'Ant-Man': How I learned to stop worrying and love Marvel again

I was starting to get fed up with Marvel movies. Sure, I enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy and Age of Ultron for the most part, but I was tired of the endless franchise building, the over-stuffed plots and numbing third act action spectacles.

But then along comes Ant-Man, a delightfully funny and light-hearted addition to the canon and I find myself back on board -- at least for now.

The makers of Ant-Man eschew the serious undertones of some of the recent Marvel films to make a totally joyful adventure which feels more like a throwback comic book movie, with an ample sense of humor.

Despite the film's troubled production history (the original director, fanboy favorite Edgar Wright, walked), the movie works so well -- even if its premise makes most people chuckle at first.

Top-notch effects will make you believe a man can shrink and the invaluable Paul Rudd helps you believe the person inside the suit has some real personality and charisma. This may be my favorite lead Marvel movie performance since Robert Downey, Jr. debuted as Iron Man. And he is aided by a terrific supporting cast including a scene-stealing Michael Pena and a powerful Michael Douglas, who reminds us what a classy leading man he is.

The movie is incredibly fast-paced for an origin story, its stakes are relatively small (forgive the pun) but nevertheless intriguing, and while the movie does have the requisite nods to the greater Avengers universe, I appreciated that they were largely tongue-in-cheek and don't distract from the narrative too much.

Paul Rudd in Ant-Man

An estranged father subplot which would normally tank a movie like this is handled with aplomb and the villain, which has consistently been one of the weaker aspects of these Marvel films, is played with a nice dose of smarm by House of Cards veteran Corey Stall.

But most of all, the movie is just diverting and funny. Rudd and frequent Will Ferrell collaborator Adam McKay made a pass on the script, and it shows. They have real fun with the absurdity of not just the Ant-Man concept but the tropes of the superhero film genre.

There will probably be those who will be turned off by just how jokey the film is. But I for one loved that the (SPOILER ALERT) epic finale essentially takes place amid a child's train set. After all, these films aren't about anything consequential so why should we be pretending they are?

This is part of why Rudd was an excellent choice to play the hero of this film. He is spot-on playing a smart, sarcastic regular guy who is thrust into some pretty extraordinary circumstances and who reacts appropriately.

Thor and Captain America are very entertaining, but I never find myself relating to them as people. Ant-Man feels like an underdog throughout this film because despite how cool his "power" can be -- and the fight sequences in this film are first-rate -- he's incredibly vulnerable and easily destructible, which in this genre is remarkably refreshing.

Much will be made about this film's relatively small opening (still $58 million!) compared to some of its heavyweight predecessors, but few of those films have the inner life Ant-Man does and I suspect it will have long legs at the box office throughout the summer.