Doctor Strange fell into the same trappings as Ant-Man although I’m inclined to be a little more generous as Doctor Strange seemed to know what it was whereas Ant-Man just lazily jerked from one plot point to the next. More than an origin story for the titular hero, this film was setting up the mystical universe portion of the MCU. It can’t just be “magic” but drawing on powers from the multiverse for use in our own. I’m not sure how closely this hews to the comics, but I would not be surprised if the films were trying to ground it slightly more in reality.
In that vein, Doctor Strange isn’t so much a character as the tool to tell the story. He’s a barely sketched character who is given an archetype in lieu of a backstory. We all know the arrogant, brash surgeon from a slew of medical dramas. The film relies on the audience to fill in his character rather than spend any time developing him. His fateful car crash is less than 15 minutes into the film. Cumberbatch does his best, but saddled with a horrible accent, he can’t really convey more than the script gives him and that’s barely anything.
There was strong potential here. A man of science forced to expand the horizons of his mind in desperate search for a cure when science fails him. That’s a powerful story and if we weren’t rushing to Infinity War, perhaps they could have spent more time on that. But the plot is thin for a reason. The purpose was not to give us a Doctor Strange origin story per se but to give us the penultimate Infinity Stone and introduce this new world for us to explore.
The visuals are fantastic. Also, like Ant-Man, this film feels most alive when it’s imagining Inception-like, reality-bending environments for our characters to flail about it. The physical action however is some of the most basic and lackluster in the entire MCU. Sure an astral projection fight looks cool but why are the initiates trained in combat if they just randomly punch one another?
The cast is very hit and miss. The jewel of course is Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One. The running joke in Hollywood being that she is so otherworldly makes her casting here almost pitch perfect (aside from the claims of whitewashing). She provides an ethereal quality to a role that really boils down to just being a mentor giving sage advice and passing the torch. Even her greatest sin is glossed over in just a few minutes. Mads Mikkelsen brings a touch of humor to a role that was never intended to be anything more than the plot required. Benedict Wong provides the most amusement with his stoic, ambivalent demeanor and hopefully any future films will delve more into the relationship between him and Strange. At least they share some chemistry.
Which is more than you can say for Rachel McAdams who is practically wasted in her role as the love interest all these films need to have. I will say I liked how the film tried to grow their bond before just having them fall in love. I blame the lack of her seeing Cumberbatch’s abs as the reason all he gets is a peck on the cheek. Inherent in the schizophrenic nature of the script, these are either two characters who were previously in love or just fuck buddies. Strange says it’s practically the latter however he has an expensive, engraved watch that says “All my love” that he clearly cherishes.
The reveal of the infinity stone is not overly surprising but it was not as shoe-horned into the plot as in previous films. This stone works a lot more interesting that just as a power source for weapons, destroying the universe, etc. I really liked the time reverse final battle and that this film tried hard to avoid the typical ending where the hero faces off against an army and engaged in a battle of wills with the ultimate big bad. It all seems a little too simplistic but I’m willing to give credit for trying to break new ground as most of these origin story films cover the same exact ground.
I will say that I am not a fan of post-credit scenes that are just bits from the next film. It’s obvious and seems to be done merely to check a box rather than give the audience one last treat. Also bad: throwing away an entire film’s worth of potential character development just to establish the villain for the sequel. Mordo’s change to villain had shades of Green Lantern’s Sinestro. Just as arbitrary and random. Unlike that film, I’m sure a Doctor Strange sequel will actually happen though.
I’m going to give Doctor Strange a 6/10. As I said, I’m willing to be more generous as the film falls into the same traps but seems to do so knowingly which allows them to be incorporated into the film better. Great visuals (I actually wish I had seen this one in 3-D) are really the only highlight but the film never lags and tries to break from the mold for the standard origin story. Maybe after another rewatch this one will drop for me like Thor: The Dark World did but for now I’m still a fan. Here’s hoping the good doctor fares better in Infinity War than he did in Thor: Ragnarok!
Current Rankings:
1) Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2) Iron Man
3) The Avengers
4) Captain America: Civil War
5) Guardians of the Galaxy
6) The Incredible Hulk
7) Black Panther
8) Avengers: Age of Ultron
9) Iron Man 3
10) Captain America: The First Avenger
11) Doctor Strange
12) Ant-Man
13) Thor: The Dark World
14) Thor
15) Iron Man 2
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