I’m a big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I have seen each of the movies multiple times and own all of the ones that are available for purchase. Marvel makes massively entertaining movies and, to varying degrees, I have enjoyed each of them. That is also true for Marvel’s most recent effort: Ant-Man.
Numerous production issues plagued Ant-Man, most notably Edgar Wright left the project after working on it for years. While that tumult led to a few cracks in Ant-Man, overall I found the move entertaining and enjoyable. Paul Rudd is extremely likeable as Scott Lang and the movie fits in well with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Here are some other thoughts I had while watching Ant-Man.
Redemption
Redemption is one of Ant-Man’s main themes. Scott Lang is looking for redemption from his life of crime and Hank Pym is looking for redemption from the mistakes that he has made. I enjoyed seeing characters trying to make right the wrongs that they had done. Seeing these heroes trying to be better than they had been encouraged me in my constant struggle to be better. If we know Jesus, though, we know that redemption isn’t just about what we do but what Jesus has already done. His sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection redeemed us from all the wrongs that we have done or will ever do. We may need to make restitution to others for what we’ve done, but we can know that God’s grace covers all we do.
Family
My favorite part about Ant-Man was all the familial connections. Scott Lang was a much more grounded hero because he actually had a family. Unlike Steve Rogers and Thor, who are larger-than-life characters who seem disconnected from real life, Lang was a real guy with a real daughter and a real reason to fight. I love that Lang had a daughter who gave him a much more relatable reason to save the world. Even Hank Pym had his familial connections, carrying the loss of his wife and a disconnect with his daughter. The MCU has been light on familial connections, which is a shame because our families are our most defining relationships. Thankfully Ant-Man brought those relationships to the forefront.
Stealing
Stealing is one of those sins with which I’ve never really struggled. I remember leading small groups of elementary kids and inevitably there was a child who admitted that he had a problem stealing. I’ve never stolen anything of real value in my entire life, but stealing and burglary were at the center of Ant-Man. I look at someone who struggles with stealing and wish I could have that sin, like it would be easier to deal with than lust or pride. But I’m sure someone who struggles with stealing would look at my sins and gladly trade for them. We all have thorns in our flesh, not as reminders of our sinful nature but as reminders to rely on God’s grace.
I enjoyed Ant-Man and can’t wait to see Paul Rudd suit up for future Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. If you haven’t seen it, I suggest you check it out, even though Ron disagreed on this week’s episode of The Christian Nerd Podcast. If you do see it, be sure to stick around for two post-credit scenes; you don’t want to miss them.
What did you think of Ant-Man?
I like the themes you chose to highlight, although I never really felt in my gut that Scott Lang was in need of redemption. Number one, he’d paid the time for having done the crime. Number two, the movie makes much of the fact that he saw himself, and others saw him, too, as a kind of Robin Hood figure, “sticking it to the establishment.” And number three, his daughter already adored him, and his wife, while not letting Scott visit her, seemed amicable enough toward him anyway (and her new guy was not a total jerk, which is a nice change of pace from the “jerky new husband” trope). All of which is to say, maybe “redemption” is too strong a word for his character arc? He’s a basically decent guy before, and he’s still a good guy afterward, only now with a super-suit. He doesn’t really change; he doesn’t go on a hero’s journey. He gets to be part of the new family, which is really nice — a new family gathered around a common table (dang, I should have thought of this Eucharistic connection before!) — well, maybe that’s redemption in a less dramatic, not-so-focused-on-sin way.
I dunno. As always, thanks for provoking some thought, and for letting me “think out loud” in your comment section!
I think he was looking for his own redemption. Even if people saw him as Robin Hood, he still needed to get a job, get an apartment and pay child support to see his daughter. I think that he wanted to do what was right, but doing what was wrong was much more convenient. He could have waited the 377 days or however long it was to see his daughter, but he chose to go back to a life of crime (even though it was all orchestrated by Hank Pym). I think he wanted redemption for himself because I don’t know if he believed he was the hero that his daughter thought he was.
Thanks for your comment!