Tag: Ant Man

Review: Marvel’s Ant-Man

In one way, Ant-Man seemed like an odd choice to end Marvel’s juggernaut of a second phase. On the other hand, if you take its journey from initial concept being pitched at the dawn of the MCU to fully realized film, it’s almost perfect. Think of it as a palate cleanser between Phases. A little tequila sorbet to help you get past the events of the Age of Ultron and help you prepare the seismic shift that could come from Civil War. I’m not saying Ant-Man is a perfect movie, but it was a great way to close out this wave of films. Sure, they could have ended with Avengers 2, but they’ve done that before and this was something different. That’s not always a good thing, but for Marvel, it’s working. Very well.

I’ll try not to be too spoiler-y, but no promises. Let’s talk shrinkage.
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July 22, 2015
The Ant Whisperer by Powerpig

Chris McVeigh adds another Avenger to his roster of pop culture icon Brick Sketches with Ant-Man. I should have my review out for the movie tomorrow after I recuperate from the weekend, but I had to share this now.

Some Avengers Assembled

July 19, 2015
Review: 76039 Ant-Man Final Battle

Ant-Man hits theaters in a few weeks, and still has a decent chance of being Marvel’s first big MCU bomb (since, as we know, the last potentialÂ bomb, Guardians of the Galaxy, was powered by the awesome that is Chris Pratt and being a good movie). It’s had a whole bunch of delays, a highly-publicized director change, and the fact that no one really knows who Ant-Man is anymore unless you’ve been reading comics for years. And before anyone comments, yes, I know that the third figure fell over. I didn’t notice until it was time to edit photos. I’d like to be clever and say it was because I was hiding the spoilery character… but yeah, I’m not that forward-thinking.

It’s pretty surprising that we’re getting an Ant-Man set at all. LEGO has typically stuck to a few movies, Avengers, Iron Man 3, Avengers 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy. That’s left things like the other solo films out in the cold, which is a shame. There were a lot of good set ideas in those movies, like the fighters in Dark World or maybe minifigs for Falcon or the hydra peoples in Winter Soldier. Since Ant-Man (either Scott or Hank) have been outside the Avengers world thus far, ~~and we haven’t seen how they connect elsewhere in the MCU~~ (okay, the latest trailer sort of spoils that a bit)… all of which makes getting an Ant-Man set that more unusual.

The shocking part of this set is that it jumps in at the $19.99 price point, which was starting to look like an extinct creature in LEGO lineups. It comes in with 195 parts, but it’s pretty unclear if they’re cheating and counting the big bricks as extra parts… I mean, I would. It’s interesting reviewing 76039 Ant-Man Final BattleÂ with no pre-conceptions… I haven’t seen the movie yet and I have no real expectations for it. There’s a lot to like at first glance, and the “big” bricks are just a wonderfully meta touch. There’s something to be said for a set where you can tell the designer enjoyed making it, and this seems like one of those. The question is can that effort on the designer’s part make it worth our time and money?

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July 6, 2015
Concept Art For Marvel’s Avengers: Age Of Ultron & (the cursed) Ant Man

In anticipation of Marvel’s big Hall H presentation at SDCC today, they’ve been trickling out teaser art for the upcoming Avengers sequel, Age of Ultron. Last week came the first image of the films namesake villain, Ultron and the last couple days have seen these eight teaser posters pop, two at a time to create one massive scene of the movies heroes being completely over run by Ultron drones.

We just need Thor and the Hulk to complete this image, but the real stand out part is the inclusion of the floating caped Vision on Quicksilver’s panel. Man, am I glad he’s got the cape.

Meanwhile the Ant Man film that I now believe to be cursed released this concept art poster that shows Michael Douglas and Paul Rudd, looking suspiciously like Kurt Russell. The film just lost the three recently added villains, Patrick (Nite Owl) Wilson left due to scheduling and Matt Gerald and Kevin Weisman have also dropped out. Rumour is that they left due to the same creative differences that drove off the films original director, Edgar Wright.

You can expect more news as it breaks and as I get the time to post it in the next couple of days.

July 26, 2014
Marvel Roundup: Casting, Cameos, Character Covers and… Choppers?

