| Doctor Strange (2016) | |
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Rating: 7.5/10 (800,453 votes) Director: Scott Derrickson Writer: Jon Spaihts, Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams Runtime: 115 min Rated: PG-13 Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy Released: 04 Nov 2016 |
| Plot: While on a journey of physical and spiritual healing, a brilliant neurosurgeon is drawn into the world of the mystic arts. | |
The Merry Marvel Marching Movie Machine continues to roll out new characters, growing their cinematic universe and introducing new aspects which the comics have a glorious history of utilising. Whilst we have already seen magic in use through the hex abilities of Scarlet Witch in Age of Ultron and Civil War, it wasn’t really identified as such, and so it falls upon this new film to really broach the subject of dimensional magics and arcane lore. Marvel, hopeful of a success akin to when they showed us a cosmic tale which included a talking racoon and walking tree, scooped a strong cast to bring the tale of Doctor Stephen Strange to the big screen. The end result is a solid entry into the Marvel canon, but one which is enjoyably good, but not great.
Benedict Cumberbatch is Stephen Strange, the world’s top neurosurgeon, who is a tad arrogant, and flaunts his success and wealth. However, after being involved in a major accident which damages his hands, he begins to despair. Hearing about a paraplegic who was healed by someone known as The Ancient One in Kathmandu, he heads off to find this cure himself. Once there he is introduced to the world of magic and other dimensions, and begs to be taught by The Ancient One (played by Tilda Swinton). Meanwhile, one of her ex-pupils, Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) is tapping into a dark domain of magic, in the hope of opening a portal so the dark demon Dormammu can enter this plane.
The film lays its cards on the table within moments of the start, with a spectacular set piece which sees a magic battle in London, folding aspects of reality as the combatants defy gravity and physics in some Escher-inspired visual spectacle, before flipping to present us with the mundane reality as we learn about Strange’s accident and quest for knowledge. As the film progresses and we see more of the dimensional magics on display, the visual treats are unlike anything Marvel has put out to date, encapsulating the same kaleidoscopic and surreal nature of sequences seen in films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, or more recently Interstellar, coupled with action set pieces that would put The Matrix and Inception to shame. Truly visually spectacular, I am all too pleased that I saw it in glorious 2D as the thought of the distraction of 3D in some of the sequences made me feel a sense of vertigo (but if 3D is your thing, and you still think it is the future of film making, then by all means go distract yourself with it in IMAX format and make the most of it). The creativity on display is stunning to watch, and the folding spaces glimpsed in the trailer are only a fraction of what is on offer.
Unfortunately, however, those glorious set pieces and held together by a very basic plot, which in itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing (after all, Deadpool had one of the lamest plots of the year, but was immense fun), but in trying to introduced all the concepts of magic into one film the dialogue is extremely clunky, packed with enough exposition to fill a whole 12 episode Netflix TV series. Indeed, about half way into the film I started to think how much better the story would have worked in such a format, which would have allowed a slow development of the knowledge, and build on Strange’s training. Sadly in a film which is under two hours long, the time-frame for Strange’s fall from grace, loss of finances, and then his training is a tad hazy. Throwaway dialogue in the early scenes suggest the film plays close to the timeline of the recent Marvel films (Age of Ultron and Civil War), which means that by the end either all the events of this film took place in around a week or two, or some form of time-dilation magics were in play throughout (possible, but kind of a cop-out excuse for some poorly planned ideas). This rushed nature, with so much to cram in makes the film just feel a bit of an exercise in pushing the films visually, but not creatively, and left me feeling the same as I did when I saw Captain America: The First Avenger – I was entertained, but was left hoping the next film would really tap into the character more, and do more with it. Indeed, that character’s follow up film managed that, and the scope of Doctor Strange, as comic book geeks will attest, should certainly allow for it.
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“I can see the pub from here!”
But, let’s be honest, origin tales always struggle in trying to set up a character for future possibilities, and delving into the magical realms too was always going to make this a bit of a wobbly entry into the franchise. To be fair, only Marvel at present can really risk so much on something a bit different, as they did with Guardians, due to the fan – nay, audience – loyalty they have garnered through the years. Even a below par entry into their canon doesn’t seem to have a knock on effect to the franchise as a whole, and with all the groundwork out the way for the non-comic book fans, the way is paved for a lot of possibilities going forward as we rapidly move towards Infinity War in a couple of years. Plus, you certainly can’t fault the cast involved in this film. Cumberbatch (despite a dubious accent at times) is a perfect fit for Strange, and Tilda Swinton, whose casting was a tad controversial to some comic book fans, delivers from the offset. Mikkelsen feels a little underwhelming at times, but does his best with what little he has, and Rachael McAdams as Christine Palmer, Strange’s love interest, is pretty inconsequential to the film really, which seems to be a problem Marvel have with a lot of the female supports in solo outings (see Natalie Portman in the Thor films for a similar example of a character that the writers aren’t sure what to do with.) But it is Chiwetel Ejiofor who steals scenes for me as Karl Mordo, capturing the complex nature of the character as a student of The Ancient One.
Scott Derrickson directs well enough, showing once again that Marvel have a knack of choosing directors from seemingly unrelated backgrounds (Derrickson’s horror history would have suggested a much darker outing than we got) and really tapping their potential. Coupled with the cinematography of Ben Davis (who has worked on Guardians and Ultron for Marvel), and a majestic – nay, magical – score by Michael Giacchino, the film is a spectacular and entertaining diversion, if nothing more than just that. Good but not great is the verdict.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSzx-zryEgM
