Antman Review: Just what Marvel needed

The increasingly stale Marvel formula gets a blast of fresh air in this rollocking adventure movie, which combines a steady stream of character-based comedy with action sequences that are integrated seamlessly into the plot. Like last summer's Guardians of the Galaxy, the film departs from the usual tired structure to joyously tell a story that's more than pure escapism.

Released from prison after a stint for burglary, Scott (Paul Rudd) is struggling to restart his life when he has an unexpected encounter with Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), an inventor who needs his help. Hank's technology company is being steered away from his original vision to help mankind by his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) and his protege Darren (Corey Stoll), who see a chance to make a lot of money by selling Hank's ideas to the highest bidder. Hank's biggest breakthrough is a suit that shrinks the wearer down to ant-size, allowing for all kinds of unexpected possibilities. Pushed into a corner, Scott starts learning how to master the suit. But his ex-wife (Judy Greer) is now engaged to a cop (Bobby Cannavale) who's keeping his eye on Scott.

One of director Peyton Reed's main challenges was to sell the whole idea of an insect-sized warrior, and he does that fairly effortlessly, revealing an increasingly cool series of possibilities in each action sequence. These set-pieces emerge organically from the story, combining comedy and exhilaratingly coherent action to push the narrative forward. One of the best moments is an encounter with one of the Avengers (Anthony Mackie's Falcon), which offers a strong hint about how Ant-Man can liven up the franchise as a whole. And the climactic sequence is an inspired collision of mind-bending effects and inventive humorous touches (Thomas the Tank Engine nearly steals the whole film). Plus two post-credit stings for the fanboys.

Much of this sense of anarchic fun clearly comes from Edgar Wright, who was originally slated to direct and who gets screenplay credit alongside Joe Cornish (Tintin), Adam McKay (Anchorman) and Rudd. This is a rare action movie that bothers to make the characters fully rounded people with their own internal lives. Rudd is somewhat restrained in the role, but is still utterly charming, and he generates sparky chemistry with Douglas and Lilly. Stoll is superb as guy who seems unable to see the bigger picture. And Pena has a series of hilariously rambling monologues, which are important to the plot, so listen carefully. Yes, despite the silly tone and thrilling rollercoaster plot, this summer blockbuster doesn't dumb itself down to the audience. This kind of fresh approach is exactly what Marvel has needed for awhile now.