A reasonably interesting story, but it never quite manages to fully get into its stride

Rating: 5/10 (10 August 2017)

Brilliant neurosurgeon Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) finds his whole world turned upside down after he is involved in a serious car accident whilst he is on his way to give a speech. Strange survives the crash, but ends up with severe nerve damage in both his hands which forces him to quit his job. Things are looking bleak for Strange, but when he hears about a man who made a full recovery from life-changing conditions at the hands of the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) Strange heads to Nepal hoping that she will be able to do the same for him, but nothing could prepare Strange for what he was about to witness or what he was about to become....
The first thing that needs to be acknowledged here are the special effects which are terrific and are some of the best special effects that I've seen. Whilst the effects are great I did start to form the impression that they were more important to the director than the actual story and it starts to get to a point when the special effects engulf the story and, at times, it just becomes a bit too much.
The story itself is quite interesting in its early stages where Strange seeks out the Ancient One in the hope that he can be healed and returned to his normal life. I also found the training aspect to be interesting as well - particularly with Strange's struggle to create gateways. However, in the second half it becomes much less interesting as we see Strange battling against former Master Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen). Perhaps part of the problem lies with the fact that I didn't really care much for the characters and was never really interested in their own personal struggles. A lot of the characters here aren't well developed and their motivations also seem rather weak. All of the inter-dimensional warring and protection of Sanctum's aspect of the narrative is glossed over resulting in a rushed and rather anti-climactic final act.
On balance, Doctor Strange is a reasonable film with a mildly interesting story, but despite appearing to be an intelligent film it lacks depth and isn't a particularly exciting film to watch. I also couldn't help but sake the notion that it may also be full of its own self-importance.