Ant-Man

In the latest Marvel Comics big screen adaptation, Paul Rudd stars as wise-cracking electrical-engineer-turned-cat-burglar Scott Lang, who is determined to go straight after being released from San Quentin—if only for his adored daughter, Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson). But as an ex-con, Scott is unable to land a job. Frustrated, he agrees to another heist during which he steals a suit that enables him to shrink to microscopic size. The suit is the invention of former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and tech genius Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), who wants Scott to break into his old company to stop his villainous protégé, Darren Cross/Yellowjacket (Corey Stoll), from selling innovative technology to the military. Pym's skeptical daughter, Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), is eager to don the suit but her protective father forbids it, insisting that she's more valuable working covertly as Cross's colleague. After rigorous martial arts training from Hope, Scott learns how to shrink and command an army of CGI ants—he rides atop a winged carpenter ant named Antony—in preparation for a final showdown. Cobbled together as two father/daughter stories, director Peyton Reed's Ant-Man is too fragmented and exposition-heavy to be truly entertaining popcorn fare. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include deleted scenes and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is audio commentary by director Peyton Reed and star Paul Rudd, the behind-the-scenes featurette “Making of an Ant-Sized Heist: A How-To Guide” (15 min.), “WHIH NewsFront” in-movie segments (9 min.), deleted and extended scenes (9 min.), a “Let's Go to the Macroverse” segment on macro-photography (8 min.), a gag reel (4 min.), and a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a so-so superhero flick.] (S. Granger)