The Mystical Side of Comic Book Lore Brought To Life, Right Before Our Very Eyes

Rating: 10/10 (9 November 2016)

I'll be honest with you. Never, even in my wildest dreams, did I ever expect to see a character like Doctor Strange in the MCU. Just thinking about the scope of the worlds he inhabits, made me believe that this was a character that just wasn't feasible for a live action adaptation. I thought that even if they did introduce Strange into the MCU, he'd be a grounded character and confined to this universe alone, reduced to only doing Scarlet Witch 'hand wavy' magic (which tbh, looks pretty good).
Boy, was I wrong.
This movie is a game changer. Casual fans, or the general movie going audience might not realize the implication this film has on the entire landscape of the MCU. We now know that a Multiverse exist. Beings that are too 'spoilerific' to be mentioned here, have been watching over this universe. A vast plethora of villains and heroes of insurmountable strengths are, now suddenly, a possibility. Even crossovers from characters outside the MCU, can now be fit into the existing universe without any break or discrepancy in the continuity of the MCU. (I wouldn't hold my breath for that, but then again, Spider-Man happened)
OK, now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the movie itself. First off, what a cast. Give the casting guy a freaking medal, because EVERYBODY'S performance was so on point. Benedict is Doctor Strange. Period. Tilda Swanson, Mads Mikkelsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benadict Wong and McAdams were all great.
The story was a classic redemption, self discovery story, peppered with the trademark Marvel humor and quips, we've come to love and expect from each film the studio releases. One of my favorite characters in the film was actually The Cloak of Levitation. It's the JARVIS to Strange's Tony Stark. But the real high point in the story was in the third act. It diverged from the usual stock 'Blue beam shooting up into the sky' block buster ending. Instead, it offered something innovative, fresh and pretty damn imaginative.
Speaking of imagination, I think now's the appropriate time to mention the real star of the film. THE VISUALS. OH MY GOD. Watching Strange drift, whiz and fly through the Multiverse was like watching a painting in motion. The movie was full of breathtaking, sensory overloading, majestic and highly impacting scenes, that just left you dangling off of the edge of your seat. Really, the only way to watch this film is in IMAX 3D. No other way about it. The fight scenes were well choreographed and the film itself was beautifully shot. Scott Derrickson, take a bow, sir. You deserve all the praise you've been getting.
In closing, I'd like to say this. Doctor Strange was my most anticipated film of this year. Yes, even more that Civil War (This is coming from the biggest Spidey fan ever), or BvS, or even Deadpool for that matter. Simply because of the cast, director and the world building opportunity this film could provide to the MCU. And I'm ecstatic to say, that it did not disappoint. This is my favorite comic book movie of the year, and one of my favorite comic book movies of all time. Thank you, to everyone involved.
Ratings:
As a regular movie goer: 9/10
As a fan: 1,000,000/10