Enjoyable but unexceptional

Rating: 7/10 (24 March 2017)

Although I did read a single Dr. Strange comic book something like 50 years ago, it's fair to say I don't really know anything about the comic book. So I don't know how true it is to its source material. But divorced from that material, I found this a reasonably entertaining piece of nonsense that felt like it could have been better.
The movie begins with a terrific opening scene in which people fight on the side of a building which is turning in on itself. Weird stuff happening with architecture is a common theme in the movie and is consistently entertaining.
Then we meet Cumberbatch as a brilliant, arrogant surgeon whose golden hands are destroyed in an accident. Soon he discovers a temple in Katmandu that he believes can help him. It is headed by Tilda Swinton, and my response to that was, immediately, why is this white lady in charge of an Asian temple? This turns out to have been part of the Asian whitewashing complaints, but ignoring that entirely, it just seems weird, and goes totally unaddressed in the film.
It is one of various small things that added together weaken the film. Another is the magical cape that makes an appearance. Again, I'm not familiar with the original comic books, but the cape in the movie seems like the silliest superweapon ever. It's played for laughs, which is perhaps the only option with something like this, but the cape slapstick felt out of place with the movie overall.
The story itself feels a bit rushed. I got little sense of the villains or the actual stakes, and various ideas and twists were just kind of tossed out and never adequately pursued. Strange goes from jerk to hero without much actual character development.
What saves the movie from its many flaws are some terrific set pieces, including a fight that takes place while time is reversing, and those crazy architecture battles. The action and special effects are quite good, Cumberthatch does a solid job, and the movie has a sprightly sense of humor.
So overall I did like it. But I feel like there was potential for something better. Maybe they'll do better for the sequel?