MCU Commentary Rewatch: Ant-Man
(Cover art by Matt Ferguson, for the Blu Ray release. https://www.cakesandcomics.com/)
I’m not expecting a lot out of this commentary. I think it will be fun, as I’ve seen Peyton Reed and Paul Rudd on the promotion circuit, and they are all smiles and laughter.
Like GoTG, this is a palate-cleanser between meatier movies, and the heavy lifting done by this script doesn’t pay off for another 4 years in AVENGERS: ENDGAME. But we’ll see Scott Lang again almost immediately in CIVIL WAR, and I think they were counting on that to flesh out a lot of his character.
It’s the little things, you see…
TL:DR;
Commentary Ranking: #4 of 24
For reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant-Man_(film)
Commentary Takeaway:
What a glorious, joyous romp. Reed and Rudd really enjoyed talking about a film they helped create, and had a lot to say about the script and performances.
By nature, this was an effects-driven film, with the very first shot involving digitally aging Hayley Atwell and de-aging Michael Douglas. Reed went straight into technical mode and explained exactly how the shot worked, and kept up the patter for the whole movie.
Rudd isn’t well-known as a script doctor, but he did great developmental work on this movie after it was abandoned by Edgar Wright. Reed and Rudd don’t go into that very much on the track, but they do go deep into the weeds when talking about the Marvel universe and the history of the characters, which is pretty much where I live most of the time.
By the time we get to the toy train battle, they’re having more fun than anything else, but they still manage to drop some knowledge bombs on us, especially about the nature and meta-philosophy of the quantum realm.
The track was recorded some three weeks after the wide release. Rudd had already completed his work on CIVIL WAR, and was in the early stages of writing ANT-MAN AND THE WASP. In fact, at that time he had access to most of the Phase 3 plot, whereas Peyton Reed knew only a tiny part of the plan. Despite numerous attempts to get him to leak/spoil secrets, Rudd stayed the course.
Rudd also seemed genuinely surprised by the Wasp-suit mid-credits scene. This could have been a gag, but it’s entirely possible that he had not seen it since they are traditionally left out of the premiere showings.
All in all, a solid commentary track that definitely raised my spirits after the dreary dirge of Joss Whedon mourning his participation in one of the most profitable films of all time. I hope more tracks in Phase 3 are like this one.
Overall Commentary ranking:
1. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
2. THOR: THE DARK WORLD
3. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, VOL. 1
4. ANT-MAN
5. CAPTAIN AMERICA: TFA
6. AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
7. IRON MAN 2
8. INCREDIBLE HULK
9. IRON MAN 3
10. MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS
11. IRON MAN
12. THOR
I’ll be honest here, ANT-MAN nearly took the three-spot. I just felt that James Gunn gave me more with GotG, though if any of you have strong feelings about the commentary of either, I’d certainly welcome debate.
Phase 2 Commentary ranking:
1. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
2. THOR: THE DARK WORLD
3. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, VOL. 1
4. ANT-MAN
5. AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
6. IRON MAN 3
It’s hard to beat THE WINTER SOLDIER, but the one level it lagged behind on was financial. Every movie in Phase 2 besides ANT-MAN made more money worldwide.
However, while not as fun as THE DARK WORLD or ANT-MAN, at this point in the rewatch the commentary track is the gold standard.
The exact same guys will be speaking on the next film I watch, and it would be amazing if they can better themselves. The Russo Brothers and screenwriters Markus and McFeely pair up three times in Phase 3, so there’s definitely some crazy times ahead.