Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. An arrogant expert has his life turned upside down via a crippling incident, one in which alters his views on life. Said expert learns a new craft and, through the power of zippy training sequences, becomes an expert in his new field. There’s tension between his former lover and new mentor, both stemming from his cockiness. He wins them over through his charm and newfound humility. He discovers the latter through battles with a dangerous villain that threatens humanity. By the end of the film, the expert saves the day and becomes a force to be reckoned with.
This is the formula to most comic book films. Hell, it’s the formula to most action hero fables. The story is almost always the same, just structured a bit differently to set it apart. When it comes to Marvel films, a twist on the formula is presented, a flavor all of its own. “Guardians of the Galaxy” presented a sci-fi epic with vibrant energy, a rocking soundtrack, charming humor, and boisterous personas. “Ant-Man” also had vibrant energy and charming humor, with world-altering physics and familial drama to bolster the routine origin story. Now comes “Doctor Strange,” which also boasts charming humor (albeit too forced and cheeky, at times) accompanied by mind-bending visuals, astrophysics, magic, martial arts, and copious amounts of world-building. The origin formula is still the same, but the dressing is unique.
The arrogant expert this time around is Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), a neurosurgeon in search of fame and control. This strikes the ire of his former lover, Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), who sees honor and selflessness within him and will no doubt drag it out of his stubborn demeanor. Beating her to the punch is a careless car accident (brought upon by his bullishness) that temporarily paralyzes him, fully stunting the usage of his hands. Desperate to have his life back, he seeks a former victim of tragic paralysis, Jonathan Pangborn (Benjamin Bratt), who healed his ailments with the power of belief. He was taught this mental strength from The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), a powerful being who can manipulate physics to her advantage.
Much like Christine, The Ancient One seeks to bring out the hero in Dr. Strange. She sees through his arrogance, seeing a man craving success to mask his fear of failure. Along with Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Wong (Benedict Wong), she teaches him the mystic arts, which gives him the power to travel through paradoxes, control time, craft otherworldly weapons, and shift dimensions. It’s like a more advanced form of the Green Lantern’s powers, grounded in science and black magic. It’s far more tantalizing and visually pleasing!
Director Scott Derrickson has a field day with the visuals, aping “Inception” when it comes to world-bending! Locations such as London and Hong Kong are turned on their axis, buildings morphing into one another, others shape-shifting into walkways. Words can’t do the visuals justice, which is a ringing endorsement to see the film for yourself if I’ve ever heard one. To watch fights take place amidst these visuals is a sight to behold! I caught myself focused more on the visuals themselves than the actual fights, a backhanded compliment to some.
Derrickson also plays around with the astrophysics, such as the ability for one’s soul to manifest itself outside its host body. Strange utilizes this to communicate to Christine his new powers, aiding her in his own operation. As she injects him with shots and defibrillators, he does battle with another master of the mystic arts, a henchman whose martial arts is done with precision by Scott Adkins. In this case, it is the souls of the two commencing in combat, swishing through the air and sliding through walls. They act as ghosts, their movements knocking about physical structures in our world such as bedpans and lighting. It’s a nifty sequence directed with smoothness!
Derrickson’s direction as a whole is smooth, which helps in ironing out the kinks. As mentioned, the film is a formulaic origin story, replete with predictable lessons on morality and the human spirit. It’s spiced up via the mysticism, but the message is still the same. Also similar is the villain, Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), a cookie cutter baddie whose past grievances have driven him to madness. He wants to destroy the world, of course, using the mystic arts taught to him by The Ancient One to do so. This does add a layer of depth to both parties, giving credence to The Ancient One’s apprehension to teaching Dr. Strange (out of fear he too will turn to the dark side) and giving weight to Kaecilius’ actions. Even so, he’s a disposable villain meant to take a backseat to Dr. Strange’s development, a slight waste of the talented Mads (though his presence does wonders for the character).
One rough patch the film struggles to overcome is its humor. It’s become commonplace in Marvel films for there to be cheeky humor to lighten up the proceedings and entertain the masses. Joss Whedon found great success with it in “The Avengers” films and it befit the character of Tony Stark in “Iron Man.” Here, it feels forced and awkward at times, more a burden than a trait. It’s almost as if the humor exists solely to make Dr. Strange’s transition into the next “Avengers” film less gawky. Dr. Strange dishes out quips left and right, acting like Tony Stark Lite. There’s a bevy of pop culture references, such as one involving Beyonce that had my eyes rolling. The humor feels more natural when it plays off of the magic, such as how the Cloak of Levitation takes on a life of its own, at one point strangling Scott Adkins in comedic fashion. When Dr. Strange sarcastically interacts with the Cloak, it feels organic. When he’s cracking wise and making pop culture references, it feels strained.
While “Doctor Strange” may wallow in its formula, there’s enough inventiveness to help set it apart. The effects are dazzling, especially the trippy visuals that are akin to Hollywood LSD trips! The usage of magic is clever and unique, especially during the riveting finale. Every performer brings with them their own gravitas that elevates the adequate script (credited to Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill & Jon Spaihts) and complements the visuals. The direction is crisp, moving the proceedings about with smooth transitions.
As the tagline for the film states, “The impossibilities are endless.” Now that the routine origin story is out of the way, I’m excited to see what other impossibilities lie in wait.
Final Rating: B