Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tilda Swinton, Rachel McAdams

Directed by Scott Derrickson

The Story:
Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a world-renowned neurosurgeon who's rich, famous and haughty who doesn't care much for people, even his fellow surgeon and former lover Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams).  After getting involved in a high-speed car crash, he looses the use of his hands, and delves into a depression as he tries in vain to find any way to regain control of his hands.

He finds a man who was once paralyzed but is now able to walk again, and the man leads him to Kathmandu, Nepal, to find the temple Kamar-Taj.  Before he arrived, the Kamar-Taj was attacked by former student and sorcerer Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), who stole pages from a book he's planning on using to summon the Dark Dimensional demon known as Dormammu.  After he arrives, Strange meets the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and her most trusted and talented student Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor).  Strange is introduced to the multi-dimensional world and asks the Ancient One to train him, but she refuses due to his arrogance before reluctantly agreeing.

As the months go by, Strange grows in the knowledge of the mystical arts and develops faster than anyone imagined.  He's told of the thee Sanctums that protect the world from dark forces such as Dormammu, and they're being attacked by Kaecilius and his henchmen.  Strange is forced to use his knowledge to combat them and close a portal that could bring about the end of the world.

The Synopsis:
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is vastly growing and expanding.  At one point in time, it seemed like we'd never see another dimension of the franchise outside the most well-known superheroes such as Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the Incredible Hulk.  Thankfully, due to the massive success of the franchise, they were able to branch out and test some lesser-known heroes such as Ant-Man and now the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange.

Doctor Strange's origin story isn't something out of the ordinary, especially for a Marvel film.  Strange is an egotistical, uncaring, flippant character who's wealthy, charismatic and charming (if you pit him against Tony Stark, it would be an interesting diatribe, can't wait to see them together in "Infinity Wars"), and as with pretty much any Marvel character, experiences a life-altering setback that forces him to delve into areas never thought possible to fix things and restore normality, but here life turns into anything but normal.  

This is where "Doctor Strange" varies greatly from any previous MCU outing - with the exception of "Ant-Man" that teased the concept of multiple universes - by introducing and delving more into the idea of the Multiverse and focusing on mystic powers rather than superpowers.  Here the film is at its most stunning, with amazing, Oscar-worthy visuals reminiscent of "Inception" as they visit the Mirror Dimension - a dimension within our own world where they can bend physics and make anything happen - from splitting buildings in half to collapsing worlds and bending gravity itself.  This clearly makes it the most visually stunning MCU movie to date, and entices the viewers with rich, lush, vibrant visual colors that stimulate the mind and keeps you enthralled in the story.

Still, despite its amazing venture into CGI territory, the film itself doesn't really push the envelope in ways of origin story-telling.  This is where the film falls short, but it doesn't necessarily take away from the amazing whole the film delivers, and that is in the rather weak characterizations.

Even though he had to endure a life-altering pain, Doctor Strange really doesn't grow humble like Thor did, nor did he really change his ways like Scott Lang did.  He remained rather egotistical and self-serving pretty much until the end, and he doesn't really suffer in the ways of learning the mystical arts.  At first he struggles somewhat, but then he catches on with pinpoint brilliance and pretty much in no time harnesses the power of astro-projection and even bending time itself.  Fans of the comic would be glad to know that Strange's Eye of Agamotto plays a huge role in this film, as he uses it often to escape situations.  He doesn't truly experience real pain or struggle, which diminishes slightly his story.  Thankfully, they cast Benedict Cumberbatch in the role, and his natural acting charisma and intelligence allows us to forgive such infractions and lets us root for the hero.

The supporting characters are extremely underused as well, considering you have an Oscar winner and two Oscar nominees vying for screen time.  Chiwetel Ejiofor's Mordo is nothing more than a glorified right-hand man who thankfully isn't the bumbling fool you see in most action movies, but still doesn't really pack a punch.  Rachel McAdams is easily the weakest female love interest in any MCU movie (congratulations, Natalie Portman, you've finally lost your spot as the most useless love interest), as she just serves as Strange's wannabe lover counterpart who performs a few surgeries and is then heard from no more.

Oscar winner Tilda Swinton comes out of the film relatively unscathed, and has the biggest role in the film other than Strange himself.  As the Ancient One, she exudes knowledge she would've learned throughout the decades, and teaches Strange with a gruff - but also caring - nature.  She's the smartest person in the room, and she shows it thanks to Swinton's unique style of performance that borders on the absurd, but is grounded just enough to make her endearing.  However, even her casting met with skepticism and criticism, as the role of the Ancient One in the comics went to an Asian male.  Director Scott Derrickson said he didn't want to cast an Asian man in fears of typecasting and stereotyping the role, and that's why he chose Tilda Swinton instead, but he was still charged by many with whitewashing the role.  While I agree it should've been an Asian man like the comics, Swinton still made it her own and excelled at it.

Quite possibly the biggest infraction in the MCU is in its weak villains.  You can't really remember any villain in any MCU movie, because they're all that bland.  Malekith ("Thor: The Dark World"), Ronan ("Guardians of the Galaxy"),  Obaiah ("Iron Man"), Whiplash ("Iron Man 2"), Yellowjacket ("Ant-Man"), Aldrich Killian ("Iron Man 3"), and even Ultron ("Age of Ultron") are incredibly unmemorable and plain, and the only exception in the villain category has been Loki.  With "Doctor Strange," we're yet again introduced to a rather weak villain in Kaecilius.  Mads Mikkelsen portrayed one of the most prolific villains in cinematic history in Hannibal Lector in the television series "Hannibal," but here he's merely a plot device to keep the story going.  He's nothing more than a glorified henchman for Dormammu, whose true rationale isn't fully explored and we're once again given a rather lackluster lead villain.

Another aspect that sets the MCU apart is in its use of dry, sarcastic humor, and here it doesn't really devolve from that.  While still endearing and humorous, it sometimes borders on the absurd, especially when it comes to Strange and Kaecilius' first introduction:
Kaecilius: "You'll die defending this world, Mister..."
Dr. Strange: "Doctor!"
Kaecilius: "Mister Doctor."
Dr. Strange: "It's Strange."
Kaecilius: "Maybe, who am I to judge?"

While a funny, witty banter, it serves to diminish the importance of the purpose.  With the possible extinction of mankind due to an inter-dimensional being, you'd expect it to be more serious.  Still, it's MCU's bread and butter, and if it's worked for them so far, why change something that's not broken?  However, I'm holding out hope that there won't be such careless banter in "Infinity Wars," since, you know, Thanos can possibly eliminate all existence with the snap of a finger.

It might seem like I'm harping on the movie, but that is far from the truth.  I found the film to be a new, refreshing story that kept my attention from start to finish, and one I wouldn't mind seeing again and again.

The Summary:

Due to the mystical story, the dazzling CGI, the amazing costume designs and the impeccable Benedict Cumberbatch, I found "Doctor Strange" to be a refreshing, unique origin story filled with action, humor and even some heart. 

The Score: A