Doctor Strange

Perfectly enjoyable fun. Sound familiar? Doctor Strange being a different kind of hero doesn't really excuse most of this film's conventional plotting.

There's a much more interesting film in here, one in which Mads Mikkelsen isn't the main villain (yet) and getting in the way of the hero's journey and in which Tilda Swinton is even more ambiguous. Her obvious parallels to Stephen are perfectly apt and yet not allowed enough time to breathe and spin. It's all a last minute reveal and then a call to arms because plot and all is well because plot.

A lot has been made of the "trippy" special effects, and I guess they are compared to the traditional visuals employed in these types of movies. But let's not get carried away. Besides the travels through space and mind it's mostly buildings moving around like they're in Inception.

I didn't buy the last end credits scene. Useless and not earned. I'm sick of hero's with photographic memories. Let the hero be exceptional on their own merits. Action scenes could be less choppily edited. But still, it's fun in ways other recent Marvel movies haven't been.

Saw 'Doctor Strange' (although fairly late perhaps) because of liking the cast a great deal, who can argue with Benedict Cumberbatch and Tilda Swinton, and having liked a lot of what Marvel has done, something that one doesn't see people saying a lot here.

'Doctor Strange' is not a perfect film, but to me it was a thoroughly enjoyable one and is one of Marvel's best. Lets begin with the things that from personal opinion didn't quite work. Rachel McAdams does do a good job with what she has, but the character was underused and underwritten. Her screen time, while essential, was not large and her development was sketchy at best. Strange mastering magic does happen too fast, didn't buy how rushed that aspect was, and while there are a lot of fun and witty moments a few jokes felt random and out of place (i.e. Beyoncé).

However, the cast are a major asset. Had reservations about McAdams's character but not with her performance. Benedict Cumberbatch really makes the interesting title character his own and knocks it out the park. The standout of the rest of the cast is Tilda Swinton, wonderfully mysterious as the film's most interesting character and played with relish by her.

Chiwetel Ejiofor has a charismatic intensity and Benedict Wong has fun and enjoyed his chemistry with Cumberbatch. Do think that the villain Kaecilius could have been explored in more depth, but Mads Mikkelsen is intriguingly menacing.

The story, making the most of a great innovative concept, is never dull and is told with absorbing atmosphere, exuberance and very rarely sacrifices coherence or credulity. There are some really interesting ideas here, explored with thought-provoking intelligence. The action excites and thrills, as well as being visually stunning, instead of being drawn out even though quite long the climax is great fun to watch (or at least it was to me).

'Doctor Strange's' script has emotion, wit and tension and although he doesn't have the character growth one would like Strange is a well realised character and Cumberbatch has a lot to thank for that. The music score has great intensity, rousing excitement and nuance and Scott Derrickson clearly engaged hugely with the material.

Where 'Doctor Strange' is particularly good is in the production values. It's very stylishly shot and edited and handsomely mounted in production design but it's the incredible special effects (particularly jaw-dropping in the climax) that take centre stage.

Overall, while not quite finding it a masterpiece of film-making and having a few problems with it 'Doctor Strange' was a thoroughly enjoyable film and among Marvel's best. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This one holds up surprisingly well on a rewatch. I was bummed to find some of the effects already looking dated in Civil War, but almost all of the visual effects-heavy shots in Doctor Strange hold up (probably thanks to how fantastical and decidedly not grounded in reality many of those shots are).

There are some very cool visuals and set pieces, the cast is very good, and it's paced well, clocking in well under two hours if you factor out the almost 10 minutes of credits.

Despite mostly working, I'd say as a screenplay it doesn't quite feel 100% satisfying, and great actors like Mikkelsen and Swinton are good but kind of under-utilised (Chiwetel Ejiofor is good but maybe goes a little too hard? He kinda sounds like a voice actor from the Elder Scrolls, the way he speaks in some scenes 😅)

Way back when I first heard that Doctor Strange was being brought to the screen I was a bit worried. How could they translate the complexity of character and his true coolness but stay away from the cheeseball stuff? Dress a guy up like the books and remain true to the seriousness of the character? Well, they managed to not only pull it off but deliver one of the best hero origin films ever made.

The director knew that you had to establish and truly care about the character. Making it grounded but still trippy really helps give it a flavor unlike any other comic adaptation. The Harry Potter meets Iron Man meets Ant-Man flavor was there yet it all feels unique. The MCU magic is there literally. Everything established in the Captain America films and both Avengers pays dividends in a way here. The universe has been established wonderfully and this film does the best job to date playing in that universe. Everything and every scene packs some sort of punch and resonates with true style and heart. They really let the action flow but also allow for key development of the overall story and over concept. This also allows them to probe deeper into the character's personalities. ALL the characters even the ones with smaller roles get to shine. This heightens the tension, so often missing from lesser comic-book movies, and adds real weight to the action sequences which are thrilling and often mesmerizing. Add more than a dash of thriller aspects and a few new characters that steal every scene that they appear in.

I honestly can't think of one way to improve this film. The result is a movie that's just flat out exceptional and that honestly delivers the best visuals I've ever seen in a movie.

I was not prepared for the visuals this movie offered. Nevertheless, I absorbed it in its full glory. It was easy to enjoy this movie not only because of its visuals but also because of the quirkiness and lovable characters. A must-watch!