One of the trippiest, out-of-the-box Marvel movies yet, DOCTOR STRANGE is an action-filled but cerebral mind-bender.
Benedict Cumberbatch is terrific (when isn’t he?) as our title Neurosurgeon. Arrogant, extravagant and talented, he’s the best in the business. He won’t even consider operating on everyday patients, limiting his work to the nearly impossible cases that he’s determined to win on every level.
Early in the film, while driving his perfect car in his perfect clothes on the perfect seaside highway, Strange is distracted and has a horrific car accident, damaging his hands and body nearly beyond repair.
When he’s spent every dollar he has to repair them, he begins a more spiritual quest for a fix, where he is drawn into a very different dimension parallel to our own.
Tilda Swinton is excellent as The Ancient One, leading Strange on his path to awareness. Chiwetel Ejiofor is her right hand man Mordo and Benedict Wong (The Martian, Prometheus) delivers a lot of humor as a very serious librarian guarding some galaxy shaking secrets in his volumes.
As Strange delves deeper into the mystic realms between worlds, we are taken on a visual journey that at time rivals the “Jupiter” sequence in 2001. It’s that big of a trip and a superb, modern-day take on our expectations of what’s possible in visual storytelling and digital effects.
By the time Manhattan was folding into and out of itself again in some “Inception” like meeting of the dimensions, with fighters on both sides battling on every surface regardless of gravity, I was pulled quickly into the story and Strange’s new role in the Marvel universe.
What Marvel does so well with their films that DC films only even began to hint at with “Suicide Squad” is the merging of multiple characters within the Marvel Universe. It’s the consistency of story telling and style that they do so well. In a long shot of Manhattan, you can clearly see Stark’s AVENGERS tower in mid-town, looming near the new World Trade tower. Subtle and obvious links to many other films appear throughout.
Cumberbatch is a welcome add to the Marvel mix, bringing real dramatic weight and very well executed humor as well. His one-liners in the library are delivered perfectly in that subtle Connery Bond style that makes you laugh without distracting you from the character.
By its conclusion, the battle become a bit repetitive and a tad predictable in their outcome, but not enough to take away from a well executed mystery/action thriller.
Visually stunning in every day, it’s STRANGE in all the right ways and gets a B.
As always, stay tuned through the credits for some telling “sneaks” at what’s next (and some damn funny interactions with Thor).
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