"You know what I see in your future....possibility"
Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is an acclaimed brain surgeon who has saved many lives. One day, the doctor is involved in a car accident which results in him having extensive injuries, including his hands. Strange wants complete healing, but finds out his hands have permanent nerve damage that may not be repairable. Desperate to find an answer, he hears word of an ancient healing in Kathmandu, Nepal and flies there. Upon finding the place, he encounters the one known as the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who begins to show him the ways of the Dark Arts. Strange quickly becomes a master, and potentially a superhero as well.
On the positive end, the visual scope of this film is amazingly impressive. From the kaleidoscopic-style world merging to the grafity-defying action sequences, the creative ante for Marvel has quickly escalated to a high level. The film hardly ever misses in being convincing in its visual extravagance. The action sequences are both thrilling and engage on many levels. In many ways, Doctor Strange is a mixture of Disney live-action fairy tales with Inception and The Last Airbender.
As the titular character, Cumberbatch is appropriately egotistical and humorous. As a Brit, he does bring a very good American accent here, and gives the comic character a look that does honor the character (based on the sketches I've seen). Fangirls of the actor won't be disappointed. But, the scene-stealer of the movie goes to Swinton, who is surprisingly very effective in her role. She could have chosen to go down a dark and serious path with this character, but her mysterious character has more personality and charm than what you might expect. There's this light-hearted tone to her that makes her a memorable character. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Benedict Wong are also given a handful of great moments too.
Michael Giacchino scores his first Marvel film with the usual terrific setpieces (his new version of the Marvel logo is pretty awesome), though none of them are quite as memorable as his work in The Incredibles and Tomorrowland among others. The film moves at a steady pace through its near 2-hour running time, and its script carries a handful of hilarious moments (making the Doctor's cape a character was one of the best choices by the production team, as the object reminded me some of the Magic Carpet from Aladdin). The mid-credit scene was surprisingly good as well, as it hinted at a future Marvel movie (no spoilers).
On the downside, the major weakness is the villain, which is a major disappointment. Mads Mikkelson is sadly underutilized here as Kaecilius. We don't hear too much about him in terms of a purpose for what he's doing, and he's hardly ever given much of a chance to speak (at least in English, save for one interrogation scene). We see him do the usual, "I am going to destroy the world! Danger! Boom!", but unlike the more sophisticated villain of Captain America: Civil War, this one takes several steps back into more cliched and stereotypical territory.
Rachel McAdams is also very underutilized here as a fellow nurse in Strange's hospital. Also, while the film does succeed in making you laugh some, there are several other out of left-field moments that just don't hit. One joke in particular involving a couple of scenes involving Beyonce's "Single Ladies" song felt very out of place.
Finally, I felt the movie had several repetitive elements, particularly in the main character's story arc. In some ways, it felt reminiscent of Iron Man. Now learning magic isn't the same as getting a metal heart of sorts for healing, but his arrogance to kindness change is something we just have all seen before. Ant-Man at least subverted the plot last time for showing a thief with an overall good heart becoming a major superhero.
Doctor Strange marks a departure of sorts for Marvel's still-strong Cinematic Universe, as it delves into a more magical and dark place than many of its predecessors (Thor may have hinted at Greek mysticism sometimes, but it doesn't do much in terms of true blue magic). That being said, it still carries the same light-hearted, bouncy and somewhat fun feel of most of its predecessors (Civil War somewhat excluded).
And, in some ways, Scott Derrickson's effort to bring one of Marvel's more interesting characters to the screen works really well. Visually, its' a blast. Marvel just keeps raising the ceiling in terms of creativity. Action and special effects fanatics will find a whole lot to really engulf themselves in here. This may be one of those movies that is worth seeing on an IMAX screen to really get the gist of the whole shebang.
However, Doctor Strange never hits the heights of Marvel's finest movies, including earlier this year's Civil War. The story, when broken down, is too basic, straightforward and unoriginal (it is an origin story, to be fair though). The villain is forgettable. And while it does remain light-hearted and light on its feet like many Marvel movies before it, there are times where the attempts at laughs and pop-culture references feel forced and stale.
It's clear that the film isn't groundbreaking or strong enough to really be a classic. But for comic book and MCU movie fans, Strange is still a reasonably entertaining, exciting, and visually striking entry.
Score: 6.7/10
Content Problems Families Should Be Aware Of:
Language: Three uses of the s-word (in shock mostly), and two each of "a--hole" and "h---". "Oh my g--" is interjected in shock five times. Strange comes close to saying the f-bomb once by going "oh fffff..." in one of his time loops.
Adult Content: Almost none. One kiss on the cheek. Strange mistakenly guesses his co-worker had been "sleeping with someone".
Violence: First is the semi-disturbing views in the surgical room. Though the camera dashes away showing any real gore, some of it is still a little hard to see. We see a needle go through someone's chest, and in an X-ray, a bullet removed from someone's brain. We see people punch, kick, hit, and smack. Someone is held on his arms and legs by ropes, before being beheaded (off-screen in shadow). People fall from various heights. People fight to nearly the death, in both physical and ghostly forms. Someone is electrocuted. The car crash Strange is involved in is intense, he spins out and crashes headfirst (his face and hands are bloodied). We see his damaged body in the hospital with one eye swollen shut and he wakes with his hands held up by a mangled contraption. One moment features in a never-ending time loop, Strange being killed many times by impaling, blast, vaporization, etc. One character is killed off.
Drugs/Alcohol: Nothing really. Strange asks (as a result of the magical visions seen) if something was put in his tea. Someone drinks a large cup of beer (before being magically refilled).
Other: Strange breaks rules frequently. He steals books. He manipulates space and time without permission. And he speeds up his training without help. Early in the film, after his accident, he treats his friends and co-workers harshly (though he later changes his tune). The film almost revolves around the use of the "Dark Arts", which mixes Eastern mysticism with "spells" and magic (the villain invokes a portal and spell at a church of all places). This is certainly something parents with older children will have to use discernment on.
