Gire: Action-packed 'Ant-Man' succeeds despite bugs

"Ant-Man" marks the most frustrating movie I've reviewed in terms of deciding an appropriate star rating.

The comic book adventure is bloated, childishly overwritten, downright goofy and tentatively heartfelt. So, two-and-a-half stars should suffice.

But wait. It's also wistful, exciting, hilarious and heroic, with a charming performance by unlikely superhero star Paul Rudd and some visual effects so ingeniously immersive, they recall the hallucinogenic ending sequence in "2001: A Space Odyssey."

So, three stars.

I suspect my difficulty in assigning a star rating to "Ant-Man" stems from its slightly schizophrenic personality, probably brought on by its change in directors.

Original director Edgar Wright, who gave us "Shaun of the Dead," "Hot Fuzz" and "The World's End," was jettisoned from the production over "creative differences" and replaced by "Yes Man" director Peyton Reed.

Wright, who likes unconventional left turns in his films, wanted to put his own stamp on the Marvel franchise, but producers preferred a more conventional stamp that Reed provided.

So, "Ant-Man" starts with an incredibly lengthy expository fuse introducing us to Scott Lang (Rudd), a supersmart, high-tech cat burglar who just spent three years in San Quentin for pulling off a Robin Hood-esque theft of corporate funds.

His old buddy and former cellmate Luis (Chicago's own Michael Pena in comic relief overdrive) attempts to lure Scott back into crime with two pals (Tip "T.I." Harris and David Dastmalchian), but Scott has a priority: his little daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson), now living with his ex-wife, Maggie (Judy Greer), and her cop fiance, Paxton (Bobby Cannavale).

It takes more than 30 minutes before we finally see Scott, selected for his unique set of stealth skills, in his full Ant-Man garb. (It took an hour and five minutes before we saw the title character in "Superman.")

His superhero suit, designed to compress the space between atoms, enabling the wearer to shrink, comes from Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), a brilliant scientist whose secret research is not only wanted by S.H.I.E.L.D., but by his own protégé Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), who makes no secret he wants Pym's technology to use as a weapon for international assassinations so the world can live in peace and harmony. Right.

Pym and his smart, dedicated daughter Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), train Scott in combat, how to telepathically communicate with ants and how to efficiently use the suit.

Whatever he does, they tell him, never, never, never go into subatomic space, or else, like "The Incredible Shrinking Man," he will simply shrink into nonexistence. (Of course, that would never happen. Right.)

"Ant-Man" marks a nice departure for Marvel-based movies in that Scott's attachment to his daughter seems to be as strong a plotline as his fight to keep Cross from using Pym's invention for conquest. (During a post-log, a different father-daughter bonding experience sends us out of the theater in giddy anticipation of the next installment.)

The segments in which Scott goes ant-size are eye-poppingly fascinating perspectives in which carpet fibers stand like polyester forests, and a single water drop takes on tidal wave proportions.

Two showcase sequences top "Ant-Man," one in which a model railroad (with Thomas the Tank Engine, no less) becomes a backdrop for a thrilling battle of the miniature warriors; the other a mesmerizing drop into the tiniest fabric of the universe.

Yes, "Ant-Man" awkwardly vacillates between broad comedy and earnest adventure, and Pena's cartoony sidekick seems to belong in some other less serious movie.

But "Ant-Man" works. In spots, it works well.

Not since Michael Keaton became Batman has such a nonconventional choice like Rudd pulled off one of the smallest casting successes in Hollywood history.

“Ant-Man”

★ ★ ★

Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Pena, Corey Stoll, Judy Greer, Bobby Cannavale

Directed by: Peyton Reed

Other: A Walt Disney release. Rated PG-13 for violence. 115 minutes