Review of Doctor Strange (2016) by Sue J — 31 Dec 2016

The 2016 movie Dr. Strange is an excellent film. It is based on the fictional superhero in the Marvel Comics, created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee, and appearing in Strange Tales in July 1963. The story is about Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange, a former brilliant, but egotistical neurosurgeon, who has the nerves in his hands destroyed in a car accident which stops him from performing surgery. Searching the earth for any way to fix them, he meets the Ancient One and becomes one of his students. Practicing both martial and mystical arts, he learns many powerful spells and incantations. He has two mystical objects...the Cloak of Levitation and the Eye of Agamotto, which give him more super powers. Wong is his sidekick and friend and Strange has a huge assortment of other objects at his disposal. He lives in Sanctum Sanctorum in New York City and becomes the Sorcerer Supreme. He was a predictor of the youth counterculture's fascination with Eastern mysticism and psychedelia in the early 1960s. Over the years since the original publication, Dr. Strange has had many changes and experiences.

Due to his car accident in the first comic, he lost the use of his hands and as I have stated, he searched worldwide to find a way to restore his hands, exhausting his money and become a derelict. He heard about a hermit called the Ancient One, actually the sorcerer Supreme, in the Himalayas, who had the ability to cure anyone. Unable at first to have the Ancient One to help him because of his selfishness, Strange eventually stops Baron Mordo from killing the Ancient One and Strange becomes his apprentice and is freed from any restraining spells placed on him by Mordo, who becomes Strange's enemy. Strange learns the mystic arts and then moves to New York City and fights Dormammu, aided by Clea, who is Dormammu's niece.

Some of the magical objects he uses are Agamotto, Cyttorak, Ikonn, Oshtur, Raggadorr and Watoomb, using their energies for his spells. He also has the Cloak of Levitation allowing him to fly and the amulet whose light he uses to fight evil magic called the Eye of Agamotto. He uses the Book of Vishanti which contains information on white magic and the Orb of Agamotto, a crystal ball, which helps him with his clairvoyance. He is a martial arts expert and knows how to use swords and axes with proficiency.

The Doctor Strange movie is based on this Marvel Comics described above. This particular film is the fourteenth film in the Marvel Universe and is directed by Scott Derrickson, who also wrote the film with Jon Spaihts and C. Robert Cargill. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo, Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer, Benedict Wong plays Wong, Benjamin Bratt is Jonathan Pangborn, Mads Mikkelsen plays Kaecilius, Michael Stuhlbarg is Nicodemus West, Scott Adkins plays Lucien, and Tilda Swinton is the Ancient One. (The director decided to have the Ancient One appear in the film as a woman.) Stan Lee makes his required cameo appearance as a rider on the bus, reading Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception.

The film starts with Kaecilius and his followers in Kamar-Jaj, killing the librarian and stealling the ritual book that the Ancient One uses to teach the magical arts. Kaecilius escapes with some pages from the book. At the same time, Stephen Strange, a neurosurgeon, is in a car accident and loses the use of his hands. Christine Palmer, another surgeon, tries to help him, but Strange believes he can regain use of his hands and seeks help from the Ancient One in Kamar-Taj. Mordo is there and with both the Ancient One and Mordo, Strange is trained in the mystical arts while learning from the ancient books in the library as well. He is taught about the three buildings called Sanctums, in New York City, London, and Hong Kong, that protected Earth from other dimensions. Their role is to protect the Sanctums.

Mordo and Wong tried to warn Strange about breaking the laws of nature, similar to the arrogant Kaecilius. Using the stolen pages, Kaecilius begins to send for Dormammu of the Dark Dimension, where time does not exist and one can live forever. They destroy London; Strange travels to the New York Sanctum, where he fights off Kaecilius and his followers using the Cloak of Levitation until the Ancient One and Mordo come to help.The Ancient one is wounded and tells Strange that he too will break the rules to balance with Mordo's nature. She then dies, while Mordo and Strange then travel to Hong Kong, where they find Wong dead and the building is destroyed while seeing the Dark Dimension taking over the Earth. Using the Eye, Strange turns back time and saves Wong, creating a time loop trapping the Dark Dimension and Dormammu forever. Mordo, unhappy with Strange leaves as Strange returns the Infinity Stone (the Eye) to Kamar-Taj and moves to the New York Sanctum. There are two additional scenes during the credits...Helping Thor and the confrontation and stealing of energy from Pangborn by Mordo who states that the Earth has too many sorcerers.

I had some issues with the film. There appeared to be holes in the storyline which I believe was due to some poor editing, plus some continuity errors as well. Way too much talking as the Marvel superhero films are action movies. The CGI was awesome, very reminiscent of Alice Down the Rabbit Hole, Inception and The Matrix, but there needed to be better connecting of the characters. The acting was exceptional, especially Cumberbatch's Strange, who was an excellent choice from a multitude of well-named actors who auditioned for the part. Really good use of humor to help with the seriousness of the plot. I get the need for all the use with hands and creating spells using them, but I believe the director used way too much of them causing them to become distracting. Same with the overuse of lights throughout the film.

The Dark Dimension was not dark, or what I thought dark would be. It was similar to the comic, using what looked like a Salvador Dali painting of surreal, bizarre, twisted images. It was a very good adaptation of the comic book and the beginning of another Marvel superhero franchise. GRADE: 4 of 5 crowns.