Doctor Strange (Review)

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Let me not hesitate to admit I am not a die-hard Marvel fan. I prefer the darker DC Comics lineup of heroes and villains. That being said, of all the past trailers I’d seen for upcoming Marvel films, this one came off as the most intriguing in my eyes.

Ultimately, I walked out of the theater a little more disappointed than thrilled. It’s not that the performances weren’t solid as Benedict Cumberbatch as ‘Doctor Strange’ was his usual, top notch acting self. Add to it, Chiwetel Ejiofor as ‘Mordo’ also added to an already impressive lineup of cast members. However, something about the overall experience fell flat.

More specifically, the special effects seemed to be a little too over the top. There were scenes that looked so obviously CGI that it took away any chance of believing in this mystical world. And isn’t that the point of movies? That no matter how different the world is from your own reality it still is able to make you believe!! I’m a firm dogmatist that modern films should still utilize a lot of the old school practical effects methods that made so many of the 80s films so memorable. Regardless, I have a few more bones to pick with this flick…

The villain was 100% weak and forgettable. This was actually mind blowing to me since the actor playing him was the same guy that played arguably one of the best 007 villains if all time in Mads Mikkelson— his depiction of ‘ Kaecillus’ didn’t have a lot to work with. He merely had to look somewhat annoyed, wear some purple eye-makeup, and at the end of the day I only really remember one of his lines. I’m sorry folks, but any great comic book film has to have a kick ass villain.

Last but not least, I felt the way the character of Strange evolved happened all too quickly. At one point he goes from barely being able to perform some basic moves to outright being able to handle hand to hand combat. Perhaps some of his development was left on the cutting room floor by director Scott Derrickson, but I’d expect any origin film to include as much of the soup to nuts evolution as possible. And the last main issue I had was a little too much forced humor. If there was ever going to be a Marvel film that stood on its own legs for being edgier and darker, it would indeed have been this one. Oh well.

The good? I felt the coolest aspect of this movie was the deeper idea it presented of the mind being able to heal the body. After Strange was completely crippled in his hands and sought something other than surgery to fix himself, the film briefly touched on the power of the brain to fix the body in  a multitude of ways. So score for that, and the overall setting of the film (primarily in Asia) was also a welcome departure from previous Marvel films. If there was one final plus I’ll give it’s that Michael Giacchino’s score was a nice contrast to the typically generic sounding Marvel film’s soundtracks.

In the end, I didn’t think this was neither a bad film or a great film. It’s somewhere in between, and admittedly I’m a little annoyed that so many mass media outlets proclaim it’s basically the cat’s meow when I think there’s indeed several layers to it that deserved being peeled back for criticism. Nuff said!

2 out of 4 stars

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