The Marvel Cinematic Universe may be 10 years and 20 movies in, but the behemoth franchise only continues to change and adapt. Marvel blockbusters always rely on comedy, but there are certain properties that are especially hilarious. Peyton Reed's Ant-Man movies definitely stand out among the rest, as the perfect vehicle for Paul Rudd's impeccable timing. Ant-Man and The Wasp hit theaters this past month, bringing the pint sized hero back alongside his new partner and plenty of laughs. Now that the blockbuster has hit theaters, there are plenty of questions left regarding the filmmaking. Peyton Reed recently spoke about the most challenging aspect of the franchise: balancing the bonkers concept with the need for awesome comic book action.
That was always something too that was baked in, that you couldn't ignore in Ant-Man. Like, OK, what's Ant-Man about? Well, he shrinks down and he's really small. He flies around on an ant, talks to ants. He can control them. It's like, 'Well, great. You can control ants. What, do you tell them not to infest your house or something?' What's cool about that? That was always the huge challenge of the movie. The tone is sort of baked in. It's inherently absurd. That was something that we continued to have a lot of fun with.
This is a pretty solid point, and highlights what is so great about the Ant-Man franchise. Because while Scott Lang's powers could easily be the butt of the joke, each film gets ahead of it, pointing out to the entire concept's absurdity. That, and giving the hero new powers every time we see him onscreen.
Peyton Reed's comments come from Screen Junkies, where he recently watched and discussed their brutal honest trailer for Ant-Man. Reed took all the jokes in stride, which makes sense given the franchise's penchant for comedy. But he was also able to dissect some of the more complicated aspects of his job, including Ant-Man's very specific powers.
While Iron Man can fly and shoot projectiles and Thor has strength and electricity, Scott Lang's suit gives him the ability to shrink his size, and also communicate with Ants. The kicker is that he doesn't lose his physical strength when shrunk, so his fists pack a full sized punch. But the franchise also keeps the audience on its toes in regards to Pym's other work. The shrinking and growing of objects is present in both car chases and fights, and Captain America: Civil War introduced Giant Man into the MCU for the first time. So while an army of ants doesn't seem as exciting as the Battle of Wakanda, there's way to keep excitement up. That, and embracing the crazy.
Ant-Man and The Wasp is in theaters now. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
