Doctor Strange is the newest addition to the Marvel Studios universe. It follows Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who is an important and talented neurosurgeon until he gets in a car accident and loses the use of his hands. The movie follows him search the earth for a cure so that he can go back to doing what he does best; saving lives every day. Long story short, his search leads him to find out about magic and different dimensions.
The movie hit theaters on Nov 4th and I was able to see an advanced screening the day before. Before I dive into a full review, I must say that it’s probably one of the best movies I have ever seen, and that’s saying something because I watch a lot of movies.
There wasn’t a ton of information going around about Doctor Strange and exactly what it was about, so if you’ve never read a Marvel comic and had no idea what Doctor Strange it about let me tell you right now, I guarantee you’ll still love it. The whole movie is about changing your perspective on the world, which in ways makes it very unique.
There’s lots of aspects of the film that make it seem so similar to the rest of Marvel’s movies. There’s a lot of intense action scenes as well as many heart-wrenching moments that truly make you feel for the characters. There’s lots of light-hearted banter that leads to a ton of hilarious jokes that had the entire theater laughing as if it was a Tony Stark one-liner. Every Marvel movie truly makes you fall in love with it’s characters and their stories but there’s just something about Doctor Stephen Strange that really makes you root for him. Yes, he’s an arrogant guy in the beginning but it’s impossible not to cheer him on as he realizes the true purpose of living; not everything is about you.
In other ways the film is totally different from other things I’ve seen Marvel done. The movie follows a form of sorcery so there’s moments when the whole world is literally tipped upside down and you’re questioning what is happening and how it’s happening. It’s very “trippy” as you can hear lots of audience members saying during some of the fight scenes.
Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Rachel McAdams, and Chiwetel Ejiofor are all absolutely stunning and perfectly cast. Cumberbatch is known for playing know-it-all Sherlock Holmes on BBC’s Sherlock as well as many other movies in the last few years. I personally couldn’t think of a better actor to play Strange. Once you get over the initial shock of hearing him speak with an American accent, everything just fits and works amazingly. Yes, I may be biased as Sherlock is one of my favorite shows, but honestly Cumberbatch is an amazing actor and I’m so glad he got the part.