Ant-Man (2D / third-pass / THEMATIC-SPOILERS)
Cert: 12A / 117 mins / Dir. Peyton Reed / Trailer
So after watching Marvel's Ant-Man a couple of times (first here, second here) followed by the customary cooling-off period, I gave it another whirl last night to see how it stands up to 'familiar' scrutiny. And as much as I enjoyed it (again), the one question it raises is:
Does Ant-Man need to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
As I'd previously noted, the film has obvious issues regarding its connection with the larger MCU, not least because it does nothing to advance the larger story-arc of the Infinity Stones. If anything, the film's main purpose seems to be to introduce more characters for future use, rather than give them anything strenuous to do, initially. Then it occurred to me that the two aren't necessarily linked, and the former is probably the reason the film works so well.
We haven't had an MCU-movie that's not centered around one of the sparkly MacGuffins since 2013's Iron Man 3, and even that was a respite from the Cosmic Cube and the Loki-Pokey Stick shenanigans. And (as I've also previously noted), the formula regarding the stones was already repetitive-by-necessity at the point of Guardians. While the various TV-offshoots fill in their own gaps, they're also pre-occupied with telling their own sprawling stories (as well they should be), so can't really introduce a new recurring character with the same level of zest that a two-hour movie can.
It's quite nice to have a bit of a 'continuity comfort-break' in Ant-Man, knowing that it's still part of a larger tapestry, but is more self-contained than the MCU movies have been for a long while. Sure, the Avengers references are a little tacked on, and sure, I do still think the plot structure is derivative of The First Avenger, and sure, I'm still irked by Marvel's unwillingness to commit to killing off characters. But Ant-Man is still a hugely enjoyable super-hero flick.
Does Ant-Man need to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
No.
But Does the Marvel cinematic Universe need Ant-Man?
More than it'd like to admit, yes.
Oh, and a question for people who know about these things: How come when Scott gets out of prison we see the Golden Gate Bridge and it's red (like it usually is), but in the two later exterior scenes featuring it, it's painted grey? Is that a different bridge, or is it painted grey on the other side, or am I just imagining things?
Well, yeah.
Buy it so you can watch all the lovely extras.
(( not particularly ))
Given that its overall aims are actually fairly low, yes it does.
Not as much as you'd imagine I would.
There ain't. BAH.
Paul Rudd starred in Anchorman 2, a film which had an appearance from Harrison 'Solo' Ford.
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• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
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