Director: Scott Derrickson
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Mads Mikkelsen, Benedict Wong
Rating: 12A
Running Time: 115 Minutes
Release Date: 25/10/2016
When top New-York doctor Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) is crippled in a car crash, he travels to the East to find a cure and instead discovers something far greater, the existence of the mystical arts.
I’m not the biggest superhero fan in the world. I like the MCU and respect what they’re doing, hell, I even look forward to everything they’ve got planned. I just never truly love any of their films. Just this year CIVIL WARÂ only sits at no. 15 in my list of the years best films.
Back in 2014, when a talking racoon and a tree of few words proved that Marvel could make a film about their lesser known properties and still make a winning hit, it appeared that nothing was going to end the studio’s winning streak.
Fast forward to earlier this year and with the then upcoming release of their 14th movie being greeted by a slew of controversy surrounding the whitewashing of the films spiritual leader The Ancient One I, among others, was prepared for Marvel’s first real dud.
Who could blame them? Another origin film about a white male protagonist, with no GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY level of fun in its trailer and the disappointing casting of the caucasian Tilda Swinton. It gave me no hope and no will for it to be good.
Yet, as reviews came rolling in and we were given a preview of the Michael Giacchino composed score, I must admit that I was excited.
DOCTOR STRANGEÂ is unlike any superhero film we’ve had before. It’s vibrant, lean, occasionally beautiful and rarely a slog. Whereas CIVIL WARÂ is the better film because of its emotional resonance, DOCTOR STRANGE is the more stylish. The more suave.
It’s taken the origin movie and made it more appealing. Giving the studio a coat of paint and a kaleidoscope. Gone is the bland CGI, the uninspired score and the fighty, punchy finale of old.
Instead, it’s been replaced with gorgeous, mind-bending SFX and a beautifully stylish score from Michael Giacchino. In terms of the aesthetic, DOCTOR STRANGE will leave you thinking about it after and humming its theme all the way home.
Watch the Doctor Strange European Premiere red carpet interviews here
Just a couple of months ago, the internet was commenting on the studio’s uninspired scores and now Giacchino, Pixar and JJ Abram’s go-to composer, has brought life to the Marvel soundtrack in his first go.
This only adds layers to the films well-balanced visuals which could’ve felt like an Inception knock off but don’t. There’s depth to the scenes of cities twisted by magic and for once, the 3D adds to the movie’s depth and merits its inclusion.
Scott Derrickson has directed well, with more interesting shots and more considered approaches to fights. He occasionally gets the tone wrong, opting for a joke when there needn’t have been one. Yet when it comes to the action scenes and the trippy visuals that accompany them, he nails the sense of wonder and adventure as Strange bounds between realities.
Of the film’s lead actor, Benedict Cumberbatch equally nails it. I’ve commented in the past how I wasn’t sure how good of an actor he was outside of SHERLOCK, yet this film completely dispels all my worries.
He’s got charm, he’s got grace and instead of being crippled by a dodgy accent, he masters it and finds a character somewhere between Tony Stark and House. The early scenes of his arrogant professional life have a nice pace and the locations give a beautiful wonder to New York and the surrounding area.
He feels as much a part of the world as the visuals and whereas his particular look felt out of place in STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, here, he is the centre of attention and looks the part.
Troublingly, Rachel McAdams is a thankless love interest role. She may be a Doctor, but she never has anything to do but worry about Stephen and it begins to grate as you realise she’ll end up having no character arc, nor purpose.
This is indicative of the rest of the film’s attitude towards women. There are none but McAdams and Tilda Swinton, the latter getting plenty to do, but is saddled with the film’s most contentious issue besides its disappointing female characters.
Yes, of course, the weird casting decision has understandably put a lot of people off DOCTOR STRANGE. Marvel may be the biggest studio in Hollywood at the moment, but they have a long way to go before completely fair representation.
Maybe it’s to do with the films particular creative team, as some of the upcoming cannon, BLACK PANTHERÂ and SPIDERMAN: HOMECOMING, have fantastically diverse casts. It’s just a shame here as without these issues, the failure of the Bechdel test included, DOCTOR STRANGEÂ would be almost perfect.
There’s much to be said for the inclusion of Benedict Wong and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Stephen’s mystical allies, who also give the film some of its best humour, yet the lack beyond that is just another sign of Hollywood’s issues with fair representation.
Unlike previous Marvel entries, the gags are fewer and occasionally unnecessary, but they ground the silliness and some of the inspired moments, a cape with a life of its own in particular, help to liven up the movie’s darker moments.
The tone is never too wildly different from one minute to the next and there’s a good balance between self-serious mystical patter and comedic tangents.
The finale is thankfully a little different from previous Marvel fare. Where ANT-MAN downscaled the action and CIVIL WAR chose to end things on an emotionally wrought final smack down, DOCTOR STRANGE has Stephen prove his intelligence and humility in a surprising final third face off.
People have said Mads Mikkelsen is another disappointing villain yet I didn’t have a problem with him or his world-destroying plot. He gives good Mads and it’s never as bad as some villains of the MCU past, who have been routinely terrible from film to film.
In the end. the story has little substance or nuance, but the performances are generally great and in the case of Cumberbatch he owns the role like Robert Downey Jr did previously with Tony Stark.
What could’ve been a big let down for Marvel has managed to be something much more interesting than most that the studio has done before. From wonderful visuals, brisk and exciting action sequences and a score to go alongside some of the best of the year, DOCTOR STRANGEÂ has certainly made a case for his existence and I can’t wait to see him integrate into future Marvel films.
Verdict
