Ant-Man!

[mauve]

I went and saw Ant-Man today, and I was very pleasantly surprised by how fun it was. Funny but not necessarily a comedy, impressive but not overbearingly dramatic, and willing to laugh at its own silliness without compromising its own sense of purpose, Ant Man was a genuinely fun film. Really nice special effects, great acting by the main cast, and a few cameos and nods from the rest of the Marvel film universe which tied things together nicely. And even though the end of the film basically just told the audience that this whole movie was a setup for a future Avengers film, I still liked it. Was it perfect? No. It's got its own share of problems, the plot was kind of predictable in places, and it felt a little like "Iron Man With An Ex-Con Instead Of A Billionaire Genius Inventor," but it's still really enjoyable.

Also I have added both the original and new Wasp suits to my list of pop culture things I really want in real life, right next to Samus' Varia Suit, a portal gun and an X-Wing.

There was a preview for Batman vs Superman before the movie, and I gotta say it looks like the same old drama-bomb DC's been trying to hash out in every one of their films since Dark Knight. In comparison, I appreciate that Marvel is willing to take these kind of risks; making movies about lesser-known heroes and deciding to balance the drama with lightheartedness. I mean, the general public had never heard of Guardians of the Galaxy or Ant-Man before this, but Marvel went and made full length movies of them. And sure, I'm still super hesitant about the new Fantastic Four movie, but it's nice to see they're at least TRYING to switch up the formula every now and then. It's refreshing.

[Tev]

Also I have added both the original and new Wasp suits to my list of pop culture things I really want in real life, right next to Samus' Varia Suit, a portal gun and an X-Wing.Is Wasp actually in this movie? Because I was boycotting this movie due to the absence of one Janet van Dyne. I did see in a review that Hope, Pym's daughter was mentioned. Does she take up the Wasp mantle and/or is Janet mentioned at all in this movie?

[Shyria Dracnoir]

Is Wasp actually in this movie? Because I was boycotting this movie due to the absence of one Janet van Dyne. I did see in a review that Hope, Pym's daughter was mentioned. Does she take up the Wasp mantle and/or is Janet mentioned at all in this movie?

Janet appears in a flashback performing a heroic sacrifice to disable a nuclear device that results in her shrinking beyond the subatomic level into a separate dimension called the Microverse. Scott Lang as Ant-Man ends up in the Microverse at the climax, but engineers a way out, meaning Marvel could easily jury-rig a similar escape for Janet-Wasp in future films

Hank's hang-ups about losing Janet and him vetoing Hope from using the suit because of his fears of losing her as well are a major character element, and (I feel at least) the audience is supposed to see that as a point against Hank.

The mid-credits stinger has him finally getting over it and unpacking a prototype Wasp suit he and Janet were working on before her disappearance so that Hope can take up her legacy.

[mauve]

She's not in it but she's a major plot point. There's a reason she's not there. And unfortunately Hope doesn't take up the mantle during the main story, because REASONS (one of the film's lamer plot points, admittedly, which kinda trips over itself in its efforts to make sure you know it's not a "because you're a girl" thing) I really would've liked to have seen her as the Wasp, but I guess having her as a partner would've given Scott fewer opportunities to develop as Ant-Man because he wouldn't have had to learn anything on his own.

[Bard The 5th LW]

I saw this one just yesterday and actually really enjoyed it! It was a nice change of pace for the Marvel films and was fun in a really whacky sort of way. Almost felt like it should've been a cartoon.

Only a few things particularly bothered me aside from some of the stuff about Hope mentioned above:
1.) Antman's heist-pals are all a bit too stereotyped (specifically, the Russian Hacker and Black Carjacker).
2.) The tie-in to Avengers. Specifically the ending where it sorta seems like they're setting Antman up to join the Avengers. Something I liked about this movie was how relatively light its tone was compared to the other Marvel films, and I'd prefer it remain separate from them for the most part. I liked Antman because of how little destruction he caused for the most part and I cant imagine him being in a movie with a death-toll that has 5-6 digits like Avengers 2.
3.) The romance stuff between Scott and Hope only really lasted for like 2 seconds at the end but still was pretty hamfisted and I didnt care for it.

[Bum Bill Bee]

3.) The romance stuff between Scott and Hope only really lasted for like 2 seconds at the end but still was pretty hamfisted and I didnt care for it.

Oh, but they just HAD to have a romance in it somewhere. The world's not ready for an asexual hero!

Dang all the anti-Asexual oppression out there. Come on, lets go stand up for Asexual's rights! We'll put the A back in LGBTQIA!

[rpgdemon]

Asexual != Aromantic.

[Bum Bill Bee]

Asexual != Aromantic.

*glances at all the shit-romance stories running about*

problem?

[Magus]

Oh, but they just HAD to have a romance in it somewhere. The world's not ready for an asexual hero!

Dang all the anti-Asexual oppression out there. Come on, lets go stand up for Asexual's rights! We'll put the A back in LGBTQIA!

The Vision is asexual.

I felt way more engaged with Ant-Man than I did with Avengers 2. It is way better than Avengers 2, and also better than several other Marvel movies such as Iron Man 2 and 3, Thor: The Dark World, Hulk, etc.

[Marc v4.0]

They really know how to nail the funny feel-good hero movie stuff, they skirt 'silly' just close enough.