The next movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally brings Ant-Man to the screen. Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

As Marvel begins to enter a darker phase of films, with films such as Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War coming out, it’s starting to adapt to a very likable new style, with tons of unpredictable humor being thrown into their movies. Ant-Man is able to partly convey it, but is a letdown considering the fact that its from Marvel Studios. Paul Rudd is a superb star, as he coveys all the humor and heart I wanted from him. Michael Douglas gives a decent performance as mentor Hank Pym. I was let down by Evangeline Lily and Corey Stoll. I was expecting a deeper and more emotional character from Lily, and a villain that was more incorporated into the script and convincing enough from Stoll. Michael Pena is able to deliver a charming performance as one of Lang’s buddies, and Bobby Cannavale does an awful job, not to anyone’s surprise.

The style the film takes on is fun, but doesn’t fulfill the story’s needs and character developments. The subplot involving Scott’s relationship and connection with his daughter (and his hatred of his ex-wife’s new fiance, who also happens to be a cop played by Bobby Cannavale) is extremely cliche and has been used hundreds of times in the past decade in cinema. Same with Scott’s training to become Ant-Man, it’s not anything we haven’t seen before or wouldn’t see coming. The dialogue needs a lot of improvement, with too much awkward dialogue and things that kept repeating themselves. I never felt so close to the characters, since they aren’t given enough time to connect with the audience, because the movie is way too rushed, not to mention it’s very short, with a run-time of only 115 minutes. However, the film still keeps the humor from its preceding Marvel movies, and does not fail to entertain. The movie even has a few callbacks to the Avengers to remind you that it’s a Marvel movie, and a post-credit scene worth staying for.

Overall, I was let down by Ant-Man due to its lack of convincing character development, its run-time, and its script, but it is still able to entertain and make you laugh. The film would’ve been much better with Edgar Wright sitting in the director’s chair. Moving forward, I have faith in Marvel that they will do a great job with Phase Three, but I was disappointed with Ant-Man, as it’s meant to be a more moving finale to Phase 2.