By: Ashton Newton Entertainment Editor
“Doctor Strange” is the 14th film in the huge Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has included space, gods and psycho robots. “Doctor Strange” brings the brand new world of mysticism into the universe as well, and does it incredibly.
Not only one of the most visually stunning films Marvel has had to date, but “Doctor Strange” brings fans a completely new side of the cinematic universe with magic and other dimensions.
The film jumps head first into Marvel’s mystical side, while keeping things simple enough for casual viewers to understand how things fit into the universe as a whole. With 14 films, keeping them simple at the core is important, and “Doctor Strange” does this perfectly.
Stephen Strange’s defining characteristic is his arrogance. He’s a world famous neurosurgeon with a massive ego. The film starts with him as an unlikeable character, but Strange grows and is very much human.
What makes this movie so grounded is that all of these sorcerers are human. Some might be hundreds of years old, but they talk like humans and they have the same problems as humans. Everyone in this movie can be relatable, which is an important quality to have in any superhero movie.
Characters are brought to life by incredible performances all around, notably Tilda Swinton’s Ancient One and Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange.
The visuals in “Doctor Strange” were some of the best that Marvel has had. Scenes are always accompanied by patterns that are satisfying to look at. Buildings are moving, dimensions are crossing and all of it stays true to the comics and brings Steve Ditko’s incredible art to life.
The side characters don’t play a huge role in the film. The focus is very much on Strange and his origin, so important characters like Wong and Mordo were not given the attention they deserve. But I think it was important to have a large focus on Doctor Strange since he’s the hero being introduced into the Marvel Universe.
The villain, Kaecilius, continued Marvel’s trend of weak and underdeveloped villains. Mads Mikkelsen did a great job playing him, but he made such a little impact that I couldn’t even remember his name when I left the theater. Doctor Strange’s sentient cape has more of a personality than Kaecilius.
“Doctor Strange” expands Marvel’s cinematic universe and definitely has a place in it. The movie loosely mentions characters and events from previous movies, as well as showing off Avenger’s Tower a couple of times.
The most exciting quality about Marvel movies is that they are always setting up the stage for something bigger. There’s always a plan for the future and each movie is just a small part of something huge. “Doctor Strange” definitely feels as if it’s setting up for something great. There’s more to come for Strange and the stage is definitely set for that.
“Doctor Strange” is a great movie. It blends together humor and action, while entering a whole side of Marvel’s huge universe.
Although brought down slightly by unimportant side characters and a weak villain, “Doctor Strange” is one of the best Marvel movies to date.
Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu
8/10
+ Stunning visuals
+ Incredible performances
– Weak, underdeveloped villain
