Chosen by a thinking relic

Rating: Null/10 (6 December 2016)

Cumber-fans rejoice! Holmes, nee, Strange, is finally here.
Pulling double duty as both the titular superhero (of sorts) and the baddie (unfortunately, they do world-eaters again, notwithstanding the sequel the F4 a few years previously)'s voice, Cumberbatch is perfect in every frame in this huge foray of his, into mainstream cinema (notwithstanding 'The 5th estate' or 'The imitation game', not counting his supporting turns in flicks like 'Tinker tailor soldier spy').
Enough about the actors though. Suffice to know that Mads Mikkelsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg (apt, but under-utilized, just like he was in 'Arrival') and the ever-fantastic Tilda Swinton (almost walks away with the entire movie), & even Scott Adkins, refreshingly being seen in something that's not gonna go direct-to- TV) are all perfectly cast in their respective roles, & acquit themselves admirably.
Now, from a Marvel stable standpoint, this is supposed to be the beginning, of a sort, being the 2nd movie in their slate of Phase 2 flicks, which is supposed to have begun with Ant-Man last year. The new crop is supposed to include the titular character here, Ant-Man (of course), Black panther (see in Civil war), the 2nd-time rebooted Spiderman, Captain Marvel, while phasing out, subtle/explicitly the older crop of heroes (Iron Man, Cap, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, et al).
This one does things most mainstream superhero movies haven't done, including those of the Marvel crop, in spite of Thor, haven't done. Mystical realms, timeloops, multiverses, planet/world gobblers et al. While staying true to the genre, within the confines of being an origin story of a new-age superhero, albeit with a whole chunk of mysticism and sorcery thrown in.
Scott Derrickson, who's made unconventional (still mainstream) horror/thriller work including 'Sinister' and the underrated/under- viewed 'Deliver us from evil' (not the documentary), in spite of the flat/underwhelming remake of 'The day the Earth stood still', proves he's more than just apt, or even adept, at playing with all the moving parts he's been handed by the marvel that's team Marvel (mainly the writers). Marvel seems to be hell-bent to better every movie they've made with their next work, including hiring unconventional directors to helm them, beginning with Joss Whedon's selection for the 1st 'Avengers' flick, to SD here, and James Gunn on the GotG flicks (which remain the best Marvel works to date, in my book).
There are, of course, the mandated/necessary nods to the other heroes present in this world, that still revolves around NYC, though it makes more than just 1 non-Sokovia like stop across countries, increasing scope to a level hitherto unseen.
The converted 3D is terrific, and this needs to be fully appreciated on large format 3D screens alone.
Michael Giacchino outdoes himself on the scoring front, though it is not comparable to other great, original works he's done. Apt.
The technical team excels, as they're wont to do, in movies of this scale and size, and all their efforts are available for everyone to enjoy.
The movie also dumbs down its high-concept storytelling, so that noobs to both Marvel and Inception-like imagery, or timeloops, can also have a good time at the movies. A few chase sequences are simply spectacular, though, for me, the conclusion (not including the 2 post end-title sequences) underwhelmed, and brought back bad memories of F4:Silver surfer.
There's a heady mix of humor inherent in almost every serious sequence in the flick, which kind of enhances the entertainment quotient in the overall viewing experience, though not all the jokes land as they should (Wong's response to a quip at the end, which was intended to be ironic, I'm sure, is an example). There are quite a few clichés, and this movie might just have been a notch or two higher without them.
I did wish they'd spent more time exploring exactly how the mystic realms connect to one another, the actual history behind how Dormammu became Dormammu (his true/initial identity, a la, something similar in the 'Deathstalker' books by Simon Green), more characters within, more explanations for why certain minions appear at will and disappear when convenient, but one cannot have it all.
A few of the digital effects harkened back to the much-reviled 'Green lantern' movie, so I was pleasantly surprised that they conceptualized/executed most of it nevertheless.
Having said that, I do think this is an absolutely fantastic effort, and hope to enjoy the sequel better, along with observing Strange's interactions with other heroes in the Marvel multiverse.