Doctor Strange

Rating: 5/10 (28 October 2016)

Marvel came out on top with the thrilling ensemble epic "Captain America: Civil War." But while "Doctor Strange" could have been the company's victory lap while introducing movie audiences to a cosmic new branch of the MCU, instead, this tale of magic and world-threatening mayhem is Marvel at it's most mediocre.The story itself makes sense only in broad strokes. Try to pick out the particulars of Kaecilius's plan, and you'll be left with far more questions than answers. Though Mads is riveting in his creepy make-up and confident glowers, his villain goes the way of too many MCU baddies by being too vaguely realized in his emotions and backstory to have a powerful emotional impact. However, Mikkelsen's wry humor honed over seasons of "Hannibal" comes in handy to deliver one of the film's funniest moments, involving a nonchalant exchange that has a confused Kaecilius calling the titular hero "Mister Doctor."Unfortunately, this is one of the few jokes that work. Under the direction of Scott Derrickson ("Sinister"), "Doctor Strange" rejects the broader comedic moments of quips and pratfalls that the MCU has made part of its signature in favor of a dryer wit. Which would have been great, if it worked. As it was, joke after joke from Strange — including a run about people with solo names like Adele, Aristotle and Eminem — fell flat, leaving a cavernous silence in a theater where laughter was meant to be. This speaks to the central problem of "Doctor Strange": Benedict Cumberbatch has been wildly, woefully miscast.Now, I admire that Derrickson tried to make the MCU his own, folding in trippy and sometimes nightmarish visuals of the astral planes and Mirror Dimension. He swung for the fences, and while the CGI bodies are sometimes jarringly rubbery, it's a dizzying delight to see how these stylish sorcerers bends the streets of London, New York and Hong Kong into M.C. Escher- inspired constructs of chaos. However, while the action scenes have great settings, the fights themselves lack zing, leaving the stakes feeling weightless.All in all, "Doctor Strange" is fine, and sometimes fun. But I've come to expect so much more from Marvel. With "Captain America," "Thor," "Iron Man" and "The Avengers," the shrewd studio casts films impeccably, bringing together an astonishing array of actors to create captivating on screen chemistry and wonderfully larger-than-life characters. Following in the footsteps of the Batman and Spider-Man movies that came before, the MCU has been raising the bar on what audiences should demand from superhero spectacle. But sometimes, even they can't clear it.