PUTTING FEELERS OUT FOR THE ANT-MAN TRAILER

“Imagine a soldier the size of an insect,” begins the trailer for the next Marvel comic book cinematic adaptation and possible franchise. “The ultimate secret weapon.”

Well if they play their cards right, the potential of Paul Rudd’s casting can go a long way. While impossible for anyone to ever equal Robert Downey Jr’s sarcastic genius of Tony Stark as IRON MAN, Rudd has an established gift of glib that could work wonders. 

Speaking of sarcasm, something occurs in many modern comic book flicks, especially highlighted in trailers – which is getting a tad annoying. In order to adhere to hip millennials or embarrassed mid-lifers, the titular hero has to apologize for the moniker he’s given: “I’m Ant-Man,” says Rudd’s Scott Lang, a thief hired by Michael Douglas’s Hank Pym to literally shrink his sneaky talents. “I know,” he then quips, embarrassed. “It wasn’t my idea.”

Strange why they keep having to qualify superheroes in this fashion. Sure, parts of the trailer looks like a high octane HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS, especially when ants are shown. The successful camp of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY has provided leeway to have fun with the usual intense, geek-serious genre. And ANT-MAN is no SPIDER-MAN as far as household names go… It all seems a bit silly and farfetched even for this kind of thing, making the original, replaced director, Edgar Wright, an inspired choice to turn an anthill into a mountain of frantic fun and creativity… Sad he had to split.

But it’s a cool enough trailer, and a worthy cast. Douglas will probably go through the motions and they will be good motions since he's a capable actor. Evangeline Lilly looks like a tough enough kick ass ingenue. But with Wright leaving his built-in style and fanbase audience in the wake, it's almost solely up to Rudd and how much he puts himself into the role to make it shine, his own way.