Let’s start this off with the least spoilerish thing on the list and those interested can check after the jump for the rest. Empire has two character covers for the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy and the one above gives a much better look at the films antagonists, the good guy cover is mostly more of the same. I’ve no doubt we’ll start seeing Korath, Ronan and Nebula popping in cosplay a lot more very soon.

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June 23, 2014
Marvel Roundup: New GotG Posters, Strange Rumours, Casting The Kingpin & More

Our reviews of the Guardians Of The Galaxy sets not enough to tide you over until the movie comes out? Need more Gamora, Rocket and Groot in your life? Of course you do, so here are the newly released character posters to give you an even better look at them.

Rumours are rampant about the casting of brilliant neurosurgeon turned Sorcerer Supreme, Dr. Stephen Strange since the announcement of the (technically still officially unannounced) movie’s director dropped last week. One rumor that has gained steam is that Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch are the front runners for the role. I could see Cumberbatch, but as much as I like Hardy, I can’t see him in the role. It could be some time until we start getting much solid info, but perhaps it will start to flow when SDCC rolls around. Fingers crossed.

More news on the Ant Man front as the film has found another director after Adam McKay left the job at virtually the same moment it was stated he was the frontrunner. Peyton Reed, director of Yes Man and Bring It On, has taken the director’s chair (for the moment), but Adam McKay will stay on to do a rewrite on Edgar Wright’s script for the film. Not encouraging. Especially when you consider the film is due out on July 17th of next year, and hasn’t started rolling. I certainly hope this film about a scientist who invents a suit that lets him shrink down to the size of an insect won’t require too much in the special effects post production department.

Meanwhile, over at Netflix, Daredevil has found its villain. Marvel has revealed that Vincent D’Onofrio will play Wilson Fisk, aka The Kingpin in the upcoming series and I’d bet he’ll pop up in other shows/movies too. He is described as “a powerful businessman whose interests in the future of Hellâ€™s Kitchen will bring him into conflict with the blind attorney Matt Murdock and his alter ego Daredevil.” Sounds like the Fisk comic fans are familiar with and I’m optimistic about this show more and more. D’Onofrio has the skills to bring the Kingpin to life with a vengeance and for anyone concerned about the characters size… I wouldn’t wish the appropriate weight gain needed on any actor. I’m sure he’ll be fine.

Oh, and in the time it took me to put this together, they released the posters for Star Lord and Drax.
So, yeah.

With the MCU growing at such a rapid pace, I think you can start expecting these roundups on a more frequent basis.
You’ve been warned.

June 11, 2014
Marvel Roundup: Ant Man Troubles, Thanos Finds His Voice and a Strange Director

The juggernaut that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to chug along without slowing, preparing to unleash the Guardians of the Galaxy on audiences in a couple of months as Kevin Feige talks of outlined movie plans into 2028. You know 2028, it’s the date that’s fourteen freaking years away! Crazy Kevin. Crazy, wildly optimistic and somewhat justifiably confident Kevin.

However, not all is rainbow bridges and Rocket Raccoons in Marveltown. The recent news that Edgar Wright, the long time director/cheerleader of Ant Man had left the project after a studio ordered script rewrite has troubled many fans and I count myself as one of them. I admire him for standing up for his principles and not wanting to make someone else’s movie after the incredibly long time he’s been developing the idea, but I can’t help but think the MCU will be the lesser for it. I think we’ve potentially lost something special.

Wasting no time though, Marvel announced they were considering three directors, Adam McKay (Anchorman, Step Brothers, The Other Guys), Rawson Marshall Thurber (Dodgeball, We’re the Millers) and Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Gangster Squad) to possibly take over the reigns of the soon to be in production film. Then it quickly looked like Adam McKay was in the lead, only to take himself out of the equation just as fast due to other commitments. It’s no real loss in my book as I think Fleischer would be the best choice of the three, but it certainly seems like the film is having a lot of difficulties getting out of the gate after toiling on the back burner since the earliest days of the MCU.

