Ant-Man

Ant-Man ~ I could talk about what Ant-Man is like in the comics, but really I already have elsewhere. I could take on the tact of how the film is different from the comics too, but I think where I'll go is with the burning question I had at the end of the movie, and no, I'm not talking about the mid-credits and end-credits stingers (at least not yet). Why does the Marvel Cinematic Universe treat Hank Pym with more care and respect than the Marvel Comics do? It's a puzzler, and I still don’t know the answer - but it makes me happy.

Ant-Man is a terrific heist film, settled into the wonderful tapestry of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, perhaps one of the best shared universe continuities out there. It is fun and exciting on a level matching Guardians of the Galaxy. At this point however, I'm going to caution you folks, we're entering spoiler territory, so if you haven't yet seen the film or don't want to know what happens - vamoose, or prepared to be spoiled.

I was sold on this film right from the 1989 flashback opening featuring some actors in various stages of youth and age through CGI. Michael Douglas, looking as young and sharp as he did back on "The Streets of San Francisco," is Dr. Hank Pym - the original Ant-Man - and he's quitting S.H.I.E.L.D. Also there are John Slattery of "Mad Men," who has played Howard Stark (Iron Man's dad) in a couple of the Marvel movies, and Hayley Atwill, the amazing Agent Peggy Carter. Enraged by the mention of his late wife, Janet, Hank punches Martin Donovan's Mitchell Carson. Carson, in the comics is a disfigured SHIELD agent who opposed the third Ant-Man - here's he's just a minor bad guy, later revealed to be Hydra, holding with storylines from "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Flash forward to the present as burglar Scott Lang, played by slob-com actor Paul Rudd with the same unexpected and cool finesse that Chris Pratt took on Star-Lord. Is released from prison as paying his debt to society. While trying to stay on the straight and narrow, he falls in with his old crowd, buddies on the not-so-straight path - that steal our hearts, and steal the movie. Michael Pena and rapper T.I. are sidekicks that rule and roll, bring the humor and making this flick all the better as the serious comic relief - keeping it real while keeping it fun.

The gist is this. S.H.I.E.L.D. wants the Pym particle formula which allows a man to shrink to ant-size. Pym quits rather than give it to them, and then builds his own company, which while successful, does not take advantage of the Pym particle. New boss, former Pym mentee Corey Stoll as complete villainous a-hole in the comics Darren Cross, is actually trying to duplicate it, and thinks he's finally got it. His masterpiece, a miniaturized battle armor called the Yellowjacket (very little resemblance other than name to one of the Marvel Comics identities of Pym). Pym, and his daughter Hope (who hardcore comics fans might remember as the alternate future daughter of Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, also known as the Red Queen in A-Next) want to stop this from happening.

Enlisting the help of Scott Lang through trickery and convincing him to become the new Ant-Man, Hank begins to train the new hero. These are entertaining sequences, and make the film. I weary of origin stories told over and over again in the movies (yeah, I'm looking directly at you, Superman and Batman), but this was fun, and fun is what Ant-Man is all about. The comedic bits are great, especially the cameo by Garrett Morris. As someone old enough to remember his appearance on "Saturday Night Live" as Ant-Man nearly four decades ago, that was a treat.

The plan is to break into Pym's own company and destroy the Yellowjacket suit along with all the data on the Pym particle to keep Cross from selling it from Hydra, but first a side trip - one that leads to a very interesting encounter. I have talked about the Justice League Europe theory before, and the idea of posing a superhero to fight another superhero is another way to do this. I suppose that's why this side trip pits Ant-Man against the Falcon.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Anthony Mackie show up as the Falcon when Paul Rudd's Ant-Man has to break in and steal something from the Avengers' new headquarters as seen in the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron. And I guess this kinda makes up for the Falcon's noted absence during the final battle of that last film. What I liked about this clash, different from classic superhero battles from the Silver Age of Marvel Comics where you knew who would win based on the name on the front of the comic, is that neither character was made to really look bad in the fight. Ant-Man is a proven contender to anyone out there who still doubted it, and though defeated, the Falcon isn't humiliated. He comes off looking good, and I was glad.

While the previews give away Evangeline Lilly's scenes, except for the hopes that she'll become the Wasp (or that the original might return), I need to caution folks that the Thomas the Tank Engine scene is the least of the final battle between Ant-Man and Yellowjacket. There is much much more and way cooler aspects to it that cannot be missed. This is sooo not Minions where the entire movie is in the preview. Speaking of the Wasp, there is a wondrous flashback scene, and she's features indirectly in the mid-credits stinger. And stay to the very end for the Captain America: Civil War teaser.

And then we come back to the question I posed at the beginning of this lengthy review. Hank Pym in the comics is really only known well for a few things, and most aren't good. He's had a variety of identities, a history of mental illness and domestic abuse, and of course, building a monstrous AI dead set on exterminating the human race. They could have gone a number of ways here. For the film to portray him as a hero, I can't be happier for my favorite Avenger. I loved this movie, the last and perhaps the best of Phase Two.

If you'd like to hear more of my thoughts on the movie, as well as my lovely wife's, please check out this week's special Ant-Man episode of The Make Mine Magic Podcast.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy ~ First things first, there will be spoilers for the movie, so if you're looking for a spoiler-free review of Guardians of the Galaxy, that review can be found at Biff Bam Pop! right here, and really, what are you waiting for already? See the movie!

