Compared to the two Marvel films that immediately preceded it, Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man provides a welcome respite from extinction-level threats and superhuman bombast. Instead, and in what can only be considered power-set-appropriate, everything feels smaller and more human. That’s not to say that there’s not plenty at stake, or that the superhuman action isn’t dependably fun, and occasionally really fun, to watch—the film just lacks the genocidal ambition of Ronan in Guardians of the Galaxy and Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Instead, we get Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), a smart guy whose act of Robin Hood-flavored corporate thievery lands him in prison. Upon his release, he just wants to earn an honest living and be a good dad to his young daughter, but darn if that isn’t difficult to do on the outside. Perhaps one last score?
By now, the plotting and expectations of such a setup are practically embedded in a moviegoer’s DNA. But much as the ’70s spy thriller got a boost when injected with some Super Soldier Formula in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, so too does the heist genre benefit from prolonged exposure to Pym Particles. The heist components—the ex-con trying to make good, the motley crew of thieves, the hard-to-crack facility, etc.—are ultimately just a convenient delivery device, allowing Kevin Feige and company to introduce another character in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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