Ant-Man

The depressingly familiar Ant-Man boasts screenplay credits from the likes of Edgar Wright (The World's End), Joe Cornish (Attack the Block), Adam McKay (Anchorman) and star Paul Rudd, but hack director Peyton Reed (Yes Man) ensures that the final product remains the same old Marvel smirk-fest. Rudd plays Scott Lang (so far, so good), an accomplished cat burglar (uh-uh) and hardened felon (nope) recruited by a reclusive billionaire to wear a magic suit that shrinks him to insect size (slightly more believable). If you've seen one Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, you've seen them all, so thank God we're already slated to get several thousand more of them between now and 2020. Ant-Man doesn't even try to break the mold, but at least it's less busy and bombastic than most Marvel offerings, more focused on superpowers than firepower, with a solid supporting cast that far outshines leads Rudd and Evangeline Lilly. D.B.