Deep Dive - MCU: Ant-Man

We polled our entire team and ranked every MCU film across six categories. We weighted each category based on their overall value to the success of the movie.

Film: Ant-Man

Release Date: July 17, 2015

Reception

Box Office

Trailer:

Synopsis: Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, cat burglar Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

Analysis: This movie exists to get us to buy into the idea of Ant-Man and to provide an explanation of all the shrinkage technology and Quantum Realm gibberish that makes us think we kind of get it. Maybe. We think it works, just don't think too hard.

Grade: 6.2/10

Analysis: Turning a reformed criminal into a superhero sounds like the foundation of a great story. The problem is that Scott's "crime" was stealing from a greedy corporation and giving the money to honest, hard-working people. As a result, the audience doesn't ever view him as a criminal in the first place and there isn't much development for Scott as a character throughout the movie. Thanks a lot, Disney.

Grade: 6.5/10

Name: Darren Cross/Yellowjacket

Bio: Hank Pym took Darren under his wing at Pym Technologies and taught Darren everything he knew, except for the Pym Particles. Hank was eventually voted out of his own company and Darren took over as the new CEO, renaming it Cross Technologies.

Evil Plan: Discover the secret of the Pym Particle that Hank was keeping from him, militarize it, and sell it to the highest bidding terrorist organization.

Analysis: Cross had to be extremely intelligent to be the only other person to solve the riddle of the Pym Particle, but all he wanted to do with it was sell it and make money? Dream bigger, Darren.

Grade: 5.25/10

I Love You, (Ant) Man

The Ant of Wall Street

MCU Wars: Episode 12 - A New Hope

Smoothie King

Best Fake Russian Accent In The MCU

Rubber B-Ant Man

Cray Cray Adorbz

Say Goodbye to THESE

The Other Guy

Analysis: Paul Rudd was the perfect choice for the lead and Hank and Hope added two great new functional members to the MCU roster. But Scott's crew of Luis, Kurt, Dave, and his daughter Cassie is what gives this movie its soul.

Grade: 7.7/10

Best Fight:

Analysis: Ant-Man does a great job of playing with the shrinking and growing possibilities for the character which makes the train fight the perfect climax for this movie. Up close, it looks like a classic thrilling train sequence, but the periodic shots showing how this looks from Cassie's perspective are hilarious. The giant Thomas the Tank Engine is epic.

Grade: 7/10

Analysis: Michael Peña caught us all off guard with Luis' storytelling scenes. They are possibly the most memorable scenes in the movie and made Luis an instant fan favorite side character in the MCU. We also had to give a shoutout to our favorite ant, Ant-thony. RIP.

Grade: 7/10

Luis Sees The Glass Half-Full

Baskin Robbins Always Finds Out

Avengers Audition Tape

Analysis: How do you make an Ant-Man movie work? Cast Paul Rudd and don't take yourself too seriously. Perhaps it isn't the most impactful film in the MCU, but it's fun, different, and the perfect way to bring this classic comic book character to the big screen.

Grade: 6.42/10

Image Credits: Disney