Ant-Man Review: 8 Ways It's Better Than Avengers: Age Of Ultron

6. The Foreshadowing Fits Into The Narrative

Age Of Ultron starts dealing with the loose threads of Captain America: The Winter Soldier before making its way to setting up Black Panther, after which the gang takes stock and invests time in character relationships ahead of Captain America: Civil War, while Thor leaves to lay groundwork for Thor: Ragnarok. Basically, every plot beat is explicitly structured so that, while ostensibly tying into Ultron's scheme, they're setting up one of the later Phase 3 movies. The ultimate result is an obvious one, with the plot at hand feeling secondary and the movie lacking the usual wealth of cool Marvel Easter eggs. Ant-Man features a lot more hinting towards the future of the MCU than its standalone nature suggests, but it never once feels forced or detrimental to the major plot. You come out with various exciting theories about where things can go, but can enjoy the movie's events on their own merits. A big reason behind this is the expectation and brand involved; Avengers is a billion dollar smasher that draws in Marvel's biggest audience and thus has much more responsibility in both providing a mainstream experience and introducing some of the franchise's more abstract future concepts. Ant-Man, a comparatively smaller movie, has the freedom to play free and loose, which allows for more creative inclusions.