Peyton Reed's Ant-Man and its sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp, are often seen as some of the more diversionary and fun MCU movies, as opposed to something major such as Captain America: Civil War or Avengers: Infinity War. They're light, breezy films that aren't too intense, and they can be enjoyed by the whole family.
The way Redditors see it, the Ant-Man movies may not be towards the very top of the Marvel pack, but they still found little ways to improve upon the comic books.
The Levity
Ant-Man is the best family-friendly superhero movie, thanks in large part to Paul Rudd's comedic expertise. He's an actor who can sell the lighter moments just as well as the action-packed ones, and holds his own against the Avengers not once but twice.
TragicEther wrote that "Paul Rudd is endearing as hell! So instantly, I'm on board. The levity in the movie is great. Basically, the whole movie is lighter than any of the other Marvel predecessors. Every one of the characters seems to have a punchline or funny moment. And all of the funny moments are great."
Scott And Hank's Dynamic
A couple of Redditors debated whether Scott Lang was a better character in the comics or in his MCU installments.
Rubixcubesforcharity started by saying he's a good character in the comics, but they prefer the cinematic adaptation: "He's good! I just think that the MCU handled the dynamic between Hank and Scott way better, with Hank being so much older, making both of them more interesting characters to me in the end." It's a good point, and the Pym-Lang dynamic is just one aspect that keeps the movie breezing along, especially when Hope enters the mix.
The Heist Angle
In hindsight, Ant-Man's plot was clear foreshadowing to the Time Heist in Avengers: Endgame. It also helped differentiate Peyton Reed's first quotable Ant-Man movie from the rest of the MCU. Furthermore, the heist angle received greater focus in the film than Ant-Man comics history would have indicated ahead of time, and it allowed the film a fast pace and cheeky tone.
CharlieBlix wrote of the angle, "It had the classic tropes of a heist movie. Impossible job. Building the crew. Montage of setting up the job. The twist during the job. Where it differed was all the science fiction stuff/superhero stuff. I thought it worked very nicely. Who would have thought that mixing Honey, I Shrunk the Kids with Ocean's Eleven and Iron Man would make a good movie?"
The Movies Streamline The Characters
Megadoomer2 wrote about how the film managed to narrow down decades of comics material to a relatively short film: "It streamlines characters, makes them easier to follow, and tends to compress decades of stories into a two-hour experience while leaving out the parts that people viewed negatively."
The Redditor doesn't think this exclusively applies to Ant-Man's solo films, either, as Captain America: Civil War (which also included Ant-Man) changed up Iron Man's limits as well. As the same Redditor wrote: "unlike Civil War in the comics, MCU! Tony Stark never tried to have his friends imprisoned in a hell dimension for life if they didn't agree to go along with a concept that wasn't even a law yet."
The Score
It's not their fault, but comic books don't have scores. Movies do, and the two Ant-Man films have some of the best music in the entire MCU.
Or, as TuckLeg put it, "The Ant-Man theme is top tier." NamelessDred then replied, "It literally plays in my head all day. Especially the version where Scott is comically shrunk running around the school." The second Redditor is referencing the miniature Scott scene from Ant-Man and the Wasp, which manages to be both tense and a laugh riot.
The Dynamic Between Scott Lang And Jimmy Woo
James "Jimmy" Woo has made guest appearances in a number of Marvel properties. However, he wasn't introduced to the MCU until Ant-Man and the Wasp, and his inclusion was just one thing that pushed the sequel above the original. His awkward banter with Lang is easily his most iconic scene in an Ant-Man movie thus far, if not the MCU as a whole (including WandaVision).
Or, as Knautical_J put it: "Ant-Man and Jimmy Woo have the best relationship in the MCU. One of the best exchanges in the entire MCU is when Jimmy goes 'I’ll be seeing you' and Scott goes 'Where?'. Then the whole thing that follows is just gold."
Three Wombats
Michael Peña's Luis is a fan-favorite character who was created specifically for the MCU. He, along with the two other "Wombats" (a name bestowed upon them by Hank Pym), is the highpoint of the already-funny film's comic relief. They're also a few of Ant-Man's best friends in the MCU, and they never let him down.
One Redditor measured them up against the Warriors Three from the Thor movies, whom the Redditor described as "basically window dressing for two whole movies" whereas the Three Wombats "are integral parts of Scott's adventures." Youtwoo cited Peña's character specifically: "I love Luis since the moment he first appeared with the 'but I got the van...' speech."
The Organic And Positive Look At Family Life
One of the warmest dynamics in the MCU is Lang's relationship with his daughter, Cassie. Furthermore, his interactions with Maggie, his ex-wife, feel very refreshingly real. One Redditor wrote that they "...liked how they portrayed family in Ant-Man and the Wasp and how Scott has a good relationship with his ex and her husband." Sovem seems to agree, considering they cited the Redditor's words and wrote "This is so underrated, and also how the new step-father is not a jerk."
Just as Lang's interactions with Maggie are healthy for the sake of their daughter, so too is his relationship with Maggie's new husband, Paxton. There's simmering contention, but Paxton is written as attentive and compassionate as opposed to the typical evil step-parent. The Ant-Man movies could have been forgiven for focusing on action and comedy over small moments, but there was thankfully more attention paid to balance. Or, as smootygrooty described the characters' relationship: "The lack of portraying Scott's ex's new husband as a bad guy is something special that there should be more of." In the comics, the character's name was Blake Burdick, and he was fairly bland, so the films took great strides to expand the character beyond two dimensions.