The Flickering Myth get together to talk about yesterday’s leaked Ant-Man footage…
It was last summer that Edgar Wright showcased some test footage from Ant-Man, the movie planned to kick of Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since then the footage was kept under lock and key and became a sort of myth comic book movie fans wanted to see. Well, thanks to some sneaky phone camera work at Adam Buxton’s Best of BUG event in London, the footage found its way online yesterday (that was until I got removed by the Internet Police).
The footage – which you can watch here – shows Ant-Man climbing through an air vent before taking out two armed guards by shrinking and regrowing in size – including a shot of him running across the barrel of a gun.
As you could well imagine, it got the Flickering Myth team talking…
Chris Cooper: Though a very short piece of footage, I feel that it was more than enough to show that Ant-Man has a legitimate shot at being an entertaining film. Now, there was no acting or characterisation, but this is mainly about proving that it can be done and can be interesting. On those counts I feel it succeeded. It’s a very novel skill set, and would set the film apart from the constant flow of comic book films. Plus of course, Edgar Wright is awesome.
Helen Murdoch: As Chris said there’s not a lot of footage but it seems to be taken a Scott Pilgrim vs the World-esque view of Ant-Man so I’m very excited
Bell The-Destroyer: I’m not an Ant-Man fan and when this news broke I wasn’t whole heatedly interested to be honest. However, later in the afternoon I watched it. I know it was only test footage, so I shouldn’t expect much, but I was impressed with the transformation animation and the lift music. His little legs running along the gun was daft and I know I’m being harsh at this test footage, but all I could see this character as in any sort of superhero film is the comedy hero.
Martin Deer: I watched it without sounds on my phone, but it looked pretty cool. It’s only concept footage, but it managed to peak my interest in a film that really I had no interest in. Look forward to seeing some of the finished product next year
Rohan Morbey: In a word, awful.
David Bishop: I’ve been looking forward to this since it was first announced that Edgar Wright was attached, which seems like an age ago. I’ve never read the comic, but the concept, coupled with a fine choice of director, sounds like it will be great fun. Thankfully, this test footage seems to confirm that. I’m not expecting it to be as ground-breaking as Scott Pilgrim vs The World (which is looking better and better with age), but I liked the footage. At least it showed the concept can work.
Jack Morris: My only concern is that the fight scenes are going to look a bit confused with him swapping size all the time – only time will tell. still excited for the finished product though!
Gary Collinson: I really liked what I saw, and like David points out, it proves the concept can work. I would be very surprised if Ant-Man turned out to be a ‘typical’ comic book movie under Wright, and I think with this and Guardians of the Galaxy it shows that Marvel are looking to mix things up, when it would be easy for them to sit back and stick to the formula.
Robert W Monk: Well, the video itself was a bit sketchy so I couldn’t tell too much. I’m a fan of Wright’s though so it should be interesting to see what he does with one of the original Avengers. I used to quite like the troubled old soul of Hank Pym in the original comics. Pretty dark, as I remember!
I love Edgar Wright plus Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. I pretty much thought Scott Pilgrim vs the World was one of the most overrated films of the year when it came out. Everyone seemed to love it. Critics liked it. It did nothing for me. At that point I was getting majorly fed up of Michael Cera playing the same role over and over again though in all honesty. So Ant-Man? Well the concept is interesting. I’d never heard of it before Wright was attached. But so far this is not blowing my skirt up gentleman. Methinks though, I’ll catch this one on VHS, erm, I mean DVD.
Luke Owen: As Dave said, it’s amazing to think how long we’ve been waiting for this movie.
Finally got round to seeing the footage (amazed it’s remained online!). It does look like a lot of fun. For just some simple test footage, it shows a lot of promise. Edgar Wright is yet to take a step wrong and this doesn’t look like his first mis-step (assuming that The World’s End is good – but who am I kidding, of course it will be).
With Phase Two being mostly made up of established franchises (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor) it will be good for Phase Three to kick off with a new property and follow up with Doctor Strange. And what better way to kick things off than an Edgar Wright movie written by Joe Cornish?
David Bishop: Luke – I see what you’re saying about Phase Two. The one I’m really looking forward to is Guardians of the Galaxy because its new. And sounds bonkers.
