Movie Review: "Doctor Strange" (2016)

I'll try to avoid any spoilers in the post (but no guarantees over comments) …

TL;DR: This will not be considered by many to be the greatest Marvel film of all time, but it was visually stunning, a good adaptation of the character, and a lot of fun.

Further notes at random:

– Yes, as one expects from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are post-credit scenes. The first (mid-credits) is amusing, but tonally out of sync with much of the rest of the movie (it was directed by Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waitit). The second (after the credits are complete) is much better, teeing things up for the future.

– We saw it in 3D. I thought it helped the remarkable FX. My wife and daughter thought it actually made the FX less successful (3D sometimes makes lots of detailed motion on the screen a bit less easy to see.

– Benedict Cumberbatch does a fine job playing the arrogant, awestruck, then determined Stephen Strange. My biggest problem: I kept thinking of the character as Gregory House — brilliant, egomaniacal physician crippled by an accident, played by a British actor sporting a similar American accent. The only difference is that House went for Percocet, Strange goes for magic.

That said, the character arc for Strange feels a bit weak. Without going into details, it sort of ticks along the expected route, competently but not engagingly, carried by the plot rather than by the character.

– Chiwetel Ejiofor does a neat job in the MCU's version of Mordo, even if I kept getting flashbacks to his Operative role Serenity. That's probably just me.

– Tilda Swinton has a marvelous role as the Ancient One, and does it up very nicely. That's exclusive of the whole debate about casting an older Asian man with a white woman.

– Rachel McAdams gets a rather thankless job as Strange's (non-canonical) girlfriend, Dr. Palmer. She does it well, but much of her role is getting startled, getting the wiggins, and having thoughtful talks to help Strange develop as a character. For herself? Not so much.

– Mads Mikkelsen as the lead bad guy, Kaecilius, gets a juicy role, but plays it more subdued than one would expect — which is generally good, but occasionally goes a bit too far.

– This is a visuals-heavy movie, and in general that works nicely to create that sense of unreality (or, properly, multiple realities). Some of it becomes a little repetitive — beautiful, evocative, but "Hey, didn't we see that gimmick last battle?"

Still, it's a lovely film to watch. Very trippy, and very nicely avoiding the trap of making magic stuff look like conventional super-powers (lobbing magic blasts) or like previous renditions of big-screen magic.

– The movie is full of awe and mystery and drama. There are also humorous moments, of the style that we've come to expect from the MCU. They are individually successful, but don't feel organic to the rest of the film.

– One of the Standard MCU McGuffins makes an appearance. That was fitting (because "standard"), but it still felt like a line that got thrown in at the last minute.

– There's been some writing of late about how, more and more, movies (notably the MCU films) are moving away from striking music soundtracks that stand out on their own, that you can wander off whistling, etc. That certainly seems to be the case here, which, given that the remarkable Michael Giacchino scored it. The exception is the closing credits, which have a lovely, exotic, neatly fitting bit of music. I'd be willing to buy that track.

A lot of the above is nitpicky — in aggregate keeping this from being a great movie, but it's certainly a good one, a lot of fun, enjoyable to watch, a keystone for the MCU, and I'm very looking forward to the promised sequel.

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