My thoughts:
+ The film as a whole is definitely in my upper tier of Marvel films, and in Phase 2, squarely behind Guardians and Winter Soldier.
+ The Michael Douglas CGI in the opening scene was seamless and quite amazing.
+ Evangeline Lilly's performance was great, and it was nice to see her finally flexing her acting chops after Lost.
+ Most of the humor was well-done and got a lot of laughs, although some of it (like the Hank confession/Hope reconciliation scene) was a bit oddly-paced.
+ The character designs, the subtle ties into the larger universe, the ant abilities and the more personal conflict ultimately made this a very satisfying movie for me.
+ Cross was a great villain (in terms of malice and the execution of his plan), and that disintegration/toilet death was surprisingly dark for a kid-friendly Marvel film.
+ Michael Pena was easily one of the best parts of the film, being equal parts goofy, earnest and awkward in equal measure.
+ You can definitely feel the echoes of Wright's ideas, although I think it benefits from balancing the moments of absurdity with the larger universe callbacks and personal stakes.
+ There were some highly amusing/surprising moments, like the paddle takedown, the suitcase/train fight, and the reveal of the giant pet ant at the end, which was hilarious.
+ Definitely liked that the "subatomic" universe was introduced in such a full-fledged way. Felt like a 2001: A Space Odyssey tribute.
+ Loved the tank keychain payoff in the Pym building.
- The first act is somewhat slow and oddly paced. It simultaneously delivers gobs of exposition without really saying anything at all.
- Seems Judy Greer has cornered the market as "that actress you call to portray someone having marital problems". She was pretty much a non-entity in the film, and just seemed to be present to scream near the end.
- There definitely needed to be some more exposition as to how Cross went insane, because all we get is a one-line handwave near the end that the particle was driving him crazy, even though other scientists should have been in proximity and were never reporting problems.
- I saw the Hydra twist coming the moment they showed that goofy Yellowjacket "concept" video, showing it executing people and blowing up limousines.
- I could go either way on the whole "ex-wife is seeing cop" angle. I felt like it might have been better for Paxton to have a heroic sacrifice to save Cassie, not the strangely-awkward breakfast scene near the end of the film. Likewise, Wood Harris (Avon Barksdale!) was wasted in his role.