This movie will make you care about the death of an ant.

No, I'm serious. There's a scene in 2015's Ant-Man where a lucky bullet takes out a plucky flying ant, and the image of the falling, fragile wing is genuinely emotional. Poor li'l guy.

The movie also makes you care about Ant-Man, who stands firmly among the ranks of Marvel Comics' B-list heroes. (Especially the Scott Lang version, featured here, which was never as cool as the original Hank Pym prototype.)

Scott comes to life through the talents of the immensely likable Paul Rudd, a never-aging actor who makes an adorable foray into Marvel's growing cinematic universe. When the movie begins, he's getting out of prison after a 3-year sentence for high-stakes burglary; it's the cleverness of the crime, as well as the apparent moral compass that inspired it, that draws the attention of former S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), who recruits Lang (through an audition heist of sorts) to help him recover some of technology from Pym's former company and Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), the power-hungry CEO who now runs it.

Also aiding Pym is his semi-estranged daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly), who remains bitter about the apparent death of her mother many years before but who remains active in her father's former company. And coming along with Scott to lend an assist on the way is a trio of petty crooks: Kurt (David Dastmalchian), Dave (Tip "T.I." Harris) and, foremost among them, the excitable Luis (Michael Pena), who has a charming way of recounting stories.

Oh yes, and Scott also gets a little help from a veritable army of obedient ants who can fly, bite and spin pennies as needed.

The object of their mission is the Yellowjacket suit, Cross's souped-up military version of Pym's original Ant-Man prototype. Cross wants to sell it to the highest bidder, in this case the evil global organization HYDRA, and Pym wants to steal it back so the technology isn't unleashed on the world.

In some ways, the plot is strongly reminiscent of the first Iron Man movie, with Cross replacing Jeff Bridges' ruthless Obadiah Stane. Even so, Ant-Man manages to stand on its own, in part because of the dynamic relationship between Scott and his young daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson), Scott's truest motivation. Support, of a different sort, appears in the form of Cassie's mother, Maggie (Judy Greer), and the new fellow in her life, Paxton (Bobby Cannavale), who also happens to be a cop.

The movie also makes clever use of a sense of scale, realizing that what appears to be a climactic battle at ant/wasp size looks entirely different to a standard-sized human. Accordingly, watch for the artful use of a ping-pong paddle and a bug zapper, as well as the tactical use of a Thomas the Tank Engine toy and a keychain.

The movie includes a pivotal appearance by Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon (Anthony Mackie), as well as brief cameos by Howard Stark (John Slattery) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell).

I recently started re-watching the MCU films -- in their release order, which seems to me the best way to watch them -- with my kids. While I've seen all of these movies before -- in some cases, more than once -- it's fun seeing them again through new eyes. My kids, at age 11, enjoy the movies immensely, and without the critical, more cynical eyes of older viewers. And yes, they definitely stand up after all this time. This one they particularly loved, in part because of Paul Rudd's performance (they know him from his viral video with Jimmy Fallon, "Teenie Weenie Beanie").

Next up: Captain America: Civil War. Can't wait!