The Marvel Cinematic Universe has done it again.
Not only have they brought another classic Marvel hero to the big screen, but this time they've added some mindbending special effects which help to neatly incorporate the magical elements into the film.
In short, Doctor Strange is awesome.
It all starts with Benedict Cumberbatch, providing a memorable and spectacular performance as the titular Sorcerer Supreme. Cumberbatch is a brilliant casting choice because he provides just the right amount of sympathy, sarcasm, and intensity into the role to make Dr. Stephen Strange not only an awesome hero, but a pitiable human as well.
Cumberbatch's performance can be basically summed up as Sherlock with more humanity and care for his loved ones. Strange, like Sherlock, is arrogant and ostentatious in the first parts of the film, almost a Tony Stark-esque figure, however with more pride and less wit. We see Strange as a world-famous surgeon who is not afraid to take on any procedure, as long as he is sure that he can pull it off. Being as arrogant as he is, this means that he does treat a lot of people, however as the movie reveals, he has turned away patients in the past if he felt their medical situations to be incurable. His arrogance pushes away many that could have been his friends and even ruined what could have been a flowering romance. This makes him a lot like Sherlock in this regard, and Cumberbatch brings in just the right amount of his Sherlock prowess to make Strange as affable a character as he is.
However, what makes Strange different from Sherlock is an element that remains central to the plot of the film: character development.
Without spoiling too much, Strange suffers a horrible accident, and, desperate to cure himself, decides to turn to the mystical arts after hearing a rumor.
Throughout his journey, Strange's arrogance brings him into a lot of trouble and prevents him from succeeding in his mystical quest for rejuvenation. However, as he learns to harness his stubbornness in order to further his magical skills, he learns to humble himself and respect others. Again, without spoiling too much, by the end of the film he proves that he is willing to do whatever it takes to protect those that he loves, showing us a complete transformation from the smug, pretentious loner that we saw at the beginning of the film.
Cumberbatch portrays this flawlessly, showing us that while he still is wonderful at being an arrogant genius who is always right, he also can show us a character that learns to be humble, gathering many lessons along the way. The role of Doctor Strange really gives us a glimpse on Cumberbatch's range as an actor, showing us that not only can he be hilarious and sometimes infuriating as a smarmy jerk, but he can also become sympathetic and likable, which, through Cumberbatch, is what sums up the character of Doctor Strange.
My only gripe with Cumberbatch is that his American accent is a little weird and can take some work getting used to, but you find yourself adjusting well enough and it doesn't detract from the film in any major way.
Another major success the film has is its special effects.
Everything you've heard about them is true: they are trippy and awesome, which is a weird phrase to type.
However, they're not just there to be wonderful eye candy. The special effects in Doctor Strange are there to represent the world of magic, something new for the MCU (discounting Scarlet Witch, but honestly, it's really unclear what her powers are). Although the special effects are as outlandish as they are, they don't really provide any confusion to the action or the story surrounding them. It's always clear when magic is being used, and it's mostly clear how it's being used as well. There are no real deus ex machinas or major plotholes that occur due to the magic. The magic is integrated into the universe quite nicely. And the special effects are 100% the reason for this. They are mindblowing, however, they have a certain rhythm to them. Depending on what type of magic is being used, each special effect representing them has a defined aesthetic style, making the viewing experience during, say, an action scene, more streamlined and easier to follow. The magic itself is as integral to the universe as the science is.
The film is classic MCU. However, that does mean that it shares the same flaws as other MCU films as well.
First of all, the villain is kind of forgettable. Again. Which is alright considering that the movie is still as good as it is, proving that the villain doesn't necessarily have to be memorable in order to create a good story. However, it would be nice for the MCU to finally have another memorable villain outside of Loki. Kaecilius is your typical ex-protege turned villain character archetype, and he's really really bland. Like, he has no character whatsoever.
The story itself is also a bit simplistic. Which isn't really a bad thing considering that it was executed quite nicely. However, I would be lying if I said it was a complex, deep, enriching analysis on the nature of mankind. But the thing is, it doesn't have to be.
Doctor Strange is everything we love from the MCU, however, with the use of magic it does stand out. In this way the movie is not too dissimilar to alienate us from the rest of the MCU, but also different enough to have a distinguished style.
The two main things it did right were introduce Strange and magic into the MCU, and bring Benedict Cumberbatch along.
The future of the MCU is looking bright, and Doctor Strange is going to be a hero that can stand tall along with all the other heroes we've come to love over the past 8 years.
If this movie is any indication, Doctor Strange isn't going anywhere.
He's earned his keep among the rest.
