Doctor Strange
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams
Directed By: Scott Derrickson
Written By: Scott Derrickson, Jon Spaihts, C. Robert Cargill
Reviewed by Brendan Dousi
[rating: 3.5/5]
We have super-soldiers, alien gods and space outlaws so far in our Marvel Cinematic Universe, so it was only a matter of time before they took the final plunge and introduced us to the final echelon of Superhero comic-book fantasy; the mystical arts. You know, magic. It makes sense they would leave this one for last because it is kind of the hardest pill to swallow. Everything else has hyper-reality and pseudo-science to casually exposition away the reasons for it existing. How do you explain magic? Turns out it’s pretty easy. You just get Academy Award Nominee and beautifully androgynous character actress Tilda Swinton to basically look down the barrel of the camera and say, “It’s magic. Don’t worry about it.”
She doesn’t say those exact words, but she may as well have. You have nothing to worry about with director Scott Derrickson’s Doctor Strange because, like every other piece of Marvel fare, it plays it incredibly safe and slots itself perfectly as a new cog in the ever-expanding Marvel machine. Whether this is a plus or a minus depends entirely on your view of the Marvel movies so far. By this point you definitely know what’s in store for you. We’ve seen this exact same plot play out almost too many times now. It’s your basic heroes journey origin story with that special Marvel twist. The twist? Obligatory action scenes every 20 minutes or so. We open with an action scene, we establish the ordinary, the hero receives a call to heroics, he rejects it, he’s convinced to accept it, he crosses the threshold into the new world, yadda yadda yadda. It’s a tried and true formula that has earned Marvel and Disney billions of dollars so far, so why would they switch it up? I understand and it works fine, but it is getting to the point where something needs to change. There’s only so many times we can watch a straight, white male protagonist re-enact the same story over and over again.
While the plot itself is something we’ve seen before, the script is still quite sharp and full of good humour. In particular, it’s the absolutely stellar cast on display here that truly brings everything together. I was a bit cautious about Benedict Cumberbatch going into this film, I’d enjoyed him in things before, but I’d always seen him as an arrogant, aristocratic Brit. I’m happy to tell you, he transitions fine into a self-absorbed, upper-class Yank. His accent is convincing and he still manages to be likeable despite his character being a bit of a prick. Think of him as Tony Stark with less money, shakier hands and the power to alter the laws of nature and reality itself. Of course, having a few Oscar winners/nominees backing you up doesn’t hurt. Rachel McAdams is delightful as Christine Palmer, acting as the love interest and the audience surrogate as she is plunged into Stephen’s strange world. Perhaps a little bit too much girly screaming to make her a true feminist icon, but McAdams sells it. Chiwetel Ejiofor gives us strong and striking presence as Strange’s teacher and ally, Mordo, despite having shamefully little to do for such a powerful actor. Of all though, the serene and commanding presence of a bald-headed and big-eared Tilda Swinton as the mysterious mentor, The Ancient One, makes the delivery of exposition a breeze. She even delivered one of the few moments in the film that struck a true emotional chord. All of these performances are fantastic, but it can’t help but feel a bit off with a film heavily influenced by Eastern culture, set largely in Nepal and with a climax in Hong Kong that there’s only one Asian character in the entire film. Benedict Wong as Wong is a strong and welcome presence for sure, but apart from him the whole movie feels a little too West-Washed.
Though it has an incredibly familiar story and borders slightly on cultural appropriation, the main thing that Doctor Strange gets right are its amazing visuals. Scott Derrickson takes the ball and absolutely runs with it when it comes to the visual effects of this film. It’s like he took the world and smooshed it inside of a kaleidoscope and made you look through it while watching the last ten minutes of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Without a doubt, this film has the most interesting and creative action set-pieces of any Marvel film to date. It would have been so easy to just show magic as people hurling bright colours at each other, instead they actually went the creative route and I’m so glad they did. Honestly, do yourself a favour and see this film in 3D.
As I’ve said, and will continue to say as long as Marvel continues to make films, by now you should know what you’re in for. If you aren’t already a converted member of the Marvel bandwagon, Doctor Strange has very little to offer you in terms of storytelling. That said, the spectacular and imaginative visuals make the trip well worth the price of admission and make for the most visually interesting Marvel movie to date. Marvel enthusiasts will relish this addition to the franchise, expanding and already expansive cinematic universe. The average cinema-goer will find enough here to enjoy and keep the entertained. The rest of you? Well, I guess you could drop some acid beforehand if you want your brain to literally explode. Have fun with that.
