Director: Scott Derrickson
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton
Release Date: November 4th, 2016
Spoiler Free Review
In my opinion, the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to be the most thought out and diverse franchise I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. The fourteenth film has dropped and it brings with it a very different superhero. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the titular hero, a renowned arrogant surgeon, who after losing his hands in a ghastly accident, turns to unorthodox means to heal himself but ends being a superhero. Doctor Strange was created by Stan Lee (who obviously had a cameo in the film) and Steve Ditko. The story bears a resemblance to past films like the MCU’s Iron Man (wealthy, arrogant guy has an accident and learns humility to become a superhero) and The Matrix (a chosen one learns under a mentor to save the world from maniacal bad guy and an unstoppable force)*.
Cumberbatch does an amazing job playing Strange (apparently the producers have always wanted Cumberbatch to play the role, even shifting release dates so it doesn’t clash with his other film assignments). The way he carries himself is just the way I imagined the character to be. Rachel McAdams plays Dr Christine Palmer and sadly, is given only a few scenes to shine in. Mads Mikkelsen plays Kaecilius, a typical Marvel baddie, wants to get more power and live eternally, not caring how many lives are at stake. A bit too generic for my tastes, Marvel, we’ve seen them before, care to up your game? Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Benedict Wong play The Ancient One, Karl Mordo and Wong respectively. They did just fine and they were very suitable for those roles.
Now I have to talk about the visuals for this movie. It was fantastic. There were these amazing scenes that were well put together to give this psychedelic, trippy kind of feel. In a way, it reminded me of Inception but here, it was taken to a whole other level. Twisting buildings, bending roads, vast other worldly scenes (very reminiscent of Steve Ditko’s art in the character’s first comic book series). It’s all very stunning. My advice, you should watch it in IMAX 3D.
Conclusion
Overall, it is a really enjoyable film to see, for the first film to introduce mysticism to the MCU. It was done just right. Good action and fun humor all rolled up in amazing visuals. Not as great the Captain America movies and better than the Thor movies, Doctor Strange is a movie to see for yourself. Can’t wait to see him work with the Avengers.
Score: 8/10
* I won’t go into details since this a spoiler free review.
