Critics rating: 3 Stars

Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Anthony Mackie, Wood Harris, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian, Michael Douglas, Peyton Reed

Direction: Peyton Reed

Produced: Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios

Written: Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish

Genre: Superhero Movie

Duration: 117 Mins

Here’s an ant you can’t swat away. A superhero with the ability to shrink in size and command an army of ants ends up looking cool on celluloid. The last time Marvel pulled this off, Captain America got smooth in the sequel after a shaky first outing.

While Steve Rogers may have honourable beginnings, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) out to-be Ant-Man is a high-profile, righteous burglar who broke into VistaCorp’s security system, a place where he formerly worked as an electrical engineer. The misadventure costs him his family life and a prison sentence at San Quentin. Post-prison life is not going great either where the man who has a Masters in Electrical Engineering finds no luck in employment with a conviction on his record.

Simultaneously, Dr. Hank Pym must find a man capable of donning his creation – the Ant-Man suit and stopping potential world catastrophe (because Marvel always keeps the stakes that high) by his protégé Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), who ousted Hank out of his own company. After a well-orchestrated crossing of paths, Hank recruits Scott into a war that isn’t quite his but he hops on board because ant suit. And daughter (the sub-plot on how he needs to prove himself to an adoring and adorable moppet).

Ant-Man is your typical Marvel movie, a character introduced in a much larger universe teeming with cross-references and cameos that will be understood by those who are clued in on the Marvel offerings. Despite an expositional opening, it is not as stuffed as Age of Ultron with its numerous sub-plots and nods.

Ant-Man sets the stage for what is to come in future instalments and the impending Civil War (keep an eye for the mid and post-credit scenes). It has its typical hero-masters-superpowers moments but also manages to stay funny, most of the doses coming from Michael Peña’s Luis and David Dastmalchian’s Russian-accented Kurt, Scott’s partners-in-crime.

It helps that the film does not take itself too seriously in the genre with unnecessary drama and pointless deaths (provided a character has really been written out in the first place). Ant-Man does not have the epic battle showdowns as the other films in the series, but the bug-sized hero-villain manage to pack quite a punch in their face-off. And Paul Rudd holds his own and the show together.

It may not blow your mind but the film is a good introduction to the newest character in the franchise and who is likely to be a welcome addition to the mayhem ahead.