Failed to Measure Up to Its Considerable Potential

Rating: 6/10 (11 June 2017)

"Dr. Steven Strange" (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a highly competent neurosurgeon who has an ego that is only matched by his arrogance and basic lack of charm. But that all changes one day after a car accident causes massive damage to his hands which essentially destroys his ability to function effectively in his chosen career. So having limited success with everything that Western medicine has to offer, he travels to India in a desperate search for a holistic remedy. But when he gets there and meets with an elderly woman known as "the Ancient One" (Tilda Swinton) he discovers more than he ever thought imaginable. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I had looked forward to watching this movie for a long time and now that I have finally gotten around to it I must confess that I was somewhat disappointed. To be sure, this film was better in some ways than the 1978 version--if for no other reason than the improved CGI. Unfortunately, rather than concentrating on creating a film with any measure of depth, the director (Scott Derrickson) chose to take the rather lazy and uninspired route by providing--yet another--superhero film consisting of nothing but action and CGI. Make no mistake, a film of this type definitely needs CGI and action. But it shouldn't be at the expense of everything else. That said, although I don't consider this movie to be bad necessarily, I also don't believe that it achieved its considerable potential either. For that reason I have rated this film accordingly. Slightly above average.