I went and saw the latest addition to the Marvel movie universe with two of my kids a few days ago. We gave it six thumbs up.
First off, we all like science fiction, we enjoy comic book movies, two of us are huge bumberpatch fans and this offering was right in our collective wheelhouse.
In short, this movie isn’t for everyone but for those who fit the target demographic, Dr. Strange is an A+.
The special effects are extremely effective. I thought we were seeing the show in 3D but we didn’t and I’m glad: if I’d seen some of the wormhole sequences in 3D, I think I may have puked, even though I’m not all that susceptible to car sickness. I loved them in good old fashioned 2D.
The performances were all good: playing a comic book hero really only works if you ground him in reality. He (or she) has to freak out at least a little when the weirdness begins, just so the audience can identify with his situation.
Rachel McAdams is fine as not so much the love interest as the window into Dr. Strange’s self absorbtion, boundless ambition and boundlessly self-centered egotism. It says a lot about a guy if he’s such a dick as to have treated her like crap.
(Now Ms. McAdams has played the girlfriend of both Sherlock Holmeses, both of whom are now characters in the Marvel universe. Hmmm…maybe Zack Quinto can play a bad guy in an upcoming Dr. Strange movie and make the Marvel/Star Trek collision. I’d go see that!)
Dr. Strange’s smug self satisfaction is central to the story, which is all about how he’s convinced that the universe does not in fact revolve around him, there are things that exist which are much bigger and greater than he and he’d better get his act together fast if he wants to do his bit to save it and himself. It’s not only an origin story, which I love but also a redemption story and who doesn’t love those?
Plus, Tilda Swinton is as bad ass as she’s ever been and that’s saying a lot.
Dr. Strange was never a comic I read when I was a kid so I knew absolutely nothing about him, what his skill set is, where he came from or how he found his powers. Imagine Harry Potter if he had Tony Stark’s ego. No wait; that’s Voldemort.
Imagine if Voldemort had believed that he possessed an immortal soul; no need for horcruxes, already immortal. How he comes to believe this is one of the coolest scenes in the movie.
Here’s how Zack summed up the plot “the hero was so smart he just mind-effed the bad guy until he gave up.”
Of all the Marvel movies, I’d rank Dr. Strange at the top, along with The Avengers.