Ant-Man’s Villian is Nothing But Wasted Potential

So, I finally got to see Ant-Man yesterday. I know, I know, late to the party (wait until you hear that I haven’t even seen Ultron yet), but as I left the theaters I realized something awfully sad.

Before I get to that sad thing, I need to cover my bases. I really loved Ant-Man. The CGI was great, it had a real ‘weight’ to it. I loved the fact it was a heist film. Paul Rudd and Michael Douglass gave fantastic performances. Ant-Man is by far the funniest MCU movie yet (though, it’s only real competition is GotG). Ant-Man might not have a chance at the ‘Best MCU Movie’ award, but it was definitely a fun time.

Now, back to the sad thing. It’s no secret that Marvel seems to have a problem getting the villains right in their movies. But I never really felt bothered by it. Sure, Ronan the Accuser was a pretty boring antagonist, but it felt like that’s all they could do with him, so I let it slide.

Darren Cross, the antagonist of Ant-Man, however, does not feel like that. In fact, Darren Cross had the potential to be a fantastic villain. Spoiler Alert: he isn’t.

What do I mean? Well, Darren Cross is your typical money-focused evil businessman, but he’s also more than that; he’s the apprentice of Hank Pym, obsessed with finding his mentor’s secrets. He’s also slightly off his rocker due to his exposure to the Pym Particle.

There is so much potential here! Perhaps a flashback of when Hank left him, and have him gradually get crazier as the film progresses could have really given him some more depth.

But I’m not a filmmaker so I don’t know. What I do know is that there was so much potential in Darren Cross, and Ant-Man would have been a much better movie with that potential harnessed.