Doctor Strange

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Dr. Strange, your average neurosurgeon, intelligent, arrogant, blessed with photographic memory and killer pecs.

Despite all of this Dr. Strange finds himself distracted by a phone whilst recklessly driving on a cliffside, and then finds himself careening off the cliff. Hands smashed, life falling apart, he finds that the only road to recovery is to head to Nepal hoping to find a revolutionary treatment. He meets a strange, whitewashed, bald headed Guru, played by Tilda Swinton, who offers him some “herbal” tea; little did he know he was in for the trip of his life.

Dr. Strange proves to be a thoroughly good movie. It follows happily in the vein of the ever growing number of preceding superhero movies. It combines both action and comedy, pushes towards the expansive universe of marvel, and also is able to accomplish a strong narrative arc over the span of the movie.

The special effects naturally stand out, incorporating a great deal of the inception type visual concepts, while also avoiding the risk of being overly confusing and convoluted.

There is also a strong showing from both Cumberbatch and Mads Mikkelsen, who plays the primary antagonist, as both actors managed to slide perfectly into their roles. Nevertheless, I felt that the supporting characters, while useful for a handful of jokes, didn’t contribute much other than to serve as props.

In short it’s an effective superhero movie, good, fun, not too experimental, not particularly innovative. I recommend you see it in 3-D as to fully appreciate the effort put into the special effects. At a solid 8.5/10

Dr. Strange is a good movie to lose yourself for an afternoon, Cumberbatch’s performance has legs which is promising for the marvel movies to come.