Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Ant-Man 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Honey, they shrunk (and 3D'd) the superhero!

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 18, 2015

The movie marketplace is so flooded with good, great, and even instant classic Marvel Universe Superhero movies (TV spinoffs, too, and don't forget the numerous D.C. Comic film adaptations in competition) that it's a wonder some of them don't get drowned out in the deluge. Add one of the lesser-known Marvel characters to the "cinecomic" soup and the recipe seems set for something of a letdown, the inevitable movie that's bound to slow the train and prove that superheroes in cinema aren't quite so invulnerable as they appear on the screen and aren't made of guaranteed money as every studio executive has been led to believe. Director Peyton Reed's (Bring It On) Ant-Man has all the makings of being that movie. After all, Ant-Man isn't Captain America or Spider-Man or Superman or Batman. That's not to disparage the little guy, that's to say that his popularity isn't quite so astronomically high or infused so deeply into the cultural landscape as many of his peers. But the film proved a success, anyway, to the tune of more than half a billion dollars in worldwide gross, proving that viewers haven't tired of the Superhero genre and that even some of the more out-of-the-way characters can carry a movie to major success so long as that Marvel name, spirit, and filmmaking finesse come standard.

Find the superhero.

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has just been released from prison. He's not a violent criminal. He has a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering and served time for exposing fraud and electronically returning stolen money to innocent people. But with his record -- even considering his education -- he can't hold down a minimum wage job. That's getting in the way of visitations with his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson), whom his ex-wife Maggie (Judy Greer) and her cop fiancé Paxton (Bobby Cannavale) don't want him to see, at least not until he gets his life straightened out. Desperate, he agrees to a heist with friend and former cell mate Luis (Michael Peña). He cracks the target safe but finds only a peculiar costume inside. Soon enough, he realizes he's in possession of something special, a suit that can shrink him to the size of an ant. It's also revealed that his involvement in the heist was carefully orchestrated by reclusive businessman and inventor Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) who has for decades refused to share his breakthrough miniaturization formula with his own company, or with S.H.I.E.L.D., fearing it will be used for nefarious purposes. He has recruited Scott to don the suit and lead the fight against his company's new CEO, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), who has invented his own version of the formula that has allowed him to create the miniature "Yellowjacket."

Ant-Man doesn't live up to the astronomical successes of its Marvel predecessors. That doesn't make it a bad movie. It's simply a bar that's just a bit too high for Marvel's tiniest (when he wants or needs to be) hero to reach. But that doesn't make it a failure, or even much of a disappointment. The movie offers good, if not fairly predictable and dramatically routine, fun. It's a little slow out of the gate and the story details -- major corporation has invented a significant serum and a rotten apple wants it for nefarious purposes -- are more than a little trite, but the movie soldiers through and produces a perfectly entertaining romp through a big world brought down to size by way of a barrage of entertainingly seamless visual effects. The movie necessarily resorts to a good bit of well-placed humor that juxtaposes the sense of big action inside something like a tumbling briefcase filled with an iPhone, candy, and other assorted goodies that feels like World War III but, when seen from a "normal" perspective, almost looks cute rather than deadly. The movie plays to its comic strengths both in terms of advancing the story and in one-off jokes about Baskin Robins and Titanic that work very well but never overstay their welcome or get in the way of the central story arcs, themes, and action.

Ant-Man prioritizes special effects and its ability to effortlessly draw the viewer into the tiny world in which Scott often finds himself. There's a tremendous sense of adventure in his early experiences with the suit, sort of like an updated, slicked-up version of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids in which Scott must deal with the raging waters of a common bathtub, avoid being trampled at a night club, and hang on for dear life on a record's grooves. The movie gets the sense of scale just right, where it's clear the characters are small, and not only thanks to forced perspective or supporting digital effects. Paul Rudd is strong in the lead role, perhaps a little too readily accepting of his newfound powers and too easily a master of them after a montage or two, but he has fun with the part, delicately balancing the serious drama, intense action, and light humor that surround him. The rest of the cast is fine, if not a little generic by necessity. Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, and Corey Stoll play their parts well enough, through both Douglas and Lilly are hindered by their unimaginative roles and trite family dynamics while Stoll isn't quite so menacing as other super villains in other movies. The film could have also benefited from more time with Falcon (Anthony Mackie), though with a slight wardrobe modification. His costume is so similar in color and design to Scott's Ant-Man outfit that, on first look, one might briefly think he's another shrinking superhero in some slightly altered version of the costume, not one who instead takes to the skies.

