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Directed by: Peyton Reed Written by: Paul Rudd, Edgar Wright, Adam McKay Produced by: Kevin Feige Production year: 2014 Original release: June 29, 2015 Running time: 1 hour, 57 minutes Other cast: Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll Misc: IMDB | Amazon | iTunes |
Forced out of his own company by former protégé Darren Cross, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) recruits the talents of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), a master thief just released from prison. Lang becomes Ant-Man, trained by Pym and armed with a suit that allows him to shrink in size, possess superhuman strength and control an army of ants. The miniature hero must use his new skills to prevent Cross, also known as Yellowjacket, from perfecting the same technology and using it as a weapon for evil.
Paul Rudd plays Scott Lang, a thief just released after serving five years in prison. While trying to straighten out his life, so he can be with his daughter, Cassie, Lang steals the Ant-Man suit from creator Hank Pym’s private home. Lang then teams up with Pym and Pym trains Lang to become the new Ant-Man.
Lang has an ex-wife named Maggie, with whom he has a daughter named Cassie. Lang loves his daughter and he wants to be able to take care of her, but because he was incarcerated, Maggie is the sole guardian of their daughter. Lang tries to do right by getting a job, so he is able to pay for child support, so he can prove to Maggie that he is serious about being a good father. Maggie says that Lang is Cassie’s hero, and that he should aim to become the hero that Cassie already thinks he is.
After hearing about Lang burgling VistaCorp, the job that got Lang arrested, Hank Pym recruits Lang to become the Ant-Man. As Ant-Man, Scott is able to shrink to the size of an ant, yet maintain the strength of a regular-sized man. In addition to that, Lang is also able to communicate with different types of ants, such as carpenter ants, bullet ants, and more, through a special head piece made by Pym. Since the suit itself has no weapons, Lang also has special disks that either shrink or enhance whatever object they hit when he throws them.
The Ant-Man suit is used, vintage, and a little worn. The suit is the same one Hank Pym had used decades prior, when he was Ant-Man, and it shows. When Lang stole the suit, he first thought it was just an old motorcycle suit. On the center of the belt is the regulator, which helps keep Lang from going sub-atomic when he shrinks down. Between the thumb and the other fingers are buttons that Lang presses to resize.
Scott Lang: Maggie, I tell you this as friend and the first love of my life: Your fiancé is an asshat.
Maggie Lang: He’s not an asshat.
Paxton: Hey, watch your language. Okay?
Scott Lang: What language? I said “hat.”
Scott Lang: Aw, man.
Luis: What is it?
Scott Lang: Well, they weren’t kidding. This safe is serious.
Luis: How serious we talking, Scotty?
Scott Lang: It’s a Carbondale. It’s from 1910. Made from the same steel as the Titanic.
Luis: Wow. Can you crack it?
Scott Lang: Well, here’s the thing, it doesn’t do so well in the cold. Remember what that iceberg did?
Luis: Yeah, man. It killed DiCaprio!
Dave: Killed everybody.
Kurt: Did not kill the old lady. She still throw the jewel into the oceans.
Scott Lang: My days of breaking into places and stealing shit are done. What do you want me to do?
Hank Pym: I want you to break into a place and steal some shit.
Scott Lang: I think our first move should be calling the Avengers.
Hank Pym: I spent half my life trying to keep this technology out of the hands of a Stark. I’m sure as hell not going to hand-deliver it to one now. This is not some cute technology, like the Iron Man suit. This could change the texture of reality. Besides, they’re probably too busy dropping cities out of the sky.
Scott Lang: Okay. Then why don’t you just send the ants?
Hank Pym: Scott, they are ants. Ants, they can do a lot of things, but they still need a leader… Somebody that can infiltrate a place that’s designed to prevent infiltration.
Scott Lang: Hank, I’m a thief. Alright, I mean, I’m a good thief, but this is insane.
Scott Lang: [to Hank and Hope] Don’t worry, he can’t see me.
Sam Wilson: I can see you.
Scott Lang: He can see me…
[scales up, and unlatches helmet]
Scott Lang: Hi, I’m Scott.
Hope van Dyne: Did he just say “Hi, I’m Scott.”?
Hank Pym: Scott?
Scott Lang: Yeah?
Hank Pym: You’re full of shit.
Scott Lang: Oh yeah.
- In the comics, Scott Lang has a copper/reddish hair color, while in the movie, Rudd kept his dark locks.
- In the comics, Lang’s daughter, Cassie, is ill, so he steals the Ant-Man suit from Pym, so he can get money to pay for treatment.
- Lang is the first protagonist to solely and intentionally kill the villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Lang is the first successor to be the protagonist of the film, as he is the second Ant-Man and Hank Pym was the first.
- In the film, Lang has a conversation with his friends about the Titanic and the 1997 movie of the same name. In real life, Rudd’s father was a Titanic historian, so Rudd knew a lot about the ship. In fact, Rudd auditioned for the Titanic film, but the part was awarded to his Romeo + Juliet co-star Leonardo DiCaprio, who they mention in this film.
- Rudd is a self-described “mega-fan” of the television series Lost, which starred Evangeline Lilly, who, in this film, plays Hope van Dyne, Lang’s eventual love interest.
- In the Baskin-Robbins scene, Lang’s name tag says “Jack,” and he calls his fellow worker “Darby.” The names are a reference to Rudd’s real-life children, who are named Jack and Darby.
- Some of the clips of Ant-Man in the quantum realm, as well as the music from the movie, were used in Anyone Can Quantum, a short film about a quantum chess match that Rudd starred in alongside Dr. Stephen Hawking and Keanu Reeves.