Well-balanced between conventional and outlandish

Rating: 10/10 (29 October 2016)

Rockstar neurosurgeon mister, sorry, doctor, Stephen Strange(perfectly cast Cumberbatch, embodying both the early arrogance and the mature respect) comes out of a car crash with his hands as destroyed as a PG-13 rating will allow. Western medicine simply can't do more than it has. So he finds himself in Kathmandu, in a temple, finding out that magic is real, as well as a huge world of its own. As he becomes more familiar with it, so do we, without it ever losing the "wow" factor. By the climax, when numerous different kinds of powers are wielded on both sides, we understand the core rules of every single one. This sets a new standard for how well-handled and, yes, accessible, a big budget fantasy tale can be, even if it's not a household name. It's not always that self-assured. Friend, not love, Christine(McAdams, sweet, charming, and actually a presence in spite of the limited screen time) is essentially nothing more than a studio note that ends in an underlined "if not, it gets too weird". This borrows from The Matrix, Inception, and the continually expanding and exciting(we will see Benedict again *very* soon!) MCU's most played card, Iron Man. But it makes it all work.
They couldn't have picked a better hand than Derrickson's. He handles the action incredibly well. Yes, as an origin story, the middle doesn't have a lot, and the opening is fairly brief, giving us a taste of what we'll later bathe in. On the whole, it is plentiful, no sequence is ever so short it doesn't properly register, it looks and feels like nothing we've seen before, even if it has pieces that are recognizable. A gritty reality being invaded by increasingly strong supernatural forces – and the fact that he did Sinister, as well, is evident in some gruesome material. I can just hear the pitch now, opening as I'm sure it did with "the film will just about open with a brutal accident so bad that it leaves the lead partially handicapped for most of it".
The door has been opened. The multiverse is upon us. It's glorious. Colorful, with tremendous depth(watch it in 3D!), unforgettable, psychedelic, amazing. We don't spend a lot of time out there – this *is* the first, pardon the pun, trip. It's enough to satisfy, and we'll explore further, with the success this will have – oh, on that... trust me. Going in blind? Think "comics" mean Dilbert and Garfield? Go, see it. You'll love it. This is quippy, quotable and quick. Everyone gets to be funny, several times over. Characters stick with you. Loki and Ultron are joined in the "memorable, cool villain" club by Kaecilius, distracting Danish accent(he's my countryman – I get to make fun of it) and all.
I recommend this to anyone possessing eyes, ears and a base understanding of the English language. What are you doing still reading this? You could be in the mirror dimension, meeting Dormammu or teleporting across the globe right now! Don't know what that even means? You could, in a mere 103 minutes! 10/10