Marvel's Ant-Man(The NEXT Avenger)

[Shogunn2517]

I wonder how this movie is going to tied in with the Avengers and all the other shows in the MCU?  I'm thinking that somebody from Agents might make an appearance in the movie.

I think someone earlier in the thread said that Edgar Wright quit BECAUSE Marvel wanted to connect it to the cinematic universe, which it originally wasn't.  Don't know if that was confirmed or not, but it's hard to see them doing a Disney/Marvel produced movie and NOT being connected.

[Talavar]

I wonder how this movie is going to tied in with the Avengers and all the other shows in the MCU?  I'm thinking that somebody from Agents might make an appearance in the movie.

I think someone earlier in the thread said that Edgar Wright quit BECAUSE Marvel wanted to connect it to the cinematic universe, which it originally wasn't.  Don't know if that was confirmed or not, but it's hard to see them doing a Disney/Marvel produced movie and NOT being connected.

That's the rumour going around, yes - that Wright quit because he resented studio input on things like ties to the larger MCU.

[Starman]

So, have anyone seen the teaser/trailer yet? It looked...

... totally boring. 

You don't have a hero called Ant-Man and then put together a dour, po-faced, super serious trailer to introduce him to audiences. He doesn't live in Gotham City. He rides a flying ant. It's a goofy concept. You can crack a smile.

Coupled with that, you have that recurring bland Marvel visual style, where it looks like they could be walking around the featureless techno set of Iron Man or Agents of SHIELD, and Paul Rudd looking disinterested. "Is it too late to change the name?" Scott Lang asked, emotionlessly.

I know the trailer is only 2-minutes of the finished product but if it is indicative of the tone of the film, this is going to be a step down (critically if not financially) after Marvel upped its ante with Guardians of The Galaxy.

I also hate to be the one who says it, but seriously, can you imagine Edgar Wright's trailer for this film? That would have been exciting and kinetic and funny. Even James Gunn (if "Guardians..." is any indication) could have turned out something that inspired the imagination.

[JeyNyce]

It's not what I was expecting, but it wasn't bad.

I think it was suppose to be serious at first and then joke on it self when Rudd asked "is it too late to change the name?"
I'm going to hold judgement on it because it was just a teaser, trailer.  I will probably go see it just because it's a Marvel movie and I will be expecting easter eggs.

[bat1987]

Wasn't blown away by the teaser, but it was OK. Looking forward to the full trailer.

[HarryTrotter]

Well,Im sceptical at best.

[SickAlice]

That dubstep just didn't belong: * bum bum dum bum bum bum dum bum BWOOOOOoooooooooorrrrrshhh bum bum dum bum *

Looked meh, though it looked more like backstory than the meat (I hope). What little action I caught looked like they were going the espionage route, closer to O' Grady which would explain why the new series pushed the same theme. I dunno. It qualifies under " I want an attempt at a movie based on every character, be damned how it turns out " for me. People cried for this one. When rumor had it might not see light a remember fans exploded and rallied, rationalizing how essential the film would be. So sometimes you can get it all but as they say they can't all be zingers. Or who knows. Maybe the finished product will really be something. For the trailer though I'll say at least it didn't get me excited. Then again I watched that after the Avengers 2 one so I may be taking it in through the looking glass.

[MJB]

Nothing about the trailer excited me. I'll hold judgement for the full trailer but I'm not looking forward to this movie based on the teaser.

[Podmark]

I thought this was a surprisingly bland trailer, really one of the most disappointing I'd ever seen.
But I'm not really worried about the movie just yet. Although my expectations have never been especially high for Ant-Man.

[HarryTrotter]

And the villan is apparently Yellowjacket.Just wow...

[Tomato]

First of all, that's something we've known for months(almost a year, even), so acting like that's new information somehow is a little silly. Second, the villain is not Hank Pym, it's Darren Cross, a character pulled straight from Scott Lang's origin story in the comics. Yes, he never wore that costume in the comics (he was just some jerk bubusinessman) but given that this is a superhero film, having a supervillain is kind of a necessity. And given the film's focus on legacy, their use of another of Pym's identities makes sense, even if it is a bit cheap.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not 100% behind this film, and the trailer is just boring as hell... but complaining about Yellowjacket being the villain is just nitpicky and cheap, especially given how vocally you've bashed Marvel films in the past.

[HarryTrotter]

Not complaining,just saying.Cuz honestly I dont really care that much whos gona be the "big bad" of Ant-man.

[XStream]

I have breaking news!!!

Hank Pym's Ant-Man costume revealed!

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/02/15/ant-man-hank-pym-costume-revealed-sort-of

Spoiler

Hehe, sorry I couldn't resist.

