"You're a man looking at the world through a keyhole. You've spent your life trying to widen it. Your work saved the lives of thousands. What if I told you that reality is one of many?"
Filmology Rating: 3.2 out of 4
Dr. Stephen Strange's (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a world famous surgeon with a bit of an ego. His life is drastically and suddenly changed after a car accident robs him of the use of his hands. When traditional medicine fails him and, he looks for healing elsewhere. He discovers mystical ways to heal along with unknown power and knowledge beyond this known world. He quickly learns that there is a battle against unseen dark forces bent on destroying reality. Before long, Strange is forced to choose between his life of fortune and status or leave it all behind to defend the world as the most powerful sorcerer in existence.
Nothing strange about this film, this is a must see! Marvel once again proves just how far they are ahead of DC when it comes to making superhero films. Doctor Strange really is one of the best Marvel movies to date when it comes to quality and is the very best when it comes to one category which I will get into later.
To kick things off, let’s address the all-star cast and acting in this film. Benedict Cumberbatch was phenomenal as Steven Strange. The biggest selling point of his role is the character progression throughout the film. Steven Strange is this cocky, egotistic, self-centered doctor that has everything in life going his way until the accident. This movie being separated from all the action and the superhero origin story stuff was more so about the story of Steven and his transformation as a person. He went from having everything to having nothing. In order to gain everything back, he needed to forget what he knew and accept what life has thrown at him. This is one of the biggest things that I liked because this is something a lot of people can relate to (granted not all of us become superheroes but still….). Adding to Dr. Strange was a fantastic surrounding cast of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Tilda Swinton, and Mads Mikkelsen.
Now when I said that Doctor Strange is the best Marvel movie to date when it comes to a certain category, I truly mean it. This category is the special effects and the visual aspects of this film. It was mind blowing! You will be completely mesmerized while you are watching everything unfold. HUGE shout out to the special effects companies and individuals behind this project because you truly are the unsung hero of this movie. I think that the animation and the special effects shown are now the new standard of what companies will strive for. Seriously people, it is that good. Even if you aren’t a fan of superhero films, I would still recommend you seeing this film for the visual stimulus of everything. It felt like Inception was amped up a million times when it comes to the worlds within worlds.
Doctor Strange provides an excellent origin story that holds a lot more to it than just action. Comic book and Marvel fan enthusiasts should be very pleased with this film along with people who are now just hearing about Doctor Strange and want to check it out. Doctor Strange is for sure worth both your time and your money.
PS: There are two credit scenes! One after about 30 seconds and one at the very end of the credits.
Rating: See It
-Nick