100 Days of Marvel: Road to Infinity War - Day 34: Marvel's Ant-Man

After marathoning so much in the MCU, it was challenging to feel out how Ant-Man fit into the world. There isn't an Infinity Stone introduced, none of the major players make appearances, and the film, tonally, exists in it's entirely own feel. Ant-Man is truly an origin story, and one where the character can or cannot be added to the MCU and I would be totally fine it, though I am happy he is here, as well as the other characters from this, because at the end of the day, Ant-Man is a pretty enjoyable film.

I have never read a single Ant-Man comic, so I knew next to nothing real about the character, other than what I may have seen from his appearances in other stories. He definitely won't fill any Silver Surfer role in Infinity War, but if he shows up there he may have some cool things to do, much like what he does with his appearance in Civil War.

I was very happy to see Agent Carter here, but also a little thrown off. I wasn't quit sure about why she was here, and the makeup used to age her up looked odd here. In addition, you could tell the CGI used to age down Michael Douglas, albeit it was light (or, he just had a weird thing going on in these scenes). But I am not sure if they just wanted to do a cameo for the character, or to connect the situation to S.H.I.E.L.D., but her presence did not really add any thing to the film for me. She was just there.

This movie is really funny. It is funnier than many of the earlier MCU films, but not on the level of some of the later phase films. It is the type of film that is a historical the first time you watch it, because a lot of the humor comes by surprise, but without the element of surprise, the film doesn't jam quite the same way. At least it doesn't have to worry about other heist films in the MCU. As such, it began as a great heist movie, but fell into the super hero tropes as the movie went on, and once he gets the suit, it basically becomes a full on action film. Baskin Robbins always finds out (I know that doesn't land or is relevant, but I really wanted to place that in the post, much like how the movie puts some jokes into the film where they make you raise an eyebrow, but don't quite match tonally).

TI is in this. I have never really liked TI, though I can acknowledge that he is a skilled rap artist based on his body of work. Acting, on the other hand, he is just TI here, a little watered down if anything. All of Ant Man's "side kicks" are a pretty cool addition, though. They don't over stay their welcome, and they add good comedic moments. His one friend, the one he lives with after he gets out of prison, is the funniest here, and also has the most to do! I love his "So, I was chilling with Ernesto tasting wine. I am not a fan of reds but there was this rosay that saved the day," type speeches. He was really good here.

Also, many funny one-liners that worked in their situations. The immediate example I can think of is when the Hydra guy goes "here we go," during the initiation of the climactic dispute.

Also, there was a side kick cop in this that served absolutely no purpose, and had the absolute worst lines in the film. Marvel has an issue with Black characters in that they are nearly always the sidekick (of course, Black Panther crushes that mold). Falcon, War Machine, etc. In this, the Black sidekick wasn't even to the hero, but to the "good" cop. He didn't need to be here, and since he was I wish they gave him more to do. A lot of wasted potential in this one.

Closing thoughts: I like to think that we will see that large ant somewhere in Infinity War