The best use of a film trope ever! :D

What I really enjoyed about this film is the way they played around with some of more usual superhero/action film tropes. And they in inventive and funny ways that didn’t feel forced.

Just when it looks like Yellowjacket's ( Like the fight on the Thomas the Tank Engine train track (a tip of a fedora to Spiderman 2), was a great way of lampooning the whole Moving Train Top Battle trope! Another old favourite trope of the old westerns was also handled in a fresh way!Just when it looks like Yellowjacket's ( Corey Stoll )going to be hit by the bridge (which of course had suddenly appeared!); he just kinda looks at it and just tosses it out of his way! :D



And when, after Pym ( And when, after Pym ( Michael Douglas ) makes that motivating speech, Scott Lang ( Paul Rudd ) says "that was a good speech!" that was a great self-aware moment, which also managed to skew two tropes at once! The Rousing Speech trope (see any sports movie!) and the well over-used (Marvel especially!) One-Liner Echo trope. Instead of having Scott Lang just look all impressed, or repeat some line from the speech he’d just heard. Instead it was a stand-out moment in the movie, because it felt real!!





I have to say; even though Pena stole pretty every scene he was in, the real Man of the Match has to go to Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/AntMan. He was consistent throughout. His cheekiness allowed for a sense of self-awareness in a genre that seems to be losing that ability. Although, I've literally been a Paul Rudd fan since 1995. Yeah, I know, it was Clueless! I don't think I knew of any teenage girl that year who didn't wish they had a hot ex-step-brother to fall in love with! ;)

He was fantastic here. The scenes with his daughter never turned into one those Spielbergesque, swathe in ethereal lights, types of scenes. Instead the adorable little girl ( Abby Ryder Fortson, whom I recently saw in The Whispers on TV, if I'm not mistaken), interacted beautifully with Rudd, and the other adult actors around her.





(Take note Joss Whedon! That romance between BW and Banner was painful to watch! Someone who tell Whedon he's not writing for Buffy anymore, his characters aren't 15!) Even the romance between Lang and Hope ( Evangeline Lilly ) didn’t feel forced. And she definitely avoided the Damsel in Distress trope! ;) And the way they handled them "getting together" off-camera was a delight!





I also really enjoyed the visual way they told Luis’ ( Michael Peña ) stories too! Hilarious!





Let us allow ourselves a brief pause to relive one of Luis' finer moments in the movie:









Over all, for me, it actually reminded me of when I saw Iron Man for the first time when it came out. I wasn’t really knowledgeable of the character, I liked the main actor, and I wanted to see what he did with the role, I wasn’t too familiar with the main villains etc,. And although I was hyped to see it, I kinda went in thinking it could go either way! And we all know the story after that!

The whole film was so well put together! And there is barely a superfluous character, everyone has their role, and for the most part it all comes full circle! Even the cameos from the other Avengers, aren’t just for a wink and a nod for the fans, they move the story forward right into Phase Three!





What really enhanced my enjoyment for this film was 1) I'd recently watched the MCU in chronological order, and 2) I've recently began watching a YouTube video maker, Emergency Awesome who has the most in depth and incredible knowledge about both the Marvel and DC universes. I'd highly recommend him.





My overall view of the film is this: I loved it! I hope it's as enjoyable on repeat viewings as it was on the first, because hot damn I want to see it again! Rating: 5/5