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Ant-Man

age 12+
(i)

 

Clever, funny, cool Marvel movie has lots of sci-fi action.
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  • Review Date: July 17, 2015
  • Rated: PG-13
  • Genre: Action/Adventure
  • Release Year: 2015
  • Running Time: 117 minutes

Ant-Man gallery

What parents need to know

Positive messages

Encourages forgiveness and redemption. Flawed characters, particularly Hank and Scott, are given an opportunity to redeem themselves for past mistakes. As with most superhero movies, teamwork and trust are also valued.

Positive role models

Scott/Ant-Man and Dr. Pym are flawed men with uneven pasts, but each seeks redemption by doing what's right. They both love their daughters and want to protect them/be there for them. Hope is a strong, capable, successful woman who isn't easily impressed by charm or wealth. Paxton is a good cop who lives by the law and loves Maggie and Cassie. The trio of thieves may be ex-con robbers, but they step up to help Scott and Dr. Pym.

Violence

Frequent sci-fi/action violence. Weapons include a gun that the villain uses to kill people by disintegrating them into gory goo (in one case, he just flushes what's left of the person down the toilet). During scientific testing, scientists end up killing sheep as they attempt to shrink them. A beloved ant is killed. Many people are shot at during a long stand-off, and one person seems on the verge of death. Fist fights leave bloody bruises. People crash into things. At one point the villain grabs a child, but she's not in extended danger.

Sex

Kissing. An adult woman sits on top of her boyfriend whispering and laughing in his ear. A couple of women are referred to as "hot" in suggestive ways. A man refers to a woman as the "first pair of boobs I ever touched."

Language

Occasional strong language includes "s--t," "ass," "a--hat," "bulls--t," "p---y," "hell," "damn," and "idiot."

Consumerism

Baskin Robbins (and one of their smoothies) is heavily featured in one scene. Other brands/products seen include Cadillac, Ford, iPhone, and Dell. Many promotional/product tie-ins to the Avengers universe, including references to specific members and logos.

Drinking, drugs, & smoking

Adults drink champagne, beer, and wine socially, but not to excess.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Ant-Man is a Marvel Studios/Disney superhero film (based on a Stan Lee comic) that's tied into the rest of the "Marvel-verse." While audiences familiar with Avengers-related movies will have an advantage, it's not necessary to be a Marvel fan to enjoy the film, which stars Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas. There's definitely plenty of action/sci-fi violence -- from fist fights to shoot-outs to a few gory deaths in which the human (or animal) victim turns into gelatinous goo -- but overall this adventure is on the tamer end of the Marvel movie scale. Occasional bursts of language (mostly "s--t," "ass," and "damn") are peppered throughout the dialogue, and there are a couple of suggestive jokes/references, but there's only one (brief) kissing scene and very little drinking. The hero and his young daughter are sometimes separated, which could upset younger kids, but she's never in extended peril. Like Guardians of the Galaxy, this action adventure is full of humor, with some edgy jokes that will go over younger kids' head.

What's the story?

In ANT-MAN, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is a Robin Hood-like burglar who's just been released from San Quentin prison. With few legitimate prospects and a young daughter and ex-wife to pay child support to, Scott agrees to go in on a heist with his former cell-mate, Luis (Michael Peña), and two other pals to rob a rich old man's safe. The target turns out to be Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), who set up the robbery opportunity to recruit Scott as the new Ant-Man -- a suit-wearing superhero who can shrink down to the size of an ant and also communicate with insects to make them do his bidding. Hank and his skeptical daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lilly), want Scott to help them keep megalomaniacal Dr. Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) from perfecting his own Ant-Man-like suit -- which he wants to sell as a military weapon to the highest bidder.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

The Marvel Universe's tiny but fierce hero is also its funniest. As always, Rudd is a natural with sarcasm and one-liners, playing off of a hilarious Peña as Scott's prison bestie Luis and enjoying an easy mentor-mentee rapport with Douglas' Hank Pym. As Cross points out, Hank and Scott have a lot in common -- particularly as fathers with a an obvious need to protect their daughters. The bantery chemistry between Scott and Hope is a predictable "opposites attract" storyline, but Hope is one of the most interesting Marvel women to date because she's clearly itching for a chance to put on an ant suit and get things done.

