Back on the old site, I wrote a few articles following a rewatch of the Marvel Cinamatic Universe. Here are those articles again.

Title: Ant-Man

Director: Peyton Reed Writer(s): Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish and Adam McKay & Paul Rudd

Characters created by: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby, David Michelinie, John Byrne, Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz

US Release Date: July 17, 2015

Budget: $130,000,000

Worldwide Box-office: $519,300,000

Returning characters: Peggy, Howard Stark, Sam, Steve, Bucky

Summary: In 1989, scientist Hank Pym resigns from S.H.I.E.L.D. after discovering their attempt to replicate his Ant-Man shrinking technology. Believing the technology is dangerous, Pym vows to hide it.

In the present day, Pym’s estranged daughter, Hope van Dyne, and former protégé, Darren Cross, have forced him out of his company, Pym Technologies. Cross is close to perfecting a shrinking suit of his own, the Yellowjacket, which horrifies Pym.

Upon his release from prison, Scott Lang moves in with his old cellmate, Luis. Unable to hold a job even at Baskin Robbins because of his criminal record, Lang agrees to join Luis’ crew and commit a burglary. Lang breaks into a house and cracks its safe, but only finds what he believes to be an old motorcycle suit, which he takes home.

After trying the suit on, Lang accidentally shrinks himself to the size of an insect. Terrified by the experience, he returns the suit to the house, but is arrested on the way out. Pym, the homeowner, visits Lang in jail and smuggles the suit into his cell to help him break out. Pym, who manipulated Lang through an unknowing Luis into stealing the suit as a test, wants Lang to become the new Ant-Man to steal the Yellowjacket from Cross.

Having been spying on Cross after discovering his intentions, Hope helps Pym train Lang to fight and to control ants. While she harbors resentment towards Pym about her mother Janet’s death, he reveals that Janet, known as the Wasp, disappeared into a subatomic quantum realm while disabling a Soviet nuclear missile. Pym doesn’t want the same thing to happen to Hope, and warns Lang that he could suffer a similar fate if he overrides his suit’s regulator. They send him to steal a device that will aid their heist from an old Stark complex that is now the Avengers’ headquarters, where he briefly fights the Falcon.

Cross perfects the Yellowjacket and hosts an unveiling ceremony at Pym Technologies’ headquarters. Lang, along with his crew and a swarm of flying ants, infiltrates the building during the event, sabotages the company’s servers, and plants explosives. When he attempts to steal the Yellowjacket, he, along with Pym and Hope, are captured by Cross, who intends to sell both the Yellowjacket and Ant-Man suits to Hydra, led by former S.H.I.E.L.D officer Mitchell Carson. Lang breaks free and he and Hope dispatch most of the Hydra agents, though Carson is able to flee with a vial of Cross’ particles and Pym is shot.

Lang pursues Cross, while the explosives detonate, imploding the building. Pym and van Dyne escape by driving a tank enlarged from Pym’s keychain. Cross dons the Yellowjacket and attacks Lang before Lang is arrested by Paxton. Cross takes Cassie hostage to lure Lang into another fight. Lang overrides the regulator and shrinks to subatomic size to penetrate Cross’ suit and sabotage it to shrink uncontrollably, killing Cross.

Lang disappears into the quantum realm but manages to reverse the effects and returns to the macroscopic world. In gratitude for Lang’s heroism, Paxton covers for Lang to keep him out of prison. Seeing that Lang survived and returned from the quantum realm, Pym wonders if his wife is alive as well. Later, Lang meets up with Luis, who tells him that Wilson is looking for him.

MCU Continuity Nods: The opening scene features an older Howard Stark and Peggy Carter, and takes place in the Triskelion, under construction. Scott fights the Falcon in the Avengers’ new headquarters, seen at the end of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Hank mentions the climax of that movie when Scott suggests they call the Avengers. In addition, when Scott first flies on the ant after he escapes prison, he lands on a newspaper which says “Who’s to blame for Sokovia?” Posters for “Pingo Doce,” the Brazilian soda company Bruce Banner worked for in The Incredible Hulk, can be seen in the San Francisco scenes. One of the Hydra agents has a Ten Rings tattoo, from the terrorists from Iron Man.

Easter Eggs: A newspaper article Hank Pym holds up mentions a Sasquatch. This refers to the Canadian superhero Sasquatch. Scott lives at the Milgrom Hotel. This was named after comic-book artist Al Milgrom. Garrett Morris, who portrays a cab driver in the film, appeared as Ant-Man in a Saturday Night Live sketch, which was the first live-action appearance of the hero.

Cassie Lang becomes the superhero known as Stature

Stan Lee Cameo: A bartender

Infinity Stone: none

Post/mid Credits Scene: Hank shows Hope the prototype Wasp costume. Cap and Sam find Bucky and Sam suggests he knows someone who can

My Take: I might as well start with the Edgar Wright thing. All I’m going to say us that had Wright remained on the project we would still be waiting for it to come out.

Contrary to popular belief, Marvel’s films are each different in genre. Thor is a mythological epic, Winter Soldier is a conspiracy story, and Guardians is a space comedy. This is a heist film, and it hits all the marks found in filns like Ocean’s Eleven or Topkapi.

This is a well cast film. Michael Douglas is a legend and he brings not just gravity but a curmudgeonly smart ass, and I love that we’re getting a legacy character, the original passing the torch down to the next generation. This is a movie about fathers and daughters. Paul Rudd is great as Scott, goofy and earnest, but a man willing to do what he needs to do for his daughter. Michael Pena is the breakout character bringing humor and flair. Evangeline Lilly is going to kick butt as the Wasp.

Next: This is the last of the articles I wrote last year. I am going to continue these reviews with Phase Three: Captain America: Civil War