I went to the cinema yesterday for a double bill. One family-friendly superhero film (Ant-Man) and one animation for children (Inside-out). It was a tough sell as I don't like superhero films and I don't like animations. I like films with prisons, submarines, and Denzel Washington.
Arnold Schwarzenegger had it right in his autobiography Total Recall when he was anxious that his character in Terminator 2 wasn't allowed to kill anybody, and had to be reassured by James Cameron that the rest of the film was still violent. There's something hugely disappointing about action sequences where you know no one can get hurt. Weirdly Ant-Man's 12 certificate does allow swearing, specifically the word shit which appears a few times.
The premise is that Michael Douglas has discovered a way to "shrink the distance between atoms" but decided to bury the research as it was too dangerous. But his evil bald protege and former friend has now cracked the formula, so Douglas recruits ex-con Paul Rudd to use the tiny technology to destroy the research. There's also Michael Pena providing quite a good comedy sidekick, a woman with a massive fringe and icy demeanour (like the woman in Jurassic World; 80s power dressing is back) and look out for a surprise appearance by Avon Barksdale from The Wire.
Two plot flaws. The first time Ant-Man is shrunk nobody can hear him shouting, but later they all can. It's explained that when he's tiny he's much denser (his mass hasn't changed) which is why he's so strong. But Michael Douglas has a tiny tank on a keyring which he reveals is actually a full size tank. So why doesn't it weigh the same as a full size tank?
The CGI fest of Ant-Man shrinking and running around is all done in a helter-skelter way, which makes you think you're watching an animation (specifically B Movie). There's no time to think about what it would actually be like to be tiny.
This film is written by Edgar Wright (Sean of the Dead etc.) and Joe Cornish (Adam & Joe) but clearly has a studio influence too. It's a strange mish-mash of standard action and attempted comedy. Paul Rudd as Ant-Man occasionally has sarcastic lines that mock the action, such as "I really ruined the moment there didn't I?" When he suggests that they call The Avengers I thought he was joking, but he was serious and this film does surprisingly live in the world of The Avengers, and there's the worst sequence of the film where they meet The Falcon.
It's a good cast, and slickly made. The best bit is the surreal moment that you've already seen in the trailer when they zoom out on the crash-bang-wallop action and it's just toy-trains. I found this entertaining but think it could have been really good if it was made 30 years ago, with a bit less polish.
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