On the Cutting Room Floor: MinionsMania is Running Mild

Comic relief is an integral part of most narratives. It relieves tension and gives the audience a break to soak in important plot points and information. Sometimes, comic relief can take the form of a character, or in this case characters. As par for the course, these comic relief characters often become the standout stars of their respective movies. The Penguins from Madagascar, Shrek's Puss in Boots and the Minions of Despicable Me are just a few of these standouts that come to mind.

Since movie studios equate these characters' popularity to the success of their respective movies, standalone movies are made for them in order to capitalize on this supposed market. Sadly, the truth is these comic-relief characters just don't have the depth to hold people's attention for the length of a featured film. While the charming denim-wearing yellow Minions from the Despicable Me films may have the marketability, they fall under the same shortcomings.

Minions follows these titular creatures on their quest to find the evilest being on Earth to be their boss. Unfortunately, the Minions are unable keep one because their oblivious stupidity results in their boss' death. Sounds great, right? In actuality, only a small fraction of Minions is spent on the humourous dispatching of former bosses (much of which is already given away in the trailers).

The majority of Minions is spent jumping from one set piece to another without any intention on telling a satisfying story or developing the Minions as anything more than incompetent. Even the antagonists of the movie, Scarlet and Herb Overkill (Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm respectively), are an afterthought since they never amount to anything other than being the wacky psychopaths that are somehow more incompetent than the Minions.

How you enjoy the comedy of Minions will make or break the film for you. For me personally, there are some legitimate laughs in this movie; they just were few and far between. The kids in the screening with me ate up every word of gibberish and fart joke in the movie. For me, much of the comedy felt too childish to keep all ages laughing throughout.

Although it seems like I have been picking on Minions a whole lot, I believe it would have been better suited as a short film or weekly television series. There is some good material hidden in the movie; it is just stretched too thin in order to fill 90 minutes. Unfortunately, a movie will generate more money than a short film or TV show ever would.

As it stands, Minions doesn't have the heart or depth to stand on its own. While I don't recommend going out of your way to see it, Minions is a fine movie if you have nothing else to watch on Netflix.

On the Cutting Room Floor: Great Things Come in Small Packages

Welcome to the first edition of On the Cutting Room Floor. 

Sadly, not everything you write will be put into publication. Sometimes, extenuating circumstances can lead to some articles being left on the cutting room floor. Instead of having these articles sit on a hard drive to never see the light of day, I want to share them here for all to enjoy. 

This review was originally written late July, early August 2015 for the theatrical release of Ant Man. Unfortunately, I took too long writing and missed my opportunity to be timely. Considering the DVD comes out very soon, it seems like the right time to post it.

To say Ant Man had a troubled production is an understatement. Director Edgar Wright, best known for his work on cult hits like Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, left the film due to creative differences mid-2014 causing Marvel to scramble for a new director and rewrite the script. This tumultuous development has caused many fans and critics alike to fear the worst. Could Ant Man be the first flop for Marvel Studios?

No, quite the opposite. Ant Man exceeds all expectations despite being smaller in scale than recent Marvel movies. In taking a step back from the grander events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), this movie centres around an emotional core that establishes a brand new cast of lovable characters while perfectly planting seeds for upcoming movies, namely Captain America: Civil War.

Ant Man centres around Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), an ex-convict looking to fix his life after prison. When Scott comes across a peculiar-looking motorcycle suit during a break-and-enter, he will get the most unusual second-chance ever. With the help of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Scott is entrusted to become the new Ant Man and stop Hank's former protege Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) from using the super-shrinking Yellowjacket suit for militaristic purposes.

Forewarning: Ant Man starts off slow. Slower than most superhero/action films, in fact. Once you get past the plodding first 40 minutes, the movie moves at a wonderful pace that never lets up. In particular, the climax of Ant Man is nothing short of spectacular. The fight between Ant Man and Yellowjacket may happen on such a miniscule scale, but it is literally unlike anything ever seen on the silver screen. Thomas the Tank Engine and all.

Michael Douglas' performance as Hank Pym steals the show. Both Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly are good in their roles, but it takes a while to establish them as likable characters. From the moment Douglas steps on screen, he looks comfortable in the role of Hank Pym—like it was made for him.

Unlike Age of Ultron's scenes of forced set-up, Ant Man naturally weaves its story with characters, events and themes from the broader MCU. The inclusion of the MCU is not a side-story that has no impact on the plot, it is a integral part of it. One pivotal exchange between Ant Man and a certain Avenger halfway through the movie perfectly encapsulates the MCU's importance to the plot.

For all that Ant Man does right, there is one glaring problem with it: Darren Cross. A villain doesn't get anymore one-note and generic than him—even his name sounds generic. In all seriousness, all the scenes setting Cross up as the villain are just painful to watch. Instead of coming off as threatening and unstable, Cross is wacky and cartoonish. Good thing the movie stops focusing on his development about a quarter into it.

Although the events of Ant Man may seem microscopic in comparison to the world and even universe-spanning adventures of recent Marvel movies like Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy, it stands among the best movies Marvel has ever produced. While it doesn't have the big names or explosive spectacles that make most summer blockbusters, Ant Man is a movie that you shouldn't overlook.