Luke Owen: Rohan, out of curiosity what didn’t you like about it?
Chris Cooper: I’m very curious too Rohan. If you’re going to be the one guy on the other side of the fence tell everyone why.
Rohan Morbey: Slow mo, ‘comic’ ending, another comic book film… Does nothing for me. Not to say it won’t be good but can only comment on what I saw.
Martin Deer: So you’re saying you’re sick of comic book films in general?
Rohan Morbey: Yep.
Martin Deer: What about the genre offends you? I mean there are plenty of comic book films I’m really not interested in, but I just avoid them. Just as there are many horrors, comedies and various other genres which have films I’m not interested in, but I don’t discount the genre as a whole. So I’m curious as to why, by the sounds of it based on these and past comments, all comic book films are negatively viewed from the outset rather than looking for the merits in each individual film?
Rohan Morbey: Nothing offends me about comic book films and I used to love them from Batman ’89 through to The Dark Knight but I find the yearly churning out of movies not to get excited about as they have mostly all disappointed me in recent years. The whole Avengers thing has delivered one good film for me (Captain America: The Fist Avenger) but I’ll still see the films as I won’t write anything off until I see it. I think the Iron Man 3 trailers are pretty toss too, but I want to love the film when I see it on opening day. And I LOVE Superman Returns, too, for the record.
Martin Deer: Yeah I know you enjoy them as you did your list [for our upcoming Greatest Comic Book Movies feature], so my apologies for not clarifying what I meant has put you off them now and I understand your position to an extent. I don’t get excited about every comic book film because frankly not all of them interest me. I enjoy comic books of course but my main comic interests are Batman and Superman, which means all the other franchises have to win me over, I won’t automatically be exited for it. I have a great desire to see a Flash and Wonder Woman film though, I’m eager to see those made ASAP. But whilst I’m not interested in see the Captain America sequel or Guardians of the Galaxy for instance, I do appreciate there are fans who are eager even if I’m not, and on the whole I think comic book films in recent years have been pretty great, even when they’ve not been to my particular taste
David Bishop: Someone else likes Superman Returns? So I’m not alone?
Oliver Davis: I’ve been a member of Superman Returns Likers Anonymous since it came out. It’s nice. We share stories about keeping quiet when people bad mouth it. You guys should come along. Wendy makes excellent sponge cake.
David Bishop: That would be great. I sometimes feel like such an outsider when it comes to Superman Returns.
Chris Cooper: So you should.
Anghus Houvouras: Rohan: thank God for you. Every good group needs a genre nihilist.
Here’s the thing about Ant Man: Edgar Wright is an entertaining [fellow]. The guy knows how to make geek crack. So I am soooooo not worried about Ant-Man. I’m there opening day. Even if he cast Jeff Goldblum as Ant-Man. Even if he made Batroc the Leaper the villain. Even if he cast Kristen Stewart as the romantic love interest. Wright knows how to make fun films. He’s earned my goodwill. I will agree the clip is good but not great. Why does every superhero have to land in that stupid pose? Can’t one superhero figure out how to stick the landing? It’s a quick sizzle real, so it has to be heavy on the action, but I’m more interested in Ant-Man as a character. C-Grade superheroes is a concept that can be a ridiculous amount of fun. Wright is right for this material. This is his wheelhouse. And Rohan, while I love you, I will say that blanket dismissals of a genre are short sighted. There will always be films that exceed the limits of their expectations. I loathe found footage films, but enjoyed Chronicle. Romantic comedies are just the worst, but every ten years or so you get When Harry Met Sally. What Marvel has been getting ridiculously right is that the super hero movie needs to be more than a guy in a costume. We’re in a new era now of superhero films with so many character unshackled by getting the origin story out of the way. Now we’re going to get some superhero films that tell us stories in these wonderfully weird world they inhabit. Phase Two is more than just a new wave, it’s a new kind of superhero movie, one unrestricted by the trappings of a superhero movie.
David Bishop: Jeff Goldblum? I’m there.
So, there you have it. The majority of the team are on board for the project based on what little footage they’ve seen while some are a little disheartened by the comic book genre, feeling there is nothing new to be seen. But what I think has been agreed on by all is that Edgar Wright can do no wrong.
So for those of you who saw it, what did you think of the Ant-Man footage?
