“Ant-Man” is one of Marvel’s newest movies that has swarmed into the cinematic world. It is filled with thrilling action and comedy. So far this movie is kicking off with great success taking in at least $57,000 million thus far. It is not receiving the same high ratings as “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, but it is still scoring high marks among the MCU.

The movie begins with a scene from the past when the original creator and persona of the Ant-Man suit, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), barges into the newly built Sheild Headquarters. He blames Howard Stark (John Slattery) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), co-founders of Shield, for the death of his wife, Wasp. He is also upset at them for attempting to replicate his Pym Particle formula. Hank explains the consequences if Pym Particle gets into the wrong hands. Infuriated by all this, Hank decides to leave Shield and begin his own company, Pym Industries. Coming back to the present, we find the next man who will wear the Ant-Man suit, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd). He is being released out of prison after being incarcerated for grand theft. When presented with an offer from his pals for a new heist, a lure created by Pym, he refuses. He is determined to put his thieving days behind him. He is also trying to get time with his daughter Cassie. But, his ex-wife (Judy Greer) and fiance Paxton (Bobby Cannavale) who is a cop, are not easily swayed due to his ex-con past.

Meanwhile Hank Pym and his daughter Hope, hatch a plan to steal a suit that replicates the same powers as the Ant-Man’s. The new CEO of Pym Industries, Cross (Corey Stoll) is intending to sell the Yellowjacket suit to Hydra. Pym recruits Scott, whom he thinks is the perfect candidate for Ant-Man. Scott who needs redemption and a way to get his daughter back, accepts Pym’s proposal. They train Scott on how to use the Ant-Man suit. Reed includes many funny moments here as Scott's first moves in the suit are a disaster. The shrinking aspect lends itself to very creative scenes which is not typical and definitely lighter than the Marvel movies we are more familiar with. Ant-Man has less violence than its companion films.

In order to complete his mission, Ant-Man has to steal a security infiltrating device, created by Howard Stark, to penetrate the highly secure Pym Industries. He battles Falcon (Anthony Mackie) at Avengers Headquarters and successfully retrieves it. This clues us in to the ending scene where his friend Luis (Michael Peña) tells him, “ Your friend ‘Falcon’ is looking for you.” Reed hints at the possibility of Scott joining the Avenger team.  With the help of Scott’s heisting gang and his new friends, the ants, they infiltrate Cross Industries to steal the suit.  Upon entering the facility, he realizes that Cross put the suit on in a final attempt to takeover Pym’s technology. In desperation he flees to Cassie’s house where he takes her hostage. Before Cross is able to harm Scott’s daughter, Scott stops him by making the ultimate sacrifice. He shrinks down to super micro size to enter Yellowjacket and destroys him. He defeats Cross for good but keeps shrinking into the quantum realm for all eternity. Just when we think we have lost him and we think Marvel creates a tragedy, he finds his way back out. And of course once this is all over there is a happy ending. Scott redeems himself and makes amends with his ex-wife and her fiancé and is welcomed into the family. He is able to see his daughter Cassie again which is why he becomes Ant-Man in the first place. This is definitely a more touchy, feely, heartwarming plot as compared to other Marvel stories. We are all happy for Scott and Cassie, but of course you are left with a feeling that he should be reunited with Cassie’s mother. Get rid of the cop!

“Ant-Man” is filled with thrilling action although less exhilarating than its Marvel counterparts.  Reed’s comedy will keep you belly laughing. Marvel movies I find have that perfect balance of comedy and action that keep you engaged continuously which is typical of the others in the series. I found the opening scene to be too brief. A longer explanation is needed to build up the story or give a newbie more background. Before viewing “Ant-Man,” I thought it was going to be ridiculous, but as it turned out it ended up being an extremely fun and entertaining movie to watch!

The graphics, animation and special effects of this movie are ‘Marvel’ous!  Frankel and Rowland production designers team up with fantastic results. The way they make Ant-Man and the world around him appear is masterful. Scott appears as if he enters a whole new world each time he shrinks. A favorite scene depicting this technology is when Rudd is training with the suit. He hides in the shower when his buddies arrive, shrinks himself and chaos pursues. A waterfall floods him, the waves throw him, avoiding the drain he slams through the floorboards, lands on a vinyl record, grips the grooves while it spins and spins, he is flung to the disco floor, zig zags through a maze of platforms, stilettos and sneakers, plunges down an air vent onto carpet flooring, gets sucked into a vacuum cleaner, swirls about with dust and a lego brick and finally bursts out like a bullet where the sequence stops and he can finally take a breath! Phew!

The end takes the audience by surprise when we find out Falcon is looking for Scott! What? Why is Falcon looking for Scott? And you better stick around and keep your eyes on the screen after some of the credits.  Will we find Hope in an “Ant-Man 2” movie or her own cameo in “The Wasp?” Marvel effectively drops these signals to keep moviegoers waiting for and anticipating the next blockbuster. They are genius! Don’t miss “Ant-Man” because if you do it will come to sting you in the future.