Doctor Strange (2016)
directed by Scott Derrickson
★★★★☆
Somewhere between Iron Man and The Matrix lies Doctor Strange. This is one of the Marvel franchises I knew little about, so I went in not knowing what to expect. What I got was an origin story that was much better paced and executed than Ant-Man, but maybe not quite as good as Iron-Man itself.
Superhero movies are always better when the hero has some previous attachment to the villain. That is not the case here. Still, the special effects and occasional comedy steal the show here, and even though the CGI gives us a few rubber dummy moments reminiscent of the first Spider-Man or Harry Potter, the fractal effects on the environment and the NYC and Hong Kong battles were impressive.
Benedict Cumberbatch is an almost perfect match for Doctor Strange, although his acting is hampered slightly by his successful-but-forced attempt to put on an American accent, which causes him to sound a little too much like Dr. House. Tilda Swinton shines as The Ancient One, and Mads Mikkelsen works well enough as Kaecilius, a character who is not given nearly enough screen time or back story to be suitably threatening. In fact, if there is one glaring flaw to this film, it’s the utter lack of a sense of impending doom. Even at the most dire and desperate point in the story, I was like, “meh…”
And I cannot review a film with a Michael Giacchino score without raving about it. So there. I’ve gotten that out of the way.
