The Sorcerer Supreme joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe in
my latest re-watch for Road to Infinity War.
My thoughts whilst (re)watching Doctor Strange were very similar to my thoughts on Ant-Man. It’s an origin story very much in the same vein as a Phase 1 movie (specifically Iron Man). However, it doesn’t have quite as charismatic lead, yet this is compensated for with much more inventive and impressive action sequences. As a result, you have a movie that’s similar in structure, but with one thing better and one thing not quite as good. Therefore my opinions on Iron Man, Ant-Man and Doctor Strange are pretty close in terms of my enjoyment of them.
Arguably as Iron Man came first and set the template for
these solo origin stories it should come out on top, but this is the problem
with the MCU at this point, none of the movies are bad, so I’m essentially
thinking which “great” movie do I prefer. Anyway I’ll save that for my ranking of the Marvel Cinematic Universe blogpost.
In terms of Doctor Strange specifically, it’s a great movie
and as you already know the visual effects for this movie are genuinely mind-blowing.
Some of the best ever seen in cinema, a combination of The Matrix mixed with
Inception, a dash of Harry Potter and multiplied by eleven. The action sequence
also use this to great effect, playing with perspective and gravity, etc.
Absolutely incredible. It’s these visuals and action sequences that really make
me question whether I enjoy it more than Iron Man.
In terms of Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange,
he’s fine, however he’s probably the first MCU lead that doesn’t feel irreplaceable.
I could easily see another actor play him, as opposed to Robert Downey Jr or
Chris Evans playing Tony Stark or Steve Rogers respectively. I think it’s the
way he plays Doctor Strange, personally I think it’d have been better if he
kept his English accent and played him a bit more like Sherlock. I get why they
didn’t do this, but some of the comedic / charm lines fall a bit flat with his
fake American accent.
The supporting cast are again all fine, but there aren’t any
standouts (except maybe Wong, with some great comedic moments). The villain
Kaecilius in this film is particularly weak, Mads Mikkelsen plays him fine but
he’s just bad and there to create a foil for the hero. At
least they don’t have to quickly force a good guy gone bad (like Iron Man and Ant-Man) did
though.
So there you have it, Doctor Strange remains a fine
superhero origin story that’s uplifted by some absolutely incredible visual effects
and action sequences.
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