Armed with a super-suit 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.
Information |
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Language |
English |
Country |
United States |
Premiere date |
July 17, 2015 |
Running time |
117 minutes |
Genre |
Action Adventure Comedy Sci-Fi |
Budget |
$130,000,000 |
Box Office |
$519,311,965 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
Peyton Reed |
Produced by |
Kevin Feige |
Written by |
Edgar Wright Joe Cornish Adam McKay Paul Rudd |
Music by |
Christophe Beck |
Cinematography |
Russell Carpenter |
Edited by |
Dan Lebental Colby Parker Jr. |
Production Co. |
Marvel Studios |
Distributed by |
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #01 in Ant-Man Collection
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The Plot
The Resignation at S.H.I.E.L.D.
In 1989, within the unfinished construction of the Triskelion, scientist Hank Pym storms into a S.H.I.E.L.D. meeting. He angrily confronts the agency's leadership, including Howard Stark, Peggy Carter, and Mitchell Carson, after discovering that they have attempted to replicate his proprietary shrinking technology. Pym slams a vial of his "Pym Particles" onto the table, denouncing their actions. Stark attempts to defend the research as a necessary step for defense, but Pym asserts that the technology is far too dangerous for mass production or militarization. Resolute in his principles, Pym formally resigns from S.H.I.E.L.D., vowing that as long as he is alive, nobody will ever get their hands on his formula.
A Legacy Betrayed
Decades later, in the present day, an aged Pym visits the headquarters of his former company, Pym Technologies. He has been forced out of his own company by his estranged daughter, Hope van Dyne, and his former protégé, Darren Cross. During a presentation, Cross reveals that he has successfully unraveled the secrets of Pym's work, unveiling a project he calls the "Yellowjacket." It is an advanced, weaponized suit based on Pym's original Ant-Man technology, designed to revolutionize warfare and espionage. Pym is devastated, realizing his nightmare of the technology being militarized is coming true, while Cross views Pym as an obstacle to progress.
The Ex-Con's Dilemma
Meanwhile, Scott Lang is released from San Quentin State Prison after serving three years for a "Robin Hood"-style burglary against the corrupt VistaCorp. He is picked up by his former cellmate, Luis, who introduces him to his criminal associates, Dave and Kurt Goreshter. The crew immediately offers Lang a lead on a high-stakes burglary, but Lang refuses, determined to go straight for the sake of his young daughter, Cassie. However, reality hits hard when Lang struggles to hold down a job at Baskin-Robbins due to his criminal record. When he attempts to visit his daughter, his ex-wife, Maggie, and her fiancé, police officer Jim Paxton, deny him access, revealing that he cannot see Cassie until he provides child support and proves he has a stable life.
The Trial by Fire
Desperate and feeling hopeless, Lang inadvertently accepts the burglary job offered by Luis. The target is the safe within the basement of a retired tycoon's home. Lang skillfully breaks into the house, bypassing the security systems and cracking the heavy safe, only to find it empty of cash or jewels. Instead, he discovers what he dismissively refers to as an "old motorcycle suit" and a helmet. Disappointed, he smuggles the suit back to his apartment. While toying with the equipment in his bathtub, Lang puts on the suit and accidentally triggers a button on the glove. Instantly, he shrinks down to the size of an insect. He undergoes a terrifying, chaotic experience, nearly being drowned in a shower drain and trampled at a dance club, struggling to survive at such a diminutive scale. Terrified by the enigmatically frightening power of the suit, he rushes to return it to the house he burglarized. However, as he exits the house, he is spotted and arrested by the police.
The Ant-Man Proposition
While Lang sits in a holding cell, he is visited by Hank Pym, the owner of the house he broke into. Pym poses as a lawyer, slipping the Ant-Man suit into Lang's cell and communicating via an earpiece within the suit. He reveals that he allowed Lang to steal the suit as a test of his skills. With no other options, Lang dons the suit and, with the guidance of Pym and a swarm of carpenter ants, manages a daring escape from the police station. He arrives at the Pym estate, where Pym explains the gravity of the situation: he manipulated Lang through Luis to recruit him as the new Ant-Man. Pym needs a master thief to steal the Yellowjacket suit from Cross, viewing it as equipment capable of global chaos and mass destruction.
