Spoilers Doctor Strange - Grading & Discussion

[Commander Richard]

Cumby is on fire these days and now he's taken on the role of Marvel's Dr. Strange. Are we in for another by-the-numbers comic book movie? Probably, but we're also getting something new with magic and mysticism, and the reviews are quite positive so it looks like we're in for a fun and interesting ride.

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[Ethros]

Saw it earlier. I'll give it a B-, it wasn't bad at all, just not particularly memorable or amazing really. Yet again the MCU gives us another bland, zero character, non-interesting villain. Mads Mikkelsen can do a lot better, and Rachel McAdams was literally nothing more than "the girlfriend."
It was a good 110 minutes but at times it still felt rushed, especially at the end, I was like "oh, is that it?"

I'd also like to have seen more of who Stephen Stange was before the accident, his celebrity status etc. Esp seen as he was targeted in Winter Soldier, as that was our only reference to him before this.


Meh, I look forward to seeing him in Infinity War and how he'll work alongside the other characters, but I just can't imagine after this tonnes of people will be clamouring for a standalone sequel.

 

[Hugo Rune]

Solid, if (story-wise) uninspired, adventure.

Pros:
Cumberbatch is strong as Strange
Interesting world building outside of the MCU norm
Fun trio of sorcerers, well played by all, directing Stephen
The Cape steals the show
Hugely inventive directorial palate, fun, innovative design (but still hearkening back to Ditko's panels)
Amusing end-of-level boss finale
Quippy humour YMMV
Possibility of a real villain for #2

Cons:
McAdams utterly wasted
Mikkelson, does what he can with the material, but like Ecclestone/Pace/Stoll and others before him, a mostly motivational-less and one-dimensional villain there solely to challenge the heroes limits on his journey
Though adhering to the general Strange mythos, the hero-journey here lacks anything new and has been reflected in Iron Man and Batman Begins. They may have stolen parts of his origin story, but did more with it
Though most of the action was fun, Derrickson is caught up with making it chaotic as time/space is fudged with, so the "fight" sequences themselves feel disjointed whilst the crazy whacky shit happens behind them
Quippy humour YMMV

As launching pads go it was pretty decent. For comparison

Marvel Firsts
Iron Man - 6/10
Thor - 5/10
Captain America - 7.5/10
GOTG - 8/10
Ant Man - 6/10
Dr Strange - 6/10

2016
Deadpool - 6/10
BvS - 3.5/10
X-Men: Apocalypse - 5/10
Suicide Squad - 3/10
Civil War - 8/10

I would like to see more of Stephen and, preferably, a second solo film over simply seeing him pop up in other Marvel adventures. The foundations for the second film are well grounded in this film and I'd like to see how they explore that.

Hugo - agrees that all warnings should come before the spell

 

[Jax]

Saw the movie yesterday and I thought it was a very enjoyable romp from the MCU collection and a nice start for a character that could of been easily mishandled. The film look fantastic (2D) and they could of easily gone OTT with the reality bending effects but overall I felt they did a good job. Benedict played at first a very arrogant Tony Stark type character before we got to see the inner hero and no doubt they made the best choice in choosing the Cumberbatch. Yes once again the villain(s) were not exactly fleshed out but you still got the sense he had been simply seduced by his power. The movie did feel a little short for a Marvel movie and I would of liked another 10-15 minutes mainly dedicated to Kaecilius, Dormammu and the world of magic especially Stephen's training since at the end he basically becomes Sorcerer Supreme.

The action scenes are easily some of the best in a standalone MCU movie and the humor is well placed over the duration of the movie with my favourite being Wong's Beyonce moment and laugh at the end. The most surprising character is the cape, which I had no idea basically had it's own personality going into this movie and it does steal the show at times, utterly brilliant. The post credits scenes do a great job of teasing Strange's involvement with the Avengers and setting up the sequel.

I originally graded it as B+ though you could argue for a B since the running time was a little short, the villains needed fleshing out more and they skimped a little over Stephen's training. So for now until I re-watch it the movie at some-point, we can go for inbetween B and B+ and just settle for a dam good start for the latest MCU character.

Esp seen as he was targeted in Winter Soldier, as that was our only reference to him before this.

I think that was just a throwaway Easter egg tease and we shouldn't read anything into it.

 

[Tosk]

I pretty much agree with all the comments in this thread thus far. I enjoyed it, I had no real gripes, I'd rate it somewhere around Ant-Man level...solid flick, good fun, but ultimately just "pretty good".

 

[.:: TSN ::.]

Watched it late yesterday evening. It was a nice MCU movie. Liked it, no idea what else to say about it

Cumberbatch is great as Strange, cant wait to see him interact with other people. Maybe that is the problem, I'm already waiting for the Infinity War and these are just nice episodes between now and then. Little bit like comparison between tv-movie vs "real" movie theater movie. Avengers/Civil War-movies are "real" movies and these single hero movies feel like something less.

