What is it they say about great things in small packages? Ant-Man, the twelfth movie from the Marvel universe, is all-round joy. For one we get to see Michael Douglas on the big screen after a million years — that too we get to see his young, dashing avatar before cigarettes and that evil Catherine Tramell and sundry femme fatales made his life hell. Second, Paul Rudd plays the petty thief Scott Land turned Ant-Man most charmingly. Then there is that whole shrink ray tech that is such delirious fun. The bathtub, the tiles, the disco, the toy train —all seen through the eyes of a tiny human are so cool. Remember Alice from Wonderland looking sadly through the keyhole of a door she is too big to get through? Well, in “Ant-Man”, in one of the earliest training gigs, Scott has to go through the keyhole and he does it in exhilarating style. And finally there is the no-good cellmate, Luis (Michael Peña), who has got the moves, the grooves and the irresistible goofiness that makes Ant-Man a happy watch.
Hank Pym (Douglas) is an inventor and operative at S.H.I.E.L.D who resigns when he realises the organisation is trying to replicate his work with sub-atomic particles and the shrinking process for use as weapons . Believing the technology would harm the world, he swears to keep it hidden. His protégé, Darren Cross, however has different ideas and tries to develop the technology with the help of Pym’s estranged daughter, Hope.
When Pym realises how close Darren is to a breakthrough, he recruits the idealistic cat burglar, Scott to break into Darren’s lab and steal the shrinking tech. All comes right in the end with quantum physics and fire ants in the mix. Evangeline Lilly plays the misunderstood poor little rich girl Hope, while Corey Stoll is Darren/Yellowjacket. Just in case you want another superhero, Anthony Mackie makes a cameo appearance as the Falcon.
A charming origin story with effects to underline the beauty of miniature, Ant-Man is perfect counterfoil to the grand, sweeping, epic quality of Baahubali.
Genre: Action
Director: Peyton Reed
Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Tip "T.I." Harris, Anthony Mackie, Wood Harris, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian, Michael Douglas
Plot: How an ant saved the world
Bottomline: Sheer dynamite
