Written by: Kevin Berge
Watch as a terribly arrogant man gets power he doesn't deserve and it makes him a better man. If only this were always true. (Image Courtesy of: comicbook.com)
Quick Take: Doctor Strange takes a colorful and wild ride with the Marvel origin story formula with a ton of strong performances and well placed building blocks for a complicated foundation. While its story will not turn heads, its action and performances are well worth seeing.
***This review is for the recently released Doctor Strange, so the reader is not expected to have seen the movie yet. This is spoiler-free with only allusions to plot details.***
You've never seen anything like Doctor Strange. Okay, that's a lie. In some ways, this movie is completely unique and captivating. In other ways, it is about as generic as Marvel gets with all the somewhat unnecessary comedy and oddly convenient storytelling that comes with that.
As someone who has immensely enjoyed the development of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these origin story chapters for Marvel have always been the most rocky. They hit or miss based upon their cast and their concept.
Luckily, Doctor Strange has about as good a cast as you could hope for and a concept that makes it one of the most unique and captivating experience put on screen in recent years.
Doctor Steven Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is an arrogant surgeon who may just be the best in his field. When he is forced to step out of that field and enter a whole new world of magic though, he becomes just a novice with limitless potential.
Among those Strange meets along the way are the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), an ancient woman of immense power, Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a fellow sorcerer, Wong (Benedict Wong), the sorcerer librarian, and Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelson), a mysterious sorcerer out for mysterious power.
Where this movie succeeds is in its execution of its magic. Director Scott Derrickson (Sinister) brings to life world-bending ability with visual splendor that often echoes his horror roots. Everything is twisting and moving in such ways that it is easier to latch on than fully follow.
You've never seen anything like Doctor Strange. Okay, that's a lie. In some ways, this movie is completely unique and captivating. In other ways, it is about as generic as Marvel gets with all the somewhat unnecessary comedy and oddly convenient storytelling that comes with that.
As someone who has immensely enjoyed the development of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these origin story chapters for Marvel have always been the most rocky. They hit or miss based upon their cast and their concept.
Luckily, Doctor Strange has about as good a cast as you could hope for and a concept that makes it one of the most unique and captivating experience put on screen in recent years.
Doctor Steven Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is an arrogant surgeon who may just be the best in his field. When he is forced to step out of that field and enter a whole new world of magic though, he becomes just a novice with limitless potential.
Among those Strange meets along the way are the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), an ancient woman of immense power, Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a fellow sorcerer, Wong (Benedict Wong), the sorcerer librarian, and Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelson), a mysterious sorcerer out for mysterious power.
Where this movie succeeds is in its execution of its magic. Director Scott Derrickson (Sinister) brings to life world-bending ability with visual splendor that often echoes his horror roots. Everything is twisting and moving in such ways that it is easier to latch on than fully follow.
Tilda Swinton plays a convincing other world being which I think is a complement. Not sure she quite pulls of being Asian though. (Image Courtesy of: variety.com)
The cast are also all great. Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) has played the cocky and unlikable role many times before and fits well in it though is not quite the charismatic charming force that some of his MCU stars are.
The best performance in the film comes from Chitewel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) who dominates the screen in a conflicted role that screams for more down the road. Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton), Mads Mikkelson (Hannibal), and Rachel McAdams (Spotlight) all feel somewhat underutilized but are great in their parts.
Where the movie does not hit as well is in its scripting. The comedy throughout is extremely hit-and-miss even just within certain scenes. Meanwhile, the plot is fairly cut-and-paste from other Marvel origin stories, particularly echoing Iron Man.
This would not be as much of a problem if the climax did what Marvel has not done previous and developed the villain well, but this all feels like it is about Strange and not the huge threats. The conclusion is a bit too clean and makes the sometimes frightening Kaecilius look silly.
Throughout, this movie knows what it can do and how far it can go. The concepts involved all work. There is just the origin story issue. When we get round two of Doctor Strange especially with Derrickson still at the helm, we should see a far more complete film.
I certainly want to see more from this side of the MCU especially to see more from Cumberbatch as Strange bending worlds. Marvel just needed to get another origin story out of the way which just shows the MCU has a fundamental issue with introducing new characters.
The best performance in the film comes from Chitewel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) who dominates the screen in a conflicted role that screams for more down the road. Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton), Mads Mikkelson (Hannibal), and Rachel McAdams (Spotlight) all feel somewhat underutilized but are great in their parts.
Where the movie does not hit as well is in its scripting. The comedy throughout is extremely hit-and-miss even just within certain scenes. Meanwhile, the plot is fairly cut-and-paste from other Marvel origin stories, particularly echoing Iron Man.
This would not be as much of a problem if the climax did what Marvel has not done previous and developed the villain well, but this all feels like it is about Strange and not the huge threats. The conclusion is a bit too clean and makes the sometimes frightening Kaecilius look silly.
Throughout, this movie knows what it can do and how far it can go. The concepts involved all work. There is just the origin story issue. When we get round two of Doctor Strange especially with Derrickson still at the helm, we should see a far more complete film.
I certainly want to see more from this side of the MCU especially to see more from Cumberbatch as Strange bending worlds. Marvel just needed to get another origin story out of the way which just shows the MCU has a fundamental issue with introducing new characters.