I should confess that these aren't my Guardians of the Galaxy in the movie. I first encountered the Guardians of the Galaxy back in the 1970s at the Berlin Auction, or the Berlin Farmers Market for the folks from Cherry Hill, at one of those newsstands where they would tear the tops of the covers off of comics and sell them three for a quarter. Sometimes the pickings would be sparse, and instead of a Flash or Justice League, you would end up getting something different that you didn't necessarily want. This is how stuff like Lois Lane or Tarzan Family or Daredevil would end up in your collection, ready to be traded at school for something you thought was better.

One of those books that I actually enjoyed and didn't trade was Marvel Presents #3, featuring the original Guardians of the Galaxy. I loved this book. Here the original and somewhat redesigned members of the team - Charlie-27 of Jupiter, Martinex of Pluto, Yondu of Alpha Centauri, and Vance Astro of Earth - were teamed with the cosmic-powered Starhawk to finish off the alien invaders, the Badoon, who had enslaved mankind. This was in the 30th century, and I was well aware of Marvel trying to parallel DC Comics' Legion of Super-Heroes, but I didn't care, this was cool. These heroes bounced around different titles throughout the 1970s before scoring their own series in the 1980s, before disappearing.

These new Guardians of the Galaxy were born in the fires of the Marvel Comics crossover event called Annihilation and its spin-offs and sequels. This event brainstormed by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning took almost all of Marvel's space and cosmic heroes and wove all of their mythologies into one coherent continuity. And that is really what is so amazing about the movie. All of these characters have such continuity-heavy backgrounds in the comics, but in the film are presented with just what you need to know to enjoy the flick. It's magic, and serious props should go to James Gunn and Nicole Perlman.

Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon were pretty much, to my knowledge at least, one-shot characters from the late 1970s. Thanos, Drax the Destroyer, Lady Gamora, Nebula and that bunch were all part of that weird 1970s cosmic epic involving Captain Mar-Vell and Adam Warlock by Jim Starlin before that. And Groot, well, Groot predates Marvel, going waaay back to Atlas Comics when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were doing giant monster and alien invasion stories in the 1950s. Annihilation brought them together as a team before they came to the big screen. That's that, but as I said, everything you need to know about these characters is on the screen.

There are Easter eggs and tidbits from earlier Marvel movies in here, and it's a major bonus if you know about them, but you don't need to know anything to see and enjoy Guardians of the Galaxy. This could very well be the first Marvel movie for all the background needed. In other words, the fanboy and the fangirl can bring their significant others to this flick and they will enjoy it just as much as their partner.

You'll meet Star-Lord, played by Chris Pratt, playing his charm and charisma for all its worth. He's a funny leading man who will make you blow raspberries at that Robert Downey Jr. guy. He is the default leader of the rogues who become the Guardians. Zoe Saldana plays living weapon Gamora, with wrestler Dave Bautista (or is it Batista?  I've seen it spelled both ways) as the literal-minded Drax the Destroyer. The personality quirks of these two characters mixed with Star-Lord are part of what makes this flick so much fun.

The real fun with characters and interaction come from the two CGI entries Rocket and Groot. Rocket is a genetically engineered raccoon (but don't call him that) who's as handy with tech as he is with big guns. Voiced by Oscar-nominated actor Bradley Cooper, Rocket and his bodyguard/partner Groot are the breakout characters here. Groot, whose vocabulary consists of three words, "I am Groot" (voiced by Vin Diesel), is a huge tree creature of many different abilities. Both of them are lots of fun.

These characters go from hating each other to making a Great Escape break out to eventually saving the galaxy - I'm sure that's not a spoiler or surprise, but their bonding is at the core of the flick. Real plot details involve big bads everywhere, including James Brolin's Thanos, Benicio del Toro as The Collector, former "Doctor Who"companion Karen Gillan as Nebula, Michael Rooker of "The Walking Dead" as Yondu, and the wonderfully designed Ronan the Accuser as played by Lee Pace.

As far as cameos go there is of course Stan Lee, but also look for Glenn Close, John C. Reilly, Troma's Lloyd Kaufman, and the voices of Nathan Fillion, Rob Zombie, and in the after-credits sequence, Seth Green as Howard the Duck. Yeah, that's right, Howard the Duck. Perhaps this more character-correct (although it's only one line) version can help erase the George Lucas abomination from 1986, and of course now that Disney owns Marvel, Howard can go pantless. Also, as this movie proves that Rocket Raccoon can be done believably, maybe we can get a real Howard film in the future…

One of the best parts of Guardians of the Galaxy is the soundtrack, not the terrific score by Tyler Bates, but the songs featured throughout. Star-Lord has a cassette tape of 1970s hits that play throughout the film, and it is almost as important as the characters to the film, because the movie wouldn't be the same without it. The 1970s vibe rocks the movie and makes it special.

It is not all good however. We get precious little of Thanos, and the Collector's scenes are more than a bit disappointing (although we get to see a Celestial!), although I did dig that his home was inside the dead skull of a Celestial. I would have liked to have seen more use of Nebula, as would most "Doctor Who" fans coming to the flick. I am sure however we will see her again, as well as her father as I believe Thanos plays heavily in Avengers 3, and of course Guardians 2 is a go as well.

If wanting more is my only complaint, how bad could the flick really be? In fact, I think this is one of the best of the marvel movies, right up there with Iron Man, Captain America, and Avengers, and that's high praise indeed. If you want a bit more of my thoughts (and The Bride's), you can check out our special Guardians of the Galaxy episode of The Make Mine Magic Podcast.