Doctor Strange made superhero movies fun again

Rating: 7/10 (1 November 2016)

I read a lot of Marvel comics and possess good to excellent knowledge in all the characters in the MCU except two - Howard the Duck and Doctor Strange. The former is self-explanatory, the latter I know uses mystic powers to fight villains. That doesn't interest me. Magic, IMHO, is a cheat code and with that the dude can conjure anything out of his imagination to win any bout. Boooooooooring. However, great word of mouth brought me to the cinema and I must say this is the best Marvel movie I have seen this year.
From an archetypal megalomaniac for a villain to a flawed hero to a Defcon One destruction-of-yet-another-city climax (poor New York City again?!), superhero movies adhere to an overused template. Doctor Strange doesn't do it differently in a broader sense but it made the journey through the tropes suddenly feel refreshing, and that is one mark of an excellent film. The visual and sonic effects are absolutely marvellous. The opening action sequence which featured a kaleidoscope of turning and tilting buildings is simply jaw-dropping. The world building is so interesting and exhilarating. In a lesser film, the lengthy exposition would have kill it beyond the point of resurrection, but here it feels so rollickingly fun. I didn't even need to park my head outside the door, I willingly put it in my lap and devoured all the excesses like a sponge.
Benedict Cumberbatch (I read in a friend's FB post that a couple of girls called him Benson Cucumber :)) anchors the movie superbly and it is difficult to see another actor in the role of Stephen Strange, an egotistical narcissist turned superhero. But it is especially hard to despise him even when he is at his most selfish. Cumberbatch is heroic in the way he allows his character to joyfully take over any situation and call out anyone who doesn't serve his purpose. When he fights, it is not with the zeal of a focused Avenger who is hellbent on saving the world. It is with the constant one-upmanships of a cunning jokester. He doesn't plummet the villain till he is a pulp, he makes the baddie give up wanting to fight him.
My wifey never likes movies with high concepts like time travel and time paradoxes, but surprisingly she never complained about this one bit. It totally succeeded in making the big concepts bite-sized and they served the story well. That is another mark of a good film. The movie also never takes itself seriously and pokes fun at the ridiculousness of it all. We live it cathartically through Strange as he constantly wants to sieve through the bullshite to find the scientific explanation behind it. Other than Cumberbatch, all the supporting roles came out aces. Yes, some of them do feel under-developed but the film got the measure between fun and pathos just right.
This is one Marvel-ous movie and just like that, it made superhero movies fun again.