[Shogunn2517]

Just checking to see if anyone's checked it out yet.

Saw it a few nights ago and was pretty happy with it, overall.  Actually, considering what we've known before, I don't really have any complaints about it at all.  It wasn't overwhelmingly the greatest movie of the year, but I thought it was a good change of pace for Marvel and a nice watch.

Spoiler

The Falcon "cameo" was a good touch.  I was glad to see they used Haley Atwell(Captain America Triology) and John Slattery(Iron Man 2) reprising roles.  Also liked the small Spider-Man Easter Egg towards the end.  "We got this guy that crawls, that climbs, that swings".  Additionally, I thought the mid-credits and post-credit scenes were two of the better ones in all the films.  Curious how Cap and Falcon caught WS though.  Had his hand in a vice grip.  The comedy was good and timely.  The story was fairly basic, but wasn't disappointed by it.  Michael Pena was genius.  The lip-syncing parts were hilarious.  Gotta say it would have been cool if he used one of the enlargement disk to turn giant-sized.  But I'm thinking they wanted to wait for Civil War or a sequel for it(and Wasp).  Overall, like I said, it was a fun watch.  In my opinion.

[Tomato]

I have tickets for tomorrow. First movie in a loooong time I've seen opening weekend.

[BWPS]

Yeah this movie is so funny. The stakes are lower and it's an origin story so it's definitely a different experience than Age of Ultron, but still a good one.

Spoiler

I didn't like the Falcon scene. While the fight itself was sweet, he just broke into the Avengers base very quickly while breaking into Pym corp took the entire plot of the movie. Surely The Avengers are more secure than that. It made it seem shoehorned in just to tie in with the universe.

Great movie though, I missed the final scene unfortunately. I figured the first credits scene was the only one. I really want to see that now!

[BentonGrey]

We just saw it last night, and we were really impressed!  I, as y'all probably already know, wasn't really excited about this, nor did I have a lot of hope for it.  Hank Pym is my Ant-Man, and I really couldn't care less about Scott Lang.  That being said, even though I went in a bit resistant, it was so well made, and just so genuinely FUN that it won me over.  It's funny, exciting, and charming.  It's absolutely worth watching.  It's certainly not the best of the Marvel movies, and while I imagine some of the humor might be a bit grating for me on multiple watchings, sitting in a theater with a bunch of folks having a good time, I had a blast.  We laughed and laughed, and yet the movie still has heart and still tells a good superhero story.  The constant back and forth between serious and silly, underscoring the underlying ridiculousness of a battle to the death that is taking place at ant-size, is great fun.

I still wish they had just told a Hank Pym / Janet Van Dyne story, but I realize some things will change in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Go see it.  It's definitely worth it.

With Ant-Man, Marvel continues to set themselves miles beyond DC.  Not only are all their movies well made and fun, they have a whole range of sub-genres.  We've got superhero fantasy with Thor, superhero spy with Cap, and now superhero heist with Ant-Man.  It's great!  There's something for everyone, and they keep things fresh.

[Tomato]

See, I'm the opposite. While I do feel like we've closed off the mcu for Hank and Janet, in a time where DC seems to be trying to remove legacy characters(Wally, Garth, Troia) because it's "too difficult" to explain, here we have Marvel making an entire movie about a hero passing the torch. And above all, they didn't need 5 movies to get there.

[BentonGrey]

As I think you know about me, 'Mato, I don't mind passing the torch at all.  I think that's the direction they should go en masse (and with an actual plan  ), but it offends my sense of order that Hank and Jan, two founding Avengers, now had their adventures in the 60s instead of with the Avengers in the MCU. 

I still enjoyed the movie, but I just wish we could have seen the Avengers just a bit more fully realized.  Nonetheless, that's a very faint complaint given how perfectly they've adapted (and at times, even transcended!) the source material throughout the MCU.

[Silver Shocker]

I saw it on the weekend. I really enjoyed it. I echo earlier comments that it might not hold up on repeat viewings or be viewed as one of the best, but for now I'm satisfied with it. Lots of laughs, (I agree with comments that Michael Pena was hilarious; he was the kind of comic relief that could have gotten annoying, but never did for me) lots of thrilling action scenes, and a real sense of spectacle any time size changing and special effects happened. Loved how well the film made use of the whole size changing motif. I love the Ant-Man movie costume; I feel it and the new comic costume have made most of the previous Ant-Man costumes plain by comparison.

