An entertaining film, but not the strongest of Marvel’s Avengers-related franchises. This is probably the closest Marvel’s come to doing a flat-out action-comedy. There’s more humor here than even “The Guardians of the Galaxy.” Much of the comedy comes from Michael Pena’s Luis character, who almost steals the show from the rest of the cast. However, Michael Douglas, Paul Rudd, and especially Evangeline Lilly, deliver some depth with emotional performances. Things start off all over the place, and it takes quite a bit of time to get to the plot of the film While Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang is likable and has everything he needs to be the hero, there’s something that never clicked for me and I never was sold on his transformation to full-fledged superhero. The action was solid, and the special-effects heavy sequences alternate between up-close life or death battles and far ways shots that display the silliness of two guys the size of ants fighting each other. There’s a nice mid-credits scene to stay for, but the post-credit scene left much of the audience scratching their heads.
***1/2 out of *****