suit and decides to return it to the house, but the cops are waiting for him upon his arrival. Being locked up, Scott meets the voice in his head, Doctor Hank Pym who gives the convict an option for seeing his daughter once again.

Hank Pym does not like what the future looks like for his company and with Darren Cross at the helm, he can tell that his predecessor has more on his mind than making the world a better place. With his Yellowjacket program in full swing, it is only a matter of time before Cross is able to break the formula to shrink down living beings to go along with the super suit he has created.  Hank needs someone to break in and destroy the project before it gets off the ground and Scott seems to fit the bill perfectly. After some formal training, the burglar is ready to take his new suit on a test drive, but it will take more than his knowledge to make it through alive, he will need help from his little friends. With all sorts of ants at his command, Scott is ready to take down the biggest threat he has ever faced, but will it be enough when he finds out that Cross has cracked the secret of shrinking and enlarging organic matter?

Talk about a shot out of left field for the Marvel Universe. I am very disappointed that I did not get to see this movie on the big screen when it was out since the action scenes are out of this world. With more comedy than most of the movies in the MCU, it still has a storyline that fits the bill of what we have seen in the Avengers franchise. I really enjoyed the interactions between Darren Cross and his mentor Hank Pym, it made for a good reason not to trust the future of the company. But Pym’s daughter and her distrust for Scott Lang seemed to steal the scenes, especially when it is shown that she would make a much more fitting choice for the next Ant-Person. I cannot wait to see what happens with Ant-Man in the upcoming Endgame movie, he is so small you might not get to see him, but I am sure he will be there in all of his underestimated glory. Happy Viewing.

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John’s Review
Let's all be perfectly honest. When we all heard that the next big Marvel movie that was coming our way this summer was going to be Ant-Man we all raised an eyebrow. After all, the hard-core fans were surprised that Marvel decided a lesser known character from deep in the vault would be getting their own film and for those who were casual Marvel fans...they had no clue who the heck this guy was. 

So naturally, our surprise led to trepidation. We all wondered exactly what Marvel was up to and well, whether or not the movie would be any good when all was said and done. Well, the good news is, this particular entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is not only good...it's absolutely fantastic. And it is one you need to seek out and see as soon as possible if you haven’t yet, and here is why. 

First and foremost, this doesn't feel like a Marvel movie in the slightest. Never mind any mention of the Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the usual Marvel staples, this film takes on a life of its own. That's in large part to the fact that this is perhaps the MCU's simplest story to date. There's no grand threat ready to bring down mankind. No incredible super villain. Instead, this is a story about a thief and his biggest caper yet, one that definitely has implication for problems for the world, but that never takes the center stage 

That's simply because of the fact that Scott Lang is in no way the traditional super hero that we have come to know on the big screen. That's in part thanks to Paul Rudd's excellent performance in the film, but also because of the fact that the character as a whole, is an everyday guy. There's no God like powers here, or vast fortune or gamma radiation. Just a good guy who has made questionable choices, one that he flat out paid the price for and that's extremely refreshing to see in the MCU. This is a guy who is relatable on all levels to the audience and the fact that really Scott's journey is about redemption and second chances, the story is easy to get lost in.  

Either way, I'm damn impressed with what Marvel pulled off with Ant-Man. You get all the things you love about Marvel in this motion picture, there's plenty of action, humor and the sense of adventure we have come to expect, all while reinventing the genre they made famous. After all, they've taken a love-able loser and made him into another amazing hero to look up to. One that may not be as glamorous as Captain America, but is just as noble and just as awesome, and one that helped me realize, that I should put my faith in Marvel to make the right decisions.

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