I'm a pretty big fan of Scott Lang, so I really enjoyed seeing him adapted and adapted well. Paul Rudd was likeable and sympathetic in the role, and Cassie was adorable. I was very impressed with Michael Douglas as Hank Pym. I was skeptical of casting such a recognizable older actor from day one but he was convincing and compelling and I bought him as Hank Pym. I agree with anyone who says the villain was stock, but for me he was passable.

Spoiler

Really liked the Falcon sequence. It was a really exciting, well rounded fight, and really did feel like a Marvel Team-Up kind of moment right out of the comics. Loved the part with the tank. Such a great gag and really shows how smart and resourceful Hank was with his size changing powers, along with the throwing discs. I feel like this movie made its best possible effort to discourage any dismissal of Ant Man as "lame".

I was glad we got to see the Wasp in action briefly, and the Spider-Man reference was a nice touch.  Really like both post-credits scenes, and I look forward to seeing where both go.

[captainawesome]

Got to see it over the weekend. I have to admit that I walked in to the theater annoyed that Lang was Ant-Man instead of Pym, but I ended up really enjoying it. I appreciated the easter eggs as well.

Spoiler

I really liked when Darren Cross sarcastically referred to the Ant-Man legends as "Tales to Astonish". And, of course, the end credits scene really paves the way for Civil War

[crimsonquill]

As I think you know about me, 'Mato, I don't mind passing the torch at all.  I think that's the direction they should go en masse (and with an actual plan  ), but it offends my sense of order that Hank and Jan, two founding Avengers, now had their adventures in the 60s instead of with the Avengers in the MCU. 

I'm expecting that maybe we might see the adventures of Ant-Man I and Wasp I of the MCU within a mini-series (like Agent Carter) or more flashbacks told during future movies if Hank reappears.
If they don't address it within TV or movies, I'm sure that Marvel Comics might fill in that time gap with a comic series that takes place in the lost years of SHIELD.

- CQ

[stumpy]

I saw it over the weekend and really enjoyed it. I think the acting was really pretty good, which isn't surprising, given the cast. Both my girlfriend and I thought Peña's voice-overs were hilarious.

And, as noted, the scope of the movie set the right mood for what they were doing. In one sense, it was a caper flick, not a racing-to-prevent-the-apocalypse mega-drama. So, the humor, the time spent on planning the heist, and the intensity of character interaction were all pretty much in proportion, IMO.

I want to comment on BWPS' point, since the same thing occurred to me in the movie.

Spoiler

I didn't like the Falcon scene. While the fight itself was sweet, he just broke into the Avengers base very quickly while breaking into Pym corp took the entire plot of the movie. Surely The Avengers are more secure than that. It made it seem shoehorned in just to tie in with the universe.

Spoiler

This bothered me for a minute near the end when I was sort of summarizing the story arc in my head. But, a pretty sensible rationalization works for me: PymCorp security has been designed with the idea of tiny intruders in mind. Why? Because Darren Cross is aware of the technology and suspects that Pym still has the suit. In contrast, Stark (or whoever) didn't have much reason to expect ant-sized intruders breaking in. And, we don't know for certain, but the bit of tech stolen from the Avengers' facility wasn't necessarily their most important tech and wasn't necessarily in the most secure area.

[Shogunn2517]

I saw it over the weekend and really enjoyed it. I think the acting was really pretty good, which isn't surprising, given the cast. Both my girlfriend and I thought Peña's voice-overs were hilarious.

And, as noted, the scope of the movie set the right mood for what they were doing. In one sense, it was a caper flick, not a racing-to-prevent-the-apocalypse mega-drama. So, the humor, the time spent on planning the heist, and the intensity of character interaction were all pretty much in proportion, IMO.

Proportional... I get it! Good one, Stumpy!

[stumpy]

LOL. I wish I were that clever, Shogunn2517.

BTW, did anyone think that there wasn't much reaction from Cross to the deception...

Spoiler

when it became clear that Hope was working with Hank Pym to stymie Cross?

[Tomato]

@stumpy

Spoiler

I think he already knew. His dialogue... "I wasn't ready to kill you yet" indicates that he already had an idea of what was going on, especially since it seems like it was his plan to capture the Ant-Man suit from the beginning. Furthermore, the way he spoke about Pym to Hope... it felt more like someone trying to convince someone else of their viewpoint, rather than a person talking to someone who agreed with them.

[BentonGrey]

Agreed 'Mato, my thoughts too.

Captain Awesome, you're right, Douglass just did such a good job, it is hard to hold anything against him.

[Tomato]

Apparently there's a whole scene with Pym in the Ant-Man suit that got cut from the final version of the film... apparently it clashed a bit too much with the tone of the film, but it was totally edited and polished and all that. It'll be something to look forward to on the disc.