Can’t Man?

CAN MAN!

That up there is Paul Rudd. If you don’t know Paul Rudd, you’ve never watched Friends. Or Anchorman, or Knocked Up, or The 40 Year-Old Virgin, or even Parks and Recreation. I know you haven’t, because if you had, you would remember him. Where have you been, dude? But even if laughing at dumb stuff just isn’t your thing, you should still know who Paul Rudd is because he is great. He’s just… just great. He’s funny without stealing the show, he’s silly without being ridiculous, he’s nice without being false, and he’s sarcastic without being smug. He’s a good looking guy with a great smile, but he’s not intimidatingly handsome or (too) aware of his own charm, and he never takes himself too seriously. He comes across as the ultimate down-to-earth Hollywood actor. Like…If you asked him to help you move, he would, you know? Between takes. Straight men want to be him, straight women want to introduce him to their mother. He’s perfect.

But is he a superhero?

There are so many superhero franchises being made into films these years, it’s hard to keep up. Just look at the list of past and future films based on Marvel comics stories and characters (start at the bottom), it goes on and on. And that’s just Marvel (for the unenlightened, Batman and Superman are DC Comics characters, they have their own list). In the past 5 years, there have been 15 films based on Marvel comics characters. 15! That, by any standard, is insane, but it’s hard not to fall for the charm and wit of Tony Stark/Iron Man, be intrigued by the complexity of Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto or, indeed, feel sad for Bruce Banner/The Hulk. But with X-Men, The Avengers and Spider-Man on the go + the various origin stories/one-hero films (Captain America, Thor, Iron Man), do we really, truly, and honestly, need more superheroes?

Yes. We need Paul Rudd. We need Ant-Man.

Ant-Man belongs in the category of Humorous Superhero Films, and it’s a most welcome addition, because so far, there’s only been Guardians of The Galaxy, and that shit was a hot mess (2nd film on the way, too, so help us all).

It tells the tale of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), a talented thief and divorced dad, who upon his release from a prison vows to never stray from the path of righteousness again. He moves in with his old cell mate, Luis (Michael Peña, End of Watch), but life as an ex-con is hard, and although his intentions of earning his way back into his daughter’s life are honourable, Scott soon finds himself involved in another burglary of some rich guy’s safety deposit box. But there’s no money in the safe, only a strange suit, and before he knows it, Scott is running away from death by drowning in his own bathtub, while Michael Douglas is telling him to relax and just… run.

Because the break-in was, of course, just an elaborate ruse, set up by Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), a former scientist and agent of S.H.I.E.L.D*., and the inventor of the shrinking technology that powers the suit Scott has suddenly found himself donning. Together with his daughter (Evangeline Lilly), Pym is trying to infiltrate Cross Technological Enterprises, lead by Pym’s former protégé, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll, known for House of Cards amongst other things), in order to destroy this shrinking technology, the very one he has spent so many years trying to bury – to hide from the wrong hands, the very hands they have now fallen into. For this, he needs a thief – a hero – to shrink, punch, break in, and control ants, and Scott is the chosen one.

It’s not a particularly original storyline, and I’ve got to admit, when I read that there would be an Ant-Man film (which incidentally coincides with the moment I found out there existed such a thing as an Ant Man character), I did think, ‘oh come on, really? A man the size of an ant? Who controls other ants? YOU HAVE RUN OUT OF IDEAS, STOP YOURSELVES!’. But you’re know what? It’s not nearly as ridiculous as I’d predicted. In fact, it’s rather a lot of fun!

‘But you hated Guardians of the Galaxy, you humourless amateur, explain yourself!’

Two things. First of all, Paul Rudd is perfect. He’s just the right amount of funny without then becoming unbelievable in more dramatic situations, such as when he’s trying to do right by his daughter. His face is precious whenever Luis the Sidekick starts yammering on (it’s very funny, and very cleverly edited), and his reaction to the madness of the ant suit happening around him  is, most importantly, relatable. I stole this from IMDB:

Scott Lang: [raises hand] Excuse me, Dr. Pym?

Hank Pym: You don’t have to raise your hand Scott.

Scott Lang: [lowers hand] Okay. I just have one question… Who are you, who is she, what the hell is going on here, and can I go back to jail now?

_________

Exactly. What the actual fuck is going on here and why are you involving me?

It’s not all Paul Rudd, though. Michael Douglass is in shipshape. He’s funny and sharp but never ridiculous, and he’s a nice addition to the superhero universe. I haven’t seen him in anything since his brilliant performance as Liberace in Behind the Candelabra, so I was glad to see him back to form. Evangeline Lily, too, is charming as Hope van Dyne, Pym’s daughter. She’s got a delightful glint in her eye which fits right into the style of the film. She doesn’t take herself too seriously, thus becoming a really nice match to not only Paul Rudd’s style, but also the overall style of the film.

And speaking of style brings me to my second thing: the screenplay for Ant-Man was written by Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish. Wright wrote and directed zombie comedy extraordinaire Shaun of The Dead and comic book turned uber-geeky love story Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and he directed the fantastically nerdy and really funny TV-series Spaced. What am I talking about, ALL of those things are fantastically nerdy and really funny because Edgar Wright is a beautiful and extremely funny nerd. His style is instantly recognisable – filming techniques include quick cuts and close ups, the humour is subversive, and the drama is, again, relatable. He didn’t direct Ant-Man, but he might as well have. He sure as shit put his fingerprint all over that thing, and thank god for that. And Joe Cornish? He’s the Joe part of my favourite radio duo Adam & Joe (COME BACK TO RADIO, FUCK’S SAKE!), he’s a writer and director (Attack the Block, The Adventures of Tintin) and he once wrote a song called Sexy Doctor! and it borders on genius.

If those two idiots hadn’t been involved in Ant-Man, it never would have worked for me. They’ve scaled it back, brought the whole thing down to earth, polished off the characters to make them believable in an unbelievable situation, and then released them back into their crazy storyline. Thanks to the pair of them, watching Ant-Man is so much fun, you forget how ridiculous a man running around with ants is. At the same time it retains its charm, it doesn’t lose itself in the grandness of a big budget Hollywood superhero film and all the green-screen acting you can eat. I guess my biggest issue with Guardians was that I didn’t find it particularly charming. Ant-Man? Ant-Man is charming, because the character of Scott Lang was written as such, and because Paul Rudd is capable of acting it all out. It works. I was and still am excited about it, and about future Ant-Man films.

I have harped on long enough now. 5 A-Okays. And here’s a picture of Paul Rudd that literally tells you everything you need to know. Peace out.

*Now listen. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agency is very difficult to explain. Just know that everything is tied to this it. Go here or here, to expand your comic book horizon.