Spoilers follow for Ant-Man’s first two solo Marvel movies.
The ant Man isn’t the first movie that comes to mind when someone asks “What’s your favorite wonder movie?”. In an age when superhero movies dominate the theatrical landscape, it’s a relatively small fish in a big pond.
However, the 2015 Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film shouldn’t be dismissed so easily. Of course, there are much grander spectacles, such as the avengers movies, than this movie directed by Peyton Reed. There are more inventive MCUs Disney+ show (moon knight, Wanda Vision) and films that appeal to the public (Spider-Man: No Coming Home), Also. But The ant Mandespite its hero’s diminutive stature, has one major selling point: it’s the MCU movie with the biggest heart.
fatherhood for eternity
For all his superhero styles and MCU mythos, The ant Man is basically a movie about two fathers trying to do good with their daughters.
For Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), it’s trying to be the father his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson) needs him to be. Scott’s criminal past means his access to Cassie is virtually non-existent, with ex-wife Maggie (Judy Greer) and new fiancé Jim Paxton (Bobby Cannavale) refusing to have visits from Scott. Unless he can get a real job and provide child support, visitation rights are suspended indefinitely.
Usually, viewers might be inclined to side with Maggie and Jim. After all, Scott is a convict who continually struggles to turn his life around. As the saying goes: old habits die hard – and, in Scott’s case, his inability to break out of the illegal rut he finds himself in means we should be rooting against him, especially if the safety of Cassie is threatened one day.
Thanks to Scott and Cassie, Ant-Man is full of emotions
Still, Scott’s everyone’s personality, coupled with his obvious love for Cassie, pushes us to make it happen. He’d had a great life — with a master’s degree in engineering, a well-paying job at VistaCorp, and a family to love and support — but it all comes crashing down when he’s fired from VistaCorp, enacting a Robin-style revenge. Hood. on them, and is sent to prison.
Scott, however, is not an unrelated criminal – he is a well-meaning benefactor. In fact, his desire to do the right thing, despite the personal consequences, actually makes him more likable. Thanks to Rudd’s effervescence and likability, Scott’s positioning as a charismatic, affable, and wise individual means we can’t help but love him either.
Likewise, the close and endearing relationship between Scott and Cassie is evident from the first scene they share. Rudd and Ryder Fortson’s dynamic is brimming with charm, humor and genuine chemistry, and lends a real sense of credibility to their family bond. The disappointment in Scott’s eyes when he realizes he can’t see Cassie until he gets his life back is proof of his unwavering love for her. He is a father who would do anything for his only child – a clear prefiguration of Avengers: Endgame And Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, anybody? — and explains how giant his heart is (pun intended).
Broken links
Scott’s relationship with Cassie fascinatingly juxtaposes the one Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) shares with his daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly).
With Hank’s wife (and Hope’s mother), Janet van Dyne lost to the Quantum Realm – until 2018 Ant-Man and the Wasp, anyway – Hank and Hope’s bond has become so fractured that it’s seemingly beyond repair. Well, it is until the duo start working together. The reason? Stop Hank’s former protege, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), from using Hank’s research to develop the Yellowjacket – an Ant-Man-like shrinking suit that will be used for spy-style warfare – and sell it to criminal organizations.
Even then, however, Hank and Hope’s relationship is only one step away from fracturing again. Hope’s insistence on donning the Ant-Man costume and arresting Cross is met with Hank’s steadfast refusal to let her, as he doesn’t want to lose the only family he has left. That’s why Hank tricks Scott into stealing the Ant-Man suit in the first place. Hank wants to bring in someone like Scott with the skills to rob Cross’s tech—and someone who can be sacrificed if the heist goes awry—so Hank doesn’t lose his daughter.
It’s these adjacent yet opposing family dynamics that make Ant-Man a thematically compelling watch. On the one hand, you have Scott, whose relationship with Cassie couldn’t be stronger despite their separation. On the other hand, Hank and Hope see each other every day, but the trauma they endured, coupled with their broken relationship, has led to their estrangement.
Notably, it isn’t until Scott joins Hank (and Hope) in stopping Cross that the pair have a chance to redeem themselves. By becoming the new Ant-Man, Scott transforms into the hero Cassie already believes he is. He saves the day, albeit under funny circumstances – this Thomas the Tank Engine toy-based showdown between Scott and Cross will always be funny – and proves to Maggie and Jim that he’s ready to step up.
Scott is not an unrelated criminal – he is a well-meaning benefactor
Hank also mends his relationship with Hope. He tells her the truth about Janet, including how she saved the world before she was lost in the Quantum Realm. He also stops pushing Hope by bringing her into the superhero fold and passing the Wasp Suit—another Pym Particle-powered suit—on her.
Without Scott, however, it’s arguable that Hank and Hope might never have made amends. The ant Man was the first Marvel movie to feature a second-generation superhero – if you discount Wanda and Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron – to Scott. In Hank, Scott also gains the confident albeit grumpy mentor he needs to reinvent himself.
Hank also benefits from his father-son dynamic with Scott. Seeing Scott’s relationship with Cassie forces Hank to reconsider his connection to Hope, leading to a change of heart. “Second chances don’t come around a lot,” Hank told Scott midway through The ant Man. It’s heartwarming that Hank heeds his own advice, but it’s Scott who inadvertently saves Hank and Hope’s relationship.
An important MCU component
The ant Man is not an MCU movie with a avengersthreat level. Its flaws – namely, jerky editing, sometimes thorny dialogue, and an antagonist who is nothing more than a carbon copy of its hero – prevent it from being one of the best superhero movies Never.
However, in a cinematic universe where daddy issues and family trauma reign supreme, it’s refreshing to see a Marvel movie that positively reinforces the need for close, loving family ties. In Scott and Cassie Lang, The ant Man explores the importance of having good relationships with people you care about, no matter how often you see them. It’s a rich thematic thread that Ant-Man and the Wasp constructed in the same way, and which will again be put to the test in Ant Man 3who starts Stage 5 Wonder February 17.
The ant Man is a smaller-scale, more intimate MCU movie than we’ve become accustomed to, especially in recent years. But it’s a movie that, thanks mostly to Scott and Cassie, is packed with emotional resonance that’s well worth rewatching. And that’s what makes The ant Man not just an important cog in the MCU machine (even outside of its vital role in Avengers: Endgame), but a Marvel movie with the biggest heart imaginable.
For more MCU coverage, find out which Marvel projects have made it to our best Disney Plus shows And best Disney Plus movies lists. Also, read where The ant Man ranks in our best marvel movies guide.
Ant-Man is available to stream now on Disney Plus.