Doctor Strange

Rating: 7/10 (12 November 2016)

"Doctor Strange" explores ideas not just foreign to Marvel movie, but pretty much any mainstream movie in recent memory, besides "Interstellar". If it's one thing, it definitely has ambition, something desperately needed in the MCU, and it also may be the best of the marvel movies. However, the flaws may be easier to overlook, but they're there.
The intro of the movie is one of its flaws. It starts with in action scene in another dimension with people we don't know yet, in a place we don't understand, with stakes that we can't understand. See the problem? It may look cool, and the action is well shot and choreographed, but there's no tension. In fact, we don't even know who to root for yet.
The movie's introduction to Dr. Strange should be the real beginning of the movie, because it's pretty great. It starts with a close up of his hands. They're steady. He's precise. He's confident. He's witty. He jokes around with coworkers while dealing with a life or death situation, and he doesn't make a single mistake. This introduction is smooth and smart. We see his determination to be right, and to be in control. A fast paced conversation with Christine Palmer, another doctor, done in a single take as they are walking, tells us about his past personal life and his history with Christine, which is apparently complicated. However, while she is a side character, Christine's character is too underdeveloped.
Strange is shown going extremely fast on a road with multiple people, putting their lives at risk, while also disregarding multiple people that need their lives saved because their problems aren't interesting enough. It is clear that this job isn't about helping others for him, it's about his ego. It's about being able to control everything, including death.
When Strange is in a horrible accident which makes his hands shake, he tries desperately to get his job back, because without it, he is nothing. He is incapable of keeping a relationship, because he is too focused on himself. He tries every medical possibility to heal his hands, but nothing works.
Benedict Cumberbatch is pretty good in this role, but some of his delivery, especially when he's angry, is kind of laughable. I know Cumberbatch is a very good actor, and it may be because of the American accent, but it just sounds melodramatic and a little corny when it should be serious. Nothing major, but it took me out of the moment a little.
Through a series of events, he finds a man who recovered completely from something he thought to be impossible, and this man tells him to go to some place in India (I can't remember the name, and the name isn't important anyway). Of course, he goes there out of desperation, and is told things that make him entirely skeptical, things that make no sense to him logically. What he doesn't know is that he knows so little. What follows his skepticism is some of the most surreal, mind blowing visuals I've seen in any mainstream movie, representing the multiverse and infinite dimensions. It's pretty awesome, and actually thought provoking.
While these visuals are pretty amazing in all of the mirror dimension scenes, and especially this initial revelation, one of this film's flaws is its over reliance on CGI. Don't get me wrong, most of it is pretty great, but sometimes its reach exceeds its grasp, and ends up looking just bad.
Anyway, Strange begins training, and there is some very cringe worthy comedy during this time, and other than that it's mostly expository dialogue.
The film picks up again when Strange begins using the Eye of Agamotto, a necklace that can control time. The real enemy is introduced and the film doesn't really let up from here. There is action set piece after action set piece, and they are all very well shot and original scenes, using the mystical, cosmic elements of the film in interesting and original ways, including a fight outside of Strange's body with another man who is outside of his body while Strange's real body is dying, but being saved by Christine. It sounds pretty complicated, but the director does a good job of making these ideas simple while watching.
One major thing that bothered me while watching these scenes in the real world, however, was how incredibly calm everyone was during these incomprehensible, mind bending events they were experiencing. People would walk through a portal into Hong Kong wearing weird Indian robes, and 2 people would have any sort of reaction, which was literally just running away. Christine, while surprised, also takes it incredibly calmly when Strange's reaches out corporeal self reaches out to talk to her, despite his physical body being on a table in front of her. Also, there is logic lacking in a few action scenes. Why not create a portal directly in front of you while being chased?
Regardless, what these crazy set-pieces culminate with is actually pretty powerful. It becomes about acceptance of our place in the world and acceptance of not just death, but ultimately the end of everything eventually. Even if you control time, death is one thing no one can escape. But that isn't a bad thing. Death is what gives life meaning and value. No death means no time, no time means nothing ever changes, basically living a moment over and over for eternity, which is worse than death. In order to embrace life, we must accept death.
Pretty deep stuff for a Marvel movie. In fact, it's pretty deep stuff for any movie. But despite the journey Strange goes through, and his realization of his inability to control everything alone, as well as his acceptance of his, and everyone else's ultimate demise, he comes out still not fully healed, his hands still shaking, an indication that he still has much more to learn.