By Matthew Dillon
As a big fan of comic books, I had pretty low expectations for Doctor Strange. The film is the newest addition to the seemingly endless array of Marvel Comics adaptations. While the Marvel/Disney powerhouse has yet to put out a genuinely bad film, I was certain that Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme who guards reality from gods, demons and worse, was one of those characters you could never properly translate to the big screen. I thought that too much of the Steve Ditko-created character’s background and history couldn’t work in the format of a movie, or at the very least, not in a way that could appeal to mainstream audiences.
Historically speaking, Doctor Strange has been one of the more “out there” characters in superhero comics, to the point where a lot of readers accused the writers and artists of taking hallucinogens due to the sort of storylines and visuals they were presenting. But Disney has defied expectations yet again by executing a smart, funny and visually impressive film that competently adapts the complex source material, while still being different enough to stand on its own merits.
One thing you need to keep in mind is that Doctor Strange is not a superhero film in any real sense. Sure, it takes place in the same “cinematic universe” as the other Marvel adapted media, but Doctor Strange fulfills a very different role and has a very unique story compared to his peers. Doctor Strange is refreshingly different from every other Marvel film in terms of tone, visuals, story and especially characters.
I was surprised to find that this was, by far, the funniest of the Marvel films. While a lot of the other additions to the “Marvel Cinematic Universe” try to be humorous Doctor Strange’s fast paced, character driven and genuinely clever writing got the most laughs out of me. Benedict Cumberbatch, who played the titular Doctor Strange, contributed a lot to this, mainly by presenting a surprisingly charismatic and engaging performance. While I am generally not a fan of Cumberbatch’s work, he really knocked it out of the park with Doctor Strange. Cumberbatch captures the titular hero’s arrogance and mysticism while still maintaining a strong element of humanity and comedy.
The film itself does a good job striking the right balance between its complex source material and being its own thing. The film maintains the important parts of Strange’s background, mainly his transformation from an arrogant hotshot surgeon to the most powerful magic user in the complex multiverse.
Most of the film centers on Strange’s education in magic and later his battles against planet devouring magical menace Dormmammu and his agents. Along the way, we get some of the most impressive and complex visuals in any Marvel movie, which managed to be impressive and devoid of gimmicks.
Overall, Doctor Strange hits all the right notes and manages to break the mold most of the Marvel films have fallen into, while providing a great film that offers something for comic fans and casual film goers alike.
