On Paper, DC Comics should blow Marvel out of the water. Batman AND Superman in a movie together vs. Iron Man and Spider Man? No chance. The Joker vs. Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch)? I think most people would say, WTF is Dr. Strange?!?! But Marvel movies have something DC movies do not: creative understanding and superior execution. Dr. Strange would play like a terrible British TV under DC supervision, but because of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the movie is an Inception like romp through space and time with Bald Tilda Swinton and Americanized Cumberbatch.
Dr. Steven Strange (he makes CLEAR to everyone that’s who he is) is the top neural surgeon in his field, relying on his intellect and spectacular fingers. However, a car crash renders his hands useless, leaving Strange to frantically spend all of his money in search of a cure. He finds one in Nepal, after being aided by a man named Mordo (Chiwetel Ejijofor). Mordo sees a lost, driven man to helped by the one who helped him, The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton). The master is wary however, as Strange reminds her of her last pupil Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), who seeks to usurp the pages of the ancient text to obtain everlasting life.
Time loops. Space portals. Infinity. Multiverses. Animated objects. Dr. Strange is littered with opportunities for plot holes and ridiculous explanations and exposition. Instead of fearing the labyrinth presented to him, writer director Scott Derrickson plunges head on into the abyss, like Strange himself. The holes, like the dimensions opened in the movie, close quickly when you propel the story backwards and forwards in time, or through globe jumping. Strange is consistently discovering new wrinkles with his powers, which the audience just shrugs and goes “All right, whatever” for. This could be a death knell for the movie since that appears to lower the stakes significantly, but just as the movie is about to spin out of control, something personal will happen to one of the leads to reground the story in something the audience gets. Dr. Strange walks a tricky line of fun, intellectually stimulating, and emotionally impactful that few blockbusters get the chance to.
That’s in part because Marvel knows what it is doing, but it is mostly because of the jaw dropping special effects. Inception set itself apart when it folded a city onto itself. Dr. Strange not only does that in the first 10 minutes, it spins a city in a circle and stages a stellar fight sequence in the middle of it. These sequences leave you leaning forward, begging to see what acrobatics the director and his effects artists come up with next. Also, if you’re a drug user, Dr. Strange might be one of the best movies to trip on since Enter the Void. The Ancient One sends Strange on a journey through the known universes that is like a funhouse color cacophonied mirror of 2001: A Space Odyssey. And the climax enters a realm that would be much more interesting under the influence. But like I said, Marvel knows what it’s doing. That final battle could be a special effects battle extravaganza, but instead the movie relies on the intellect and gifts Strange learned throughout the story to give a conclusion much more true to the character we know and grow to love.
Benedict Cumberbatch will make a fine addition to the (mostly) white superheroes of Marvel. His years as Sherlock basically lets him play Strange as an American version of the man, with a little more humanity. Rachel McAdams doesn’t really get anything to do as a nurse/love interest for Cumberbatch, a glaring weakness in the script. However, not all ladies are sidelined: the most powerful person in this universe is played by Tilda Swinton, who gives The Ancient One a healthy combination of order and mystery. Swinton can play almost anything, so it’s fun to see her let loose a little here and have some fun. Mads Mikkelsen isn’t in enough stuff, so it’s nice to see him here; his Kaecilius is a broken, but narrow minded man, like yin to Strange’s yang. Chiwetel Ejjiofor is classy as always playing the upright superhero Watson to Cumberbatch’s Strange/Sherlock. Ejiofor, like Swinton, makes every movie better that he is in. Benedict Wong and Benjamin Bratt are very good in the little roles they have.
Dr. Strange is yet another example of how Marvel is kicking DC’s butt in the superhero realm. The creative team there knows how to introduce new characters into their worlds and tie them into the greater cinematic universe with ease, and at the right time (now the only Avenger not from Earth could have a new friend to talk to!). Can you imagine the fight from the first Avengers with some Inception like special effects thrown in! My 8 year old inner child gets giddier and giddier.