dvd of the week
Surprising to many, Ant-Man, the movie about one of the Marvel Universe’s more minor characters that went through a tortured development, turned out to be a damn fine film, much more enjoyable and coherent than the massively hyped Avengers: Age of Ultron. Paul Rudd plays Scott Lang, a thief with a heart of gold and an engineering degree, who is recruited by brilliant and aging scientist Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) to don the shrinking Ant-Man suit and stop the evil Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) from using the shrinking formula as a military weapon. The action is fun and light, mostly because it involves being tiny and riding ants like a cowboy, and the dialogue is delightful, especially as delivered by Rudd, one of our most likable comic actors. Michael Pena, playing Lang’s criminal associate and friend Luis, steals all of his scenes with his speedy, weird stories and hilarious double-takes.
