(Reviewed by our guest critic, the Movie Knight)
Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is one of the top neurosurgeons in the world. A near fatal car accident leaves permanent nerve damage in his hands and he can no longer perform the brilliant surgery that made him famous. Western medicine fails to cure him and he heads East to Nepal where he believes someone called The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) can finally give him the cure he desperately seeks.
She doesn’t exactly offer him a cure, she only tells him “Forget everything you think you know,” and offers to teach him the mystic arts. Strange believes the whole thing is nonsense until The Ancient One sends him on a mind trip he will never forget. He becomes her pupil and quickly excels. A former student, Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) has gathered followers who seek to unleash the Dark Universe upon Earth and Doctor Strange may be the only one who can stop him.
The marvel Universe began eight years ago with Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The movie’s success is what allowed that universe to expand to what it is today and many fans use that first film as a basis on any movie that introduces a new character. Doctor Strange ranks right up there with Iron Man.
Right from the beginning, the visuals are really something to behold. This aspect brings about some of the most unique action sequences seen in a super hero movie. Disney always have their Marvel movies shot in 2D and converted to 3D in post-production, usually to unfavorable results. The conversion done here is achieved quite well and really adds to the experience to watching this story. However, if they actually used 3D cameras to shoot, this could have been one of the best 3D cinematic experiences that would have ranked right up there with Avatar.
This movie has been caught up in the recent whitewashing controversy, specifically Tilda Swinton’s casting as The Ancient One, who, in the comic, is an elderly Tibetan male. You’ll hear about this topic more next year when Matt Damon stars in The Great Wall and Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell. The conversation deserves merit, but there’s also the topic of few good female roles in Hollywood too. A bald headed Swinton, to no surprise, nails it in this movie. Marvel does have a good reputation of casting not only strong actresses in their movies, but Academy Award winning ones too. Swinton carries on that tradition. Rachel McAdams also co-stars in the movie and while you think she will end up being a plot point as the damsel in distress, that never comes to be. Another nice surprise.
This is Marvel’s best movie since Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014. It’s got some great humor to it, rich characters (how often can you write that regarding a comic book movie) and Benedict Cumberbatch so successfully inhabits the body of Doctor Strange you’d swear the character transported himself right off the pages of the comic book and onto the silver screen.