Marvel deserves a lot of credit for making the general movie audience care about their lesser known comic book properties. Last year, I had minimal knowledge about Ant-Man and I ended up enjoying it a great deal. The same can be said about Guardians of the Galaxy which I didn’t even know was a comic book before that film hit screens. To not have much of a reference and still come out of films like those thinking you learned a bit about the characters and you want to know more is a testament to their storytelling. Doctor Strange can now be added to the list of their properties that many may not know but satisfies on multiple levels as a highly entertaining film. I knew the basics about the character but the film does a good job of providing us with an origin story that’s engaging while also not being bogged down by numerous introductions.
Doctor Strange opens with the introduction of the brilliant but arrogant neurosurgeon Stephen Strange, whose professional skills make him one of the most desired doctors in New York City but whose interpersonal skills turn off just about everyone. One night, while driving his car too fast and paying too little attention to the road ahead, he becomes the victim of a brutal crash. He survives but his hands are horribly shredded. The nerve damage guarantees that he’ll never practice medicine again. Desperate for any strand of hope, he travels to a monastery in Nepal where he trains under the tutelage of The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and her disciple, Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), learning how to bend reality, control time, and create alternate universes. It’s through this that he finds a much bigger purpose in life.
This is a movie that is high on special effects. Thankfully for a film that utilizes so much CGI, the effects and visuals are a truly dazzling and dizzying experience. They add a lot to many sequences and it’s not used as a crutch to cover up a weak story. A lot of critics have called the film Marvel’s version of Inception and that’s a very fair comparison. There is one sequence and chase that truly stands out where characters appear to be fleeing through a landscape where the laws of physics no longer apply. I didn’t see the film in IMAX 3D but I hear that it adds a lot to these scenes and it may get another viewing from me to see how much it enhances the scenes as a whole.
One of the main reasons the film rises above most of its counterparts is a truly impressive cast. Benedict Cumberbatch feels like he was born to play the role. Not only does he look the part but he inhabits him with the greatest of ease. This isn’t someone who is slumming it in a big budget film for a paycheck. You can tell he’s having a blast playing the part. He even plays double duty as the cosmic boss, Dormammu, which results in a confrontation with Strange that allows the film to achieve goals that many of their other films haven’t touched yet.
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Tilda Swinton add some more gravitas and class to the project while Mads Mikkelsen is top notch as the villain, Kaecilius. I wasn’t too sold on his look (just a minor criticism) but he adds a lot to the part that isn’t on the page. The only acting issue is Rachel McAdams but it isn’t the fault of the actress. She’s saddled with a pretty underwritten part that she could basically sleepwalk through. There is future potential for her so I can forgive this issue but I just wish she had more to do.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe just keeps getting better with each new offering. Doctor Strange isn’t the best of the bunch but it’s tonally different from what we’ve seen before which makes it feel like a fresh experience. It definitely made me want more and that’s the job of any good comic book movie.
Reel Talk gives Doctor Strange 3 Reels