So what is the deal with Thor at the end. Will Strange play bigger role in the Ragnarok? Havent really followed spoilers on that one.

 

[Ethros]

^ At the least I would guess that like the post-credits scene from Ant-Man was literally a shortened down scene from Civil War, this is just the same from Ragnarok.
As for how much he's in it I doubt it will be tonnes, sounds like there's enough characters in the movie already. I'd imagine he'll be in it for a 5 or 10 minutes max, help send Thor on his way to his next adventure and that'll be that.

 

[Claudia]

Absolutely stunning visuals, one of the few movies that one absolutely has to see on the big screen. (Especially the end credits, though, reminded me a bit of an LSD-trip - not that I ever experienced one, but I heard it described that way *g*)

The girlfriend wasn’t really memorable, rather 2-dimensional, as was the villain, a typical bad guy.

Plotwise... interesting world building, I thought Tilda Swinton really did a great job as the Ancient One. But the whole transition from student to master for Strange went way too fast. How long did he spend in Nepal? And just reading of spells and magic doesn’t make you an expert in their execution. Which is mentionned, but in the end didn’t matter since Strange just saved the world singlehandedly with spells he’s just read about. I think more time could have been spent here.

Cumberbatch was great, although Strange is somewhat his usual character-type, aloof, intellectual, brilliant, arrogant. Sometimes I was quite reminded of Sherlock in gestures and phrases. (Which isn’t a problem since he’s great at such characters, but at some point I guess I really want to see him doing something different).

I hope there’s going to be a sequel to that, as the scenes during the credits were, plot- and drama-wise, quite enticing. Pitch friend against friend? That could really be a great premise.

 

[Ethros]

But the whole transition from student to master for Strange went way too fast. How long did he spend in Nepal? And just reading of spells and magic doesn’t make you an expert in their execution.

Yeah, at the start of the movie before his car crash Avengers Tower was already there. Maybe they shoulda shown it being built or something at first, or not there at all, to imply the beginning of the movie was maybe taking place a few years before and he spent a long time in Nepal.
But then I guess that wouldn't fit with the Winter Soldier reference if he was in Nepal at the time he was targeted. But as Jax said, that reference seems almost moot anyway.

Then again I suppose Avengers Tower has been there for 4 years now so it could still work either way.
...Slightly off topic but was Avengers Tower even used/active post Age of Ultron? Seen as their new base/facility is in upstate New York, which is all we see in Ant-Man and Civil War.

 

[Tosk]

Maybe they shoulda shown it being built or something at first, or not there at all, to imply the beginning of the movie was maybe taking place a few years before and he spent a long time in Nepal.

The movie doesn't start "a few years ago" though, does it? Pretty sure there's an award or something in Strange's place that says 2016 on it.

 

[Ethros]

^ Yeah I know, just saying maybe it shoulda done

 

[ElimGarak.93-99]

I saw Doctor Strange 3D today.
I didn't know the background story/comic of Dr. Strange, but I really liked the story and absolutely enjoyed the movie.
And planning to see 'Avengers: Infinity War' in 2018.

 

[JD]

Does anyone know if the 3D is any good on this one? I haven't done a 3D movie since Star Trek Into Darkness, but I was thinking all of the crazy visuals could make this one worth checking out if the 3D is done well.

 

[John Clark]

Just back from seeing it.

Overall, I enjoyed it, but I don't think they gave Macadams or Mikkelson enough to do. Benedict Cumberbatch did well with the role, but it does fit in with other characters I've seen him portray.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Probably the most visually spectacular film I've ever seen. The story was the usual hero's journey, and fun. Benedict Cumberbatch's American accent was just awful.
The man's voice is a superpower unto itself, why would they rob him of it?

 

[Claudia]

Cumberbatch's American accent was just awful.
The man's voice is a superpower unto itself, why would they rob him of it?

I wonder that myself. I also thought that somehow that accent reigned in his usual very succinct way of speaking which is one of Cumberbatch's trademarks.

I know that Strange is supposed to be American, but would it have mattered for him to be from England in the broader narrative? They definitely would have avoided that accent problem which even I detected although English isn't my first language...

 

[F. King Daniel]

I've never read the comics, but there was certainly nothing in the movie character's backstory that necessitated him being American.

 

[Jax]

I thought he sounded fine

 

[MNM]

Does anyone know if the 3D is any good on this one?

It was fine. Absoltely nothing bad about the 3D. My criticism of that is the same as 3D on every film I have seen and that is just I didnt think it was needed nor really added anything to the film.

 

[Beagleman]

Wow, I was blown away by the visuals, and the worldbuilding. So he pretty much defeated that dark-dimension-thingy by kirking, using it's own logic on it, nice. Mads was saddly wasted though. Still great fun.