ANT MAN: Why is it not the next Green Lantern

A man has a daughter. His daughter has a picture about him. In this picture he is a superhero.

Life is hard for him, but he keeps on pushing his limits. He has two aims: to meet his daughter and bring her home. His wife had married another man. His beloved daughter is now living in the house with the other man and his ex-wife. Taking his daughter home means having a stable livelihood and a permanent residence. Both were impossible as he was denied any form of decent employment.

Why is it that we cannot accept people who had jail time. It seems people with a past of jail time are  aliens from another world, dangerous, mysterious, a threat to our peaceful existence. The man is denied jobs because he has a past in which he is a burglar. When the man realizes he is on the verge of losing the picture in his daughter's heart, he chooses the path he never dreamed of before. Perhaps, for every daughter her father is a hero. Perhaps...

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Scott Lang lands on a job his friend Luis brings him. Scott does not want to go back to the world of crime and jail time. The job Luis brings him takes Scott exactly towards the same direction. Scott takes it up thinking this one would be his last. Sometimes, a mysterious destiny intervenes and changes our plans. Sometimes, though, the plans we think we had were never our own. Scott finds himself part of another plot, to destroy a dangerous techno-threat created by Darren Cross, former protégé of Hank Pym.

In order to make it into a hero his daughter thinks him to be, Scott has to get a financial source, a home and social security. Hank Pym has a way out for him. The only problem was Scott has to follow some rules. The rules are simple: put on a special costume, master how to navigate with it, learn some martial arts, and find resonance with his new allies--ants. Scott Lang becomes Ant Man.

I have seen comments and reviews stating Ant Man is the next Green Lantern. I watched Green Lantern and felt the commentator's disappointment echoing through my senses while watching it. Green Lantern is a cinematic blunder. Ant Man is risk that pays off. Marvel is occupying the chair of the producer. Peyton Reed directed the movie and the screenplay is created by Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, and Paul Rudd.

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The original story of Ant Man is by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby a name synonymous with the history of comic books. Marvel has a way with making movies. Their knowledge of movie making is not just limited to putting a good plot together, or using extravagant technology. They know how to win the hearts of the comic fan.

Ant Man is not the next Green Lantern because Ant Man resonates with the spectator. The Marvel formula of a successful comic always involves two things: a character flaw; a personal problem. Ant Man successfully meets these criteria.

I found the relationship between ants and man innovative. Although I watched Ant Man animation occasionally, never had I the chance to read the comic book. As a young boy, I made attempts to create a character named Ant Man, who was quite different from Stan Lee's superhero, nevertheless he was a hero. When I look back, I find that small venture quite deep in significance. It was a time when I had neither heard or read about a character named Ant Man. I was a fan of Spider Man comics, back then. My creation of Ant Man had powers different to that of Stan Lee's. On my journey of being a writer, I did something Stan Lee did not. I threw away the idea and the story of my Ant Man, thinking it would be silly to even say "Ant Man" in public.

I get it. I hope you got it too. The story I just mentioned was the awkward story of a young boy who was reluctant to shrink in size. Stan Lee's Ant Man is about the courage to shrink in size and doing things beyond anyone's possibilities. This is why Ant Man is a good movie. 

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If you have kids, or friends who enjoy being a kid, or if you are a kid yourself, Ant Man is worth a watch. Paul Rudd appears as Scott Lang, Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, and Corey Stoll as Darren Cross. Two notable performances make this movie even more special: Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne, the daughter of Hank Pym and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, the first Ant Man. Notable feature of Michael Douglas is his voice. With his pitch and tone, he creates such in-depth moods for scenes that for me, his voice stayed in my head even a long time after finishing the movie.

But this is the flesh part. I did not tell you about cream part. Donning on the Ant Man costume, Scott Lang infiltrates the Avengers Facility. Scientist Hank Pym was a previous member of the S.H.I.E.L.D. So this infiltration has to do something with Hank's previous contact with the superhero organization. What would it be like to infiltrate into the Avengers facility?

Ant Man meets someone. That someone is not Tony Stark, by the way. A lot of times, Tony Stark and Captain America finds presence in the movie through references made by characters of this movie. Ant Man meets someone else, though. Who would that be if it's not Stark, Captain, Black Widow, or the Hulk?

I wish I could tell you more, but I don't want to kill the fun. You have more that what I mentioned to enjoy. But stay put until the titles roll up. A cameo performance awaits you from Stan Lee. Another surprise awaits you in the middle of the title scroll. But that I would not reveal here.

Happy Ant Man Day!