Review of Doctor Strange (2016) by Richard M — 06 Oct 2017

It was since "Iron Man" in 2008 that Marvel Studios introduced and/or put their heroes - some lesser known - into the new spotlight of their comic presence being acknowledged. It'd worked with the majority of the current roster minus the Hulk since he was already known with the same spotlight. The latest MCU intro goes to Doctor Strange, a superhero that masters the mystic arts and mystical realms - which was already given a peek prior. While there's already an animated film solely for the animated universe, this live-action film is another typically great Marvel offering that not only continues the 5-star run but really presents the "possibilities" in literal filmic illumination.

In parallel to "Iron Man" as a callback to that film that started the MCU ignition, "Doctor Strange" follows the titular world-famous neurosurgeon whose life relies on his career till it changes forever after a horrific car accident that robs him the use of his hands. With nothing around his medical field and knowledge working to heal his hands, he came across what he heard his final hope for healing in an unlikely location known as Kamar-Taj. He's introduced to an alternation of self-healing through mystical arts, but it soon takes him to battle as a former visitor returned with dark forces and newly acquired magical powers. Either way, Dr. Stephen Strange's life would never be the same when he choose his path after being introduced to a skeptical concept that's beyond mind.

The first impression after watching the first trailer that gave us a sense of what the film is going to be like with the few top qualities being picked, the merit that stood out is the bar-raising visual effects for the immersive illumination of reality. It's similar to what was experienced occasionally through Christopher Nolan's "Inception", but this film, directed by Scott Derrickson - whose credit consists moderately-known horror flicks, went deep into a block with a continuous flow of specific parts being separated and rotated from their original spot. The coordination of the visual effects on that scale is to the extent of being amazed as it's the main factor to call this a ride - with being trippy theatrically - then going a little further that it's the film's main footing for its solo standing.

A film can't just be defined for solely one quality, or otherwise it would be unbalanced and that wouldn't be a good film either. The other half is the human soul through the combined effort of the performances and the writing going through the mystical universe, backed up by a nice cast - with the costume designing set in--between. Not only the writing explained the properly introduced part of the Marvel universe, but it's been sensed that it also goes into our reality specifically based on healing faith while the Marvel's mystical verse is the exaggerated alternation of that demonstration like how a sci-fi or a fantasy flick represents a simple realistic story. The performances on the other hand of this combined effort matches the energy seen and felt in "Iron Man", along with almost the characterization within a different environment. The obvious standout is Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular sorcerer in-training, and Tilda Swinton in the genderbent role of The Ancient One to lead the aspectual wisdom.

Before the main conclusion of summing it up, it's first off much better than the earlier animated counterpart in 2007. The live-action "Doctor Strange" is your typical Marvel-ous fare with the same greatness of treating the comic book source material right when balancing the important points of the story and the characters' arcs, along with the usual performance level next to spirit and its own sense of exhilarating spirit, with illuminations to impress. Even though this review is written by a fan of the franchise, which hence the compliment of this callback to "Iron Man", the entertainment value for the film for those into viewing films singularly is that it's a stellar ride with overall excellence, particularly in the performances and the general art. (A+).