Peyton Reed's ANT-MAN

Movie review by Dennis D. McDonald

“Oh great,” I thought, “another Marvel superhero movie,” fearing another snooze-fest like the last Avengers or Captain America.

But Ant-Man is fun and entertaining despite a trite storyline and unoriginal characters.

What makes it so entertaining? Production-wise it’s superb. Special effects and editing are excellent. We do get sucked into sequences we’ve seen too many times before, such as the high-tech heist and the one-on-one battle between evenly matched superheroes. But execution is always snappy and editing and clever dialogue make up for an almost paint-by-number story.

Another positive factor is the movie’s tone. Good versus evil is presented without excess cruelty or bloodshed. There’s no foul dark undercurrent here, just the usual out-of-control evil industrialist we’ve seen many times before.

References to other Marvel characters and story lines are present but don’t really detract from what’s on display.

Bottom line: Ant-Man is not something I would spend my money on for an expensive multiplex date or family night out, but it is entertaining enough to provide diversion for a night in with the family.

Copyright (c) 2016 by Dennis D. McDonald