Phase 2 has been full of crazy moments. SHIELD fell, Infinity Stones are popping up everywhere, and Ultron nearly wiped out all of humanity. With all that said though, it’s time to finally close out Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Phase 1 ended in a bang with the Avengers, but Phase 2 goes out a bit… smaller. This is the highly underrated Ant-Man!
Plot
In 1989 SHIELD agent Hank Pym resigns due to Howard Stark trying to recreate his “Pym Particles” which have the ability to shrink someone while also increasing their power. Deeming it too powerful, Hank vows that nobody will ever have access to his Pym Particles again. Present day, we meet Scott Lang who was recently released from prison and is trying to get back on his feet for the sake of his daughter Cassie. Unable to find a job he turns back to the one thing he’s good at: stealing. The heist he’s on though ends up being a setup by Hank Pym who needs someone to use his Pym Particles and become the new Ant-Man. Hank needs Scott to stop a tech company from militarizing what Pym tried to hide from the world almost 30 years ago.
Villain
The big bad is Darren Cross who is the CEO of Cross Technologies. Cross was mentored by Hank Pym in the tech business, but over the years Cross suspected that Pym was hiding something from him. Eventually Cross discovered the Pym Particles and became obsessed with recreating it. Years of testing made Cross lose his mind, but eventually he had a breakthrough and developed a nearly identical suit to Ant-Man’s. He named it the Yellow Jacket. Here’s another edition of “the villain is a clone of the hero,” but Cross is definitely the worst example of it. This is particularly because of the acting performance by Corey Stoll who just makes the character seem goofy. He’s also got some cringe worthy lines. He does, however, get a pretty epic fight against Ant-Man.
Best Scene
Although the final battle between Ant-Man and Yellow Jacket is hilarious and awesome, the best scene is when Ant-Man meets an Avenger. Specifically, the scene involves Ant-Man planning to infiltrate an old Stark warehouse to steal a piece of technology vital to their final heist against Cross Technologies. Ant-Man quickly finds out that the “old Stark warehouse” is actually an Avengers base. Hank and his daughter Hope tell Ant-Man to abandon the mission, but Ant-Man continues anyways. That’s when he runs into the one leading Avengers’ security: The Falcon. The two duke it out and Ant-Man surprisingly ends up getting the upper hand and outsmarting Falcon. At the end of the fight Falcon radios in to the rest of security saying, “It’s really important to me that Cap never finds out about this.”
Stan Lee Cameo
After Ant-Man defeats Yellow Jacket and the day is saved, Ant-Man’s friend Luis tells him about a new tip he got. Falcon is looking to recruit Ant-Man for an upcoming mission, but while the story is being told by the various people in it, we come across Stan Lee who is a bartender telling Luis’ friend that the journalist he’s with is “crazy stupid fine.” I couldn’t imagine Stan Lee actually saying that which makes this particularly funny.
Post Credits Scenes
Hank Pym shows his daughter Hope a prototype suit that he and his wife had been working on. He says he realizes now that he and his wife were building the suit for Hope so that one day she could take on the role of The Wasp like her mom did years ago. Hope admires the suit, simply smiling and saying, “It’s about damn time.”
The second post credits scene is a doozy. Falcon and Captain America have finally caught up and captured Winter Soldier! Cap and Falcon then have this conversation:
Falcon: This would’ve been a lot easier a week ago.
Cap: If we call Tony…
Falcon: He won’t believe us.
Cap: Even if he did…
Falcon: Who knows if the Accords will let him help.
Cap: We’re on our own.
Falcon: Maybe not. I know a guy.
What’re these Accords they’re talking about? Why can’t they go to anyone else for help? Does Cap know that Falcon got his ass whipped by Ant-Man!? So many questions, but the answers are going to have to wait for the next movie. It’s clear though that Phase 3 is going to be massive!
Final Thoughts
I’ve said it before about Iron Man 2 and Hulk: “They’re so underappreciated, they aren’t as bad as people say.” THIS TIME I MEAN IT THOUGH! Ant-Man is probably the most underrated movie in the MCU. It changes up the formula for a superhero movie choosing to be more of a heist movie instead of a flashy explosive action flick. It also doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a story about a man who talks to ants for crying out loud! The villain is a total bust, but there’s way too much to like about this movie to cast it aside to the other more popular Marvel superheroes.
And that officially concludes Phase 2! A lot has changed over the last six movies. We have tons of new heroes, a villainous threat that’s going to carry over for many films to come, AND Infinity Stones. Phase 2 does have some of the worst films in the MCU, but despite the noticeable flaws it’s still an overall fun series of films that leads into the best Phase in the MCU. Phase 3 is the final phase leading to Infinity War meaning we are getting ever so close to the big show down!
Thanos Meme of the Week
There’s a birthday party in this movie… thank goodness Thanos wasn’t around to ruin it.
The Magical World of Dids 