THE ANTMAN (2003)

“The Antman” is a lovingly-made but sluggish monster-movie parody, done with German-speaking actors on a sparse soundstage standing in for 1950s Mexico. Promising concept is bolstered by colorful performances by Gotz Otto and Lars Rudolph, and the filmmakers have fun with pic’s look, right down to tacky lighting worthy of Roger Corman. But Marc Meyer’s script isn’t fast or funny enough to keep pace with energetic visuals. The first in a projected series of B-movie homages grouped as “Planet B,” the producers might want to call in Joe Dante to supervise the rest, as “Antman” seems unlikely to crawl very far beyond its native borders