Speaking of directors for upcoming films, Scott Derrickson posted this picture on Twitter yesterday, stating: “My next movie will be STRANGE”. It’s believed that the Doctor Strange film will take one of the two unclaimed slots in Marvel’s Phase 3 line up on either July 8, 2016 or May 5, 2017. Interestingly, Derrickson’s previous efforts have been primarily in the horror genre, even doing a rather dark (and terribly unnecessary) remake of the classic, The Day The Earth Stood Still. That’s two connections between Marvel and TDTESS, as the Destroyer in Thor was based on Gort. Fun!

And lastly, it’s been rumoured that Thanos has finally found a voice in Josh Brolin. No stranger to comic book material, having been in Jonah Hex (*shudder*), MIB 3 (better, much better actually) and the upcoming Sin City: A Dame to ~~Kill~~ Die For, he would be a nice fit IMO. This isn’t confirmed by Marvel yet, but with rumours of Thanos popping up in GotG, I’d bet it won’t be long.

June 4, 2014
Paul Rudd Lands Small Role In Ant Man

A very small role. Tiny even. Nevertheless, he will be staring in Edgar Wright’s Ant Man as the titular character and at this point the only question is ‘which one’? Wright had this to say when interviewed by Superherohype, a couple years back and it made me want to see his take even more:

“The idea that we have for the adaptation is to actually involve both… Henry Pym and Scott Lang, so you actually do a prologue where you see Pym as Ant-Man in action in the 60’s, in sort of ‘Tales to Astonish’ mode basically, and then the contemporary, sort of flash-forward, is Scott Lang’s story, and how he comes to acquire the suit, how he crosses paths with Henry Pym, and then, in an interesting sort of Machiavellian way, teams up with him.”

If this is still the vision they’re moving forward with after all this time, I would have guessed Rudd would play Lang, with a… more seasoned actor playing Hank Pym in the modern timeframe, but The Wrap is reporting that Rudd will portray Pym. This is all yet to be confirmed by Marvel, or anyone involved, but that should be cleared up soon. If Rudd is to play Pym, then perhaps the rumour about Joseph Gordon-Levitt being considered is true as well. Rudd as Pym and Gordon-Levitt as Lang… yeah, I’d watch that. No word on other casting yet, but being the first film of Phase III and still almost two years away with a release date of July 31st, 2015 after the Avengers: Age Of Ultron in May, there’s still plenty of time to get their ducks in a row.

December 19, 2013
Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man Test Reel Finally Sneaks Online

Update: This video is being pulled faster than I can keep up with updating the link, unfortunately. I will post the fan-made storyboard interpretation from back in September as a place holder for those who missed it.

Of all the upcoming movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ant-Man is the one I’m looking forward to the most and for the longest time. Wright brought this test footage to last year’s SDCC, but it’s been in the works for more than three years now. Wright has stated that the film will be an origin story that will fit within the MCU, but still feel “like its own piece”. The film is supposed to feature both Hank Pym and Scott Lang and while I’m sure it will have loads of Wright’s signature humour, it will not be a parody or spoof. I’m sure the Ant-Man design will change quite a bit, but the aesthetic ceratinly fits with the technology established by the Iron Man films.

My theory? A tale of two Ant-Men starting in the 60’s or 70’s with Pym’s discovery of Pym particles and the developement of the Ant-Man technology. Pym, inspired by the works of Howard Stark, shuns the financial and public aspects in favour of strict scientific pursuit. His pacifistic ways force him to put his Ant-Man persona on ice after a personal loss until, years later when a young thief steals the technology and Ant-Man is publicly re-introduced to a new generation and a much larger, far more dangerous world.

It’s been long rumoured (wishful thinking?) that Nathan Fillion would be Ant-Man, but the films have skewed to a mostly younger cast and he really doesn’t have the box office draw or interest to fit. With a tentative release date of November 6th, 2015 we should be hearing casting news soon as well as filming updates. We’ll keep you posted.

Via ComicBookResources

March 20, 2013
Avengers Sequel Gets Dated

Disney announced today that a date has been set for the Avengers sequel: May 1, 2015. The sequel will see the return of Joss Whedon to write and direct the film. A series of Marvel universe movies will be released between now and then including Iron Man 3 on May 3, 2013, Thor: The Dark World on November 8, 2013, Captain America: The Winter Soldier on April 4, 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy on August 1, 2014, and Ant-Man.

via Marvel

August 16, 2012