As a film, Ant-Man has a bit of a different flair than his future Avengers pals. Strongly influenced by original writer-director Edgar Wright (the Cornetto trilogy, including Shaun of the Dead) and star Paul Rudd, who also received a writing credit with Will Ferrell’s regular collaborator Adam McKay, Ant-Man provides considerably more fun than any of the other standalone features in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Only the first Avengers is a true rival for sheer enjoyability. 

For the many of you unfamiliar with Marvel’s tiny hero, Ant-Man is the creation of Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), who in the comics created Avengers 2 baddie Ultron. In Ant-Man’s big screen debut, Pym passes his powerful super-suit along to good-intentioned cat burglar Scott Lang (Rudd), much to the chagrin of Pym’s tough-as-nails daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lilly of “Lost”). The trio hopes to use the Ant-Man suit to stop supervillain Darren Cross’ plan to supply a weaponized shrinking suit, cutely named “Yellowjacket.” 

Rudd has earned his spot on the superhero roster; few performers are as irascibly charming. The shrinking sequences reimagine such classics as The Incredible Shrinking Man/Woman with superpowers. The heist angle is diverting, and Lang’s silly co-conspirators (Michael Peña, T.I. and David Dastmalchian) add rather than subtract.  The film might have been more interesting had lifelong ant-fan Wright been allowed to fulfill his comic-fueled vision, but this piece fits perfectly into the MCU puzzle prior to next year’s Captain America: Civil War. Director Peyton Reed (Bring It On) keeps the pacing tight and reels the action and the narrative in at the proper running time. Ant-Man is a lot more amusing than May’s already kind of forgotten Avengers sequel.