Ant-Man 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Ant-Man's 3D transfer exemplifies the format's capabilities. There's a nice, natural sense of space and volume evident in almost every scene. Right off the bat, the image impresses with a deep and detailed long-distance exterior shot. The "1989" text hovers effortlessly over, and appears to do so well above the screen. A cavernous room seen in the next shot stretches on for some ways, and a curved table is not just evidently shapely, but seems to really bend back away from the screen on one end and, on the other, grow appreciably closer. The following scene in the prison is excellent; there's a very clear sense of space between characters, even as they're packed tightly together in a circle around a fistfight. Sprawling locations are even more impressive at ant size. One of the film's trademark scenes comes when Ant-Man must flee the raging waters of a common bathtub. The tub seems to stretch on for almost infinity, and the water threatens to spill out of the screen. Action scenes send plenty of little details spiraling towards the audience and back into the screen's deepest recesses. The image capably retains the strengths of its 2D-only counterpart. Detailing is exquisite, whether the finely appointed suits seen in the 1989 pre-title open, facial textures, and Ant-Man, Yellowjacket, and Falcon costume material intricacies. Colors pop and aren't appreciably darker in 3D. Faces push a hair pastier but not to any bothersome extent. Light noise remains, but macroblocking, banding, and aliasing also remain all but absent.

Note that screenshots are sourced from the included 2D-only disc and are not absolutely representative of 3D picture quality.

Ant-Man 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Little Ant-Man boasts a big DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack. As expected of a superhero movie, the track is aggressively brawny but delivers the goods with the utmost in clarity and precision placement around the stage. Music is well defined across a fairly diverse range, from light, almost comedic Heist movie-inspired notes to more traditional, strapping orchestral score. The entire stage floods with notes. The surrounds and subwoofer work in harmony to create a delicate balance to impressively robust music. The surrounds spring to life throughout in other areas, shaping both action scenes and quieter atmospherics alike. Crowd din at an early film prison fight places the listener in the middle of the chaos while lighter city sounds -- cars maneuvering from side-to-side, for example -- prove naturally immersive. Action scenes are expectedly potent and detailed, enhanced by film's unique juxtaposing scopes. Rushing bathtub water sounds like a tidal wave coming through the speakers, for example, and a vicious fight in a briefcase suddenly sounds tiny when the perspective shifts to a normal view. Various examples of gunfire, both traditional and nontraditional, fill the stage with impressive detail and maneuverability. Dialogue delivery is satisfyingly clear, articulate, and well prioritized. This is a first-class listen from Disney, unsurprising given past studio performance and the film's very nature.

Ant-Man 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Ant-Man contains a fairly standard allotment of bonus features, all found on the included 2D-only disc. No unique 3D extras are included. A Disney digital copy voucher is included with purchase.

• Featurette: Making of an Ant-Sized Heist: A How-To Guide (1080p, 14:34): A fun and breezy catch-all piece that looks at character lore, the cast and performances, the interconnected Marvel universe and this film's own unique feel, general story details, production design, shooting locations, the Ant-Man costume, the cast's physical training, the digital technologies utilized in the film, Falcon's appearance in the film, and the characters' future film endeavors.
• Featurette: Let's Go to the Macroverse (1080p, 8:06): A closer look at the film's technological advances that make and sell the the film's complex illusions.
• Featurette: WHIH NewsFront (1080p): News cast clips from the film's world. Included are WHIH Promo (1:21), Vista Corp Heist (1:49), Darren Cross Interview (2:36), and Scott Lang Live (3:25).
• Deleted & Extended Scenes (1080p): Fixing the Cable (3:11), Hank Vaults the Suit (0:31), Paxton and Gale (0:22), Qubit Defense Matrix (0:31), Scott and Cassie (0:40), Wish Fulfillment (0:24), The Future of Pym Particles (1:38), and The History of Ant-Man (1:19). With optional commentary by Director Peyton Reed and Actor Paul Rudd.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 3:25).
• Audio Commentary: Director Peyton Reed and Actor Paul Rudd open with a fascinating discussion of digitally creating a younger Michael Douglas and move on to cover cast and performances, characters worked into the movie, shooting locales, story arcs and character development, general special effects work, deleted scenes and story alterations, and more, including plenty of anecdotes from the shoot. This is a good all-around commentary that suits the movie well.
• Sneak Peeks (1080p): Trailers for Avengers: Age of Ultron, Agent Carter, Ultimate Spider-Man vs. Sinister 6, Avengers Ultron Revolution, and Marvel Avengers Playmation.

Ant-Man 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ant-Man could have been something of a flop, but credit the diverse, yet interconnected, source material with a staying power that's as impressive as any other film franchise, perhaps even more so considering the shorter period of time in which these films have been topping the charts. While Ant-Man doesn't approach the pinnacle of Superhero movie excellence, it's a fun and energetic little (literally) movie with more than enough action and special effects to satisfy undemanding audiences. Even considering that it's dramatically hollow and repurposes its basic plot from other Superhero films, Ant-Man does a fine job of bringing one of the lesser-known superheroes to the big screen, and there's a sequel scheduled for release in 2018. Disney's Blu-ray 3D release of Ant-Man is excellent. The 3D effect works very well, particularly as it pertains to depth and volume. Sound is dynamic 7.1 lossless and supplements are average. 3D owners should find this version to be worth the added cost.