Cross is the standard emotionally fragile, egomaniacal villain with extreme daddy issues. Stoll seems to be making a name for himself as a baddie, and he's well able to play a man who simultaneously hates Pym and desperately seeks his approval. The plot and the explanations of how the Ant-Man suit works can get a bit convoluted, but the action sequences and humorous dialogue (much of which sounds like it came straight from Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, two of the five screenwriters) make up for the occasional plot holes. Bottom line? There's a lot to enjoy or laugh out loud about in Ant-Man, and Rudd is so charming and so easy to invest in as a viewer that it's only natural to hope for a sequel that puts him in touch with more of the other Avengers.

Families can talk about...

  • Families can talk about the popularity of Marvel movies. Why do you think these comic books have turned into such well-received movies? Are all movies inspired by comic books created equal? Does Ant-Man stand out? How?

  • What do you think about the way that superhero movies portray violence? Does any of it seem realistic? Is it intended to? Does it glorify fighting? Does exposure to violent movies make kids more aggressive?

  • How does Ant-Man compare to other superheroes? Is he more like Iron Man, because of the suit, or like Spider-Man, because he has affinity with and traits of another species? How is he unique?

  • Ant-Man isn't a natural hero; Scott has a criminal past and a spotty record. How does he live up to his daughter's expectations? How does his past help him as a hero?

Movie details

Theatrical release date:July 17, 2015
DVD release date:December 8, 2015
Cast:Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll
Director:Peyton Reed
Studio:Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Genre:Action/Adventure
Topics:Superheroes
Run time:117 minutes
MPAA rating:PG-13
MPAA explanation:sci-fi action violence
Awards/Honors:Common Sense Seal

This review of Ant-Man was written by

Sandie Angulo Chen
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are conducted by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Quality

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Learning ratings

  • Best: Really engaging; great learning approach.
  • Very Good: Engaging; good learning approach.
  • Good: Pretty engaging; good learning approach.
  • Fair: Somewhat engaging; OK learning approach.
  • Not for Learning: Not recommended for learning.
  • Not for Kids: Not age-appropriate for kids; not recommended for learning.

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Parent of a 7 and 9 year old Written byJennrleigh July 17, 2015
age 8+

Very tame compared to other Marvel flicks

Great humor making it pretty light hearted. There is the typical superhero fights but nothing gory or excessive. Although my 9 yr old would LOVE to see all of the superhero movies (Avengers, Batman, etc), we have opted to skip all but Guardians of the Galaxy due to excessive violence & tense scenes but are quite excited to take him to see this one! The worst it gets is when a "bad guy" tests an animal & one person by zapping them with a laser which turns them to a pile of goo. There is some language but it is fairly mild not I didn't find it obvious (I could only remember 2 incidences prior to reading other reviews). I would rate it similar to Guardians of the Galaxy. Fantastic movie!
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Parent Written byDr_Freytag July 21, 2015
age 12+

Ant-Man is Not a Family Film!

So often I'm seeing Ant-man described as a family film. To me, a family film is okay for the entire family. I would not recommend this film to people with children under 12. S*** and D*** may be more commonplace today, but they are still crude and many families would be upset if their small children used them in everyday speech. Ant-man has barely a minute without those two words appearing liberally. "My days of stealing stuff are over" Scott says in the trailer. Sounded good! Why replace it with S*** in the film? Finally, while most of the violence is cartoonish and very exciting, the main antagonist kills a man very coldly by shrinking him with technology that doesn't work. The man is reduced to a small pile of goo on the bathroom floor. The entire clip is very disturbing for the heartlessness and casualness of murderer. I believe small children would be very upset by it and its repeat on a small lamb later. I'm a big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Daredevil on Netflix is certainly violent and disturbing (and very entertaining) but it is obviously targeted at an adult crowd. Families should know that Ant-man earns the PG-13 rating and smaller children should be left at home or taken to Inside Out.
What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much swearing
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Teen, 16 years old Written byJflores14 July 17, 2015
age 13+

Smart action flick ups humor and lowers gore and violence

This marvel film lowers the body counts and ups the humor, a perfect formula in my opinion. Teens and adults are garunteed to love this new addition to the marvel franchise! CONTENT: VIOLENCE- comedic slaps and falls, people get thrown through glass, shot at, attacked by ants, and punched jn the face. There are a couple of battle scenes with destruction and explosions. A helicopter falls out of the sky and a house is destroyed. Some robberies. SEX- some innuendo, talk of touching a girls breasts, one breif kiss LANGUAGE- 5 uses of s--t, a couple of ass, damn, hell, and bitch, and one use of p---y in a non sexual manner MY RATING- PG-13/ for violence and fantasy action, and some langauge
What other families should know
Great messages
Great role models
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