Infiltration and the Falcon Duel
Pym requests his daughter, Hope, to spy on Cross, despite her resentment toward her father for their strained relationship and his refusal to explain the circumstances of her mother's death. Hope begrudgingly agrees but also pushes to wear the suit herself, a request Pym vehemently denies. Instead, Hope trains Lang in martial arts and the use of the suit, while Pym teaches him to control ants using an EMP communication device. To procure a specific signal decoy needed for the heist, Pym sends Lang on a risky mission to an old Stark Industries warehouse, which is now the New Avengers Compound. There, Lang engages in a fight with the Avenger Sam Wilson, also known as Falcon. Despite being outgunned, Lang uses his shrinking ability to sabotage Falcon’s flight pack, winning the duel and retrieving the device.
The Ghost of the Quantum Realm
Seeing the tension between Hope and Scott, and realizing Hope's frustration is at a breaking point, Pym finally reveals the truth about her mother, Janet van Dyne. He explains that Janet was the Wasp, his partner in superheroics. Years ago, during a mission to stop a Soviet nuclear missile, Janet sacrificed herself by turning off her suit's regulator to shrink subatomically, passing through the solid titanium casing of the missile to disable it. In the process, she disappeared into the subatomic Quantum Realm, a place where time and space become irrelevant. Pym admits he has been protective of Hope because he cannot bear the thought of losing her to the same fate. This revelation allows father and daughter to finally reconcile.
The Heist at Pym Technologies
Darren Cross perfects the Yellowjacket suit and invites Pym to the unveiling ceremony at Pym Technologies. The team launches their heist: Lang, accompanied by a swarm of ants and his crew (Luis, Dave, and Kurt acting as support), infiltrates the building through the water main. While the crew sabotages the servers to erase Pym's research data, Lang plants explosives on the production servers. However, as Lang reaches the containment chamber to steal the Yellowjacket, he is trapped. Cross reveals he anticipated the theft. In a glass chamber, Cross exposes his plan to sell both the Yellowjacket and the Ant-Man suits to representatives from Hydra and the Ten Rings organization.
Chaos and Implosion
Lang manages to break free from the glass trap, engaging the Hydra agents in combat. Amidst the chaos, S.H.I.E.L.D. traitor Mitchell Carson manages to steal a vial of Cross's unstable particles and escapes. Lang pursues Cross, who dons the Yellowjacket suit to fight back. Before Cross can kill Lang, the explosives planted by the team detonate. The blast destroys the building, causing it to implode into the Quantum Realm due to the unstable nature of the sabotaged technology. Lang and Cross escape the destruction, taking their battle into the sky and eventually crashing into a backyard swimming pool.
The Duel for Cassie
Paxton arrives at the home to arrest Lang, managing to taser him and place him in a squad car. However, Cross, insane with rage, intercepts them. He knocks out Paxton and heads to Lang's ex-wife's home to kidnap Cassie, using her as bait to lure Lang into a final confrontation. Lang escapes custody and rushes to save his daughter. The two adversaries shrink down and battle amongst the toys in Cassie’s bedroom, with Thomas the Tank Engine becoming a derailment hazard in their microscopic war.
Into the Nothingness
With Cross's titanium suit proving impervious to normal attacks and Cross threatening to kill Cassie, Lang realizes he has no choice. He manually overrides his suit’s regulator, allowing him to shrink to a subatomic size. He penetrates the Yellowjacket suit, passing through its molecules to sabotage its internal mechanisms. The damage causes Cross to shrink uncontrollably, imploding out of existence. Lang, however, continues to shrink, entering the subatomic Quantum Realm. He floats in a kaleidoscope of abstract visuals, losing all sense of time and reality. As he drifts toward oblivion, he hears Cassie’s voice calling for him. Finding the will to survive, Lang manages to jam an enlargement disc containing the Blue Pym Particles into his regulator. The reaction reverses the shrinking process, catapulting him back to the macroscopic world.
A New Hero and Future Alliances
Lang reappears in Cassie's bedroom, safe. Witnessing Lang's heroism and devotion to his daughter, Paxton decides to cover for him, helping him avoid prison time. In the aftermath, Scott remembers nothing of the Quantum Realm, though Pym privately wonders if Lang's survival means Janet might still be alive. Months later, Lang is enjoying dinner with Luis, who excitedly informs him through a winding story that the Avengers are looking for him, specifically at the suggestion of Sam Wilson.
Epilogue
In a mid-credits scene, Pym leads Hope to a secret vault in his basement. He reveals an advanced prototype of a new Wasp suit that he and Janet had been working on before her disappearance, offering it to Hope. She looks at the suit and smiles, declaring, "It's about damn time." In a post-credits scene set a year later, Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson are shown in a remote location where they have found Bucky Barnes, whose metal arm is trapped in a vise. Discussing the "Accords" that prohibit them from contacting Tony Stark, Rogers worries they are on their own. Wilson, however, reassures him, stating, "I know a guy," referring to Scott Lang.
