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There are few heroes in the Marvel catalog that are weird as the Master of the Mystic Arts, the Sorcerer Supreme himself, Doctor Stephen Strange. As a character that favors magic over brute force and more mind-bending stories over traditional action-adventure, I was beginning to wonder if we’d ever get a proper adaptation of his story. Now, just as I’m starting to get sick of superhero movies, Marvel Studios is releasing his story at last, helmed by Sinister director Scott Derrickson. Is this film Marvel magic, or is it another boring retread? Let’s find out.
Doctor Strange begins with a day in the life of successful neurosurgeon Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), an arrogant and viciously sarcastic man who is obsessed with both his work and letting others know how much better he is than them. He is humbled after a terrible car accident robs him of the ability to use his hands properly, sending him into a huge downward spiral that leaves him searching for new ways to heal himself. At the end of his rope, Strange travels to Nepal, where he meets an enigmatic woman known as the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who takes him in to teach him the ways of sorcery. However, dark forces are afoot, as the rogue sorcerer Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) seeks to bring the forces of another dimension to consume the Earth, and only Strange and his ally Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) stand in his way.
The script for this film is both one of the most inspired things to come out of Marvel and one of the most frustrating, because there is so much that is great in it. The dialogue is witty and clever when it needs to be, most of the action scenes are well-plotted out, and the characterization of its main hero is spot-on. I especially liked the final conclusion of the film, which is a much more clever and inventive solution for a giant end of the world climax than I've seen in most recent blockbusters. It’s clear that the writers, including C. Robert Cargill (a guy who has been a huge influence on me) and Derrickson, put a lot of thought into this script, and when things break free from the Marvel formula it really shines.
Of course, a script isn’t nearly as good if the cast sucks, and once again Marvel has put together a great one. Benedict Cumberbatch is great as Dr. Strange, perfectly capturing the arrogance and intelligence of the original character while adding some of his own charm to make him still likable. Chiwetel Ejiofor is great as Mordo, almost to the point where you feel like he thinks this is an Oscar movie, and he provides a lot of weight to a character that has a tumultuous relationship with our hero in the comics. Even though his characterization gets neglected or rushed at certain points, he sells it very well. Rounding out the trio of great performances is Tilda Swinton, a controversial but excellent choice to play the Ancient One. Combining both warmth and a strangely alien attitude, the Ancient One is a very cool character that can be humorous, tragic, and totally badass all at the same time, and Swinton does an excellent job conveying all of these things. The supporting cast, including Rachel McAdams as Strange’s love interest and Benedict Wong as… Wong, even though they are given far less to do.
As nice as those things are, the absolute best thing about this movie are the visuals, which have officially surpassed Inception to become the coolest visual effects I have seen in a decade, if not longer. Taking inspiration from Dr. Strange co-creator Steve Ditko, one of the greatest artists to ever grace a comic book, the visuals are incredibly trippy and make you feel like you’re on an acid trip even if you’re stone cold sober. There is a scene early on where the Ancient One takes Dr. Strange on a tour of the universe using her magic, and my jaw was on the floor seeing just how weird the film was willing to get. This scene is topped by the big set piece where Kaecilius turns New York City into a giant kaleidoscope effect and separates it into little flying islands, and the end where Dr. Strange saves the day in what I can only describe as a “reverse Man of Steel.” This is a film that must be seen on the big screen to get full enjoyment, and I tip my hat to Derrickson and the special effects team that made this happen.
The frustrating thing about this film is that for everything great about it, something reaches out and holds it back. The script, so great in some parts, is surprisingly lame in others. There are plenty of bad jokes layered throughout that aren’t funny at all, and there are scenes with shocking tone dissonance, such as the first intense confrontation between Strange and Kaecilius turning into basically an Abbot and Costello routine thanks to Strange’s cloak. And for as good as the actors are, everyone except for Strange gets short-changed in terms of character development, with other main characters only getting development when it feels like the filmmakers had to add it in. I’d argue Mordo gets it the worst, as he says one thing in one scene to develop character, disappears for awhile, then returns to say something else that changes his character, and then the cycle repeats. The fact that he’s so important to the story only makes this worse, but I’m not sure who to blame for this. There was a lot of exposition that had to be delivered as well, and given that it only had two hours to introduce a whole other side of the Marvel Universe and develop a new hero, I’m sure certain things had to be sacrificed. However, that doesn’t mean I’m giving it a pass.
Here’s where we get into the “Marvel formula’s at it again” section of my complaints. Kaecilius is a lame villain, basically serving only as a plot device and given no real chance to be an actual character. There is some nice banter between him and Strange, and there’s even a scene where he does get to explain himself, but the problem is that Mads Mikkelsen acts like he couldn’t give a damn about this film and was just trying to conjure up a paycheck. He’s a fantastic actor, and even in his sleep he could turn in a decent performance, but there are scenes where he’s trying to seduce Strange to his side and it just doesn’t connect at all because it feels like Mikkelsen isn’t into it. This hurts every Marvel film in my opinion, as I feel that a hero is only as good as his/her villain, and Kaecilius yet again falls into the forgettable category.
Finally, we need to address the fact that this film is basically Iron Man all over again, except with magic instead of technology. Seriously, I could lay out the plot beats of this film and not mention any names, and you would probably think that I was describing another one of Marvel’s films and not pick this one. That’s because Marvel has decided, as a business practice, to basically make the same movie over and over and over again and not take any risks. That’s fair, as it has worked out well for them financially, but if any film should be allowed to break the mold, it’s freaking Doctor Strange. And the pieces of that film are there, from the way it’s filmed to some of the more unique aspects of the script, but each time something original and cool gets to breathe the formula comes in and forces the writers to bend to its will and get back to generic Marvel territory. This is something I’m steadily getting more and more frustrated by, and while I can’t blame anyone involved for adhering to this structure (especially with how domineering the studio is), I wish Marvel would just take a risk with their stories and stop treating the audience like they’re stupid for once. But more on that later, because I smell a commentary article.
In a brief YMMV section, if you are a huge comic book geek who thinks everything has to be exactly like it is in the comics, you will both be delighted and repulsed by this film. There are references to extremely obscure parts of the Marvel Universe (one made to the damn Living Tribunal literally made me sit up in my seat) and certain characters appear in brief flashes that got me excited, but in order to fit the cinematic universe they’ve twisted a few things as well. The attempt to explain how magic works comes across kinda clunky, as they try to fit it in with the more sci-fi heavy aspects of the universe while also appearing mystical, and it makes you long for Suicide Squad’s approach to magic, which was to just say “oh, it’s magic.” Finally, the way they change Dr. Strange’s signature artifact, the Eye of Agamotto, is a little ridiculous and screams of “yeah we had to shoehorn this MacGuffin in here somehow, so why not right here.” I’m not someone who cares about that as much, but I’m just putting this here to warn those who are so I don’t get any complaints.
Doctor Strange is my favorite Marvel film post-Guardians, but that’s almost a backhanded compliment. The visuals and the cast are top-notch, and the moments where the truly inspired elements of the script shine really show what this film could have been. However, the more formulaic elements and the usual problems with Marvel films deducted heavily from the experience, taking what could have been one of my favorite movies this year and knocking it down quite a few pegs. However, the visuals in this film are so amazing and quite frankly Oscar-worthy that you owe it to yourself to see it on the big screen.
My Rating: 3 ½ stars out of 5
Doctor Strange is in theaters now.
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