A Pleasant Surprise Every Time

Rating: 8/10 (28 May 2020)

Doctor Strange is in a weird place when it comes to my preferences in the MCU : every time I watch it, I am reminded of how much I love this movie, but at the same time, it is very rarely the one that I choose to put on over something more light-hearted like Guardians of the Galaxy or Thor : Ragnarok. This makes it very hard to rank this film in my Marvel list.
The obvious MVP here is the VFX team, who did a spectacular job making this magical world come to life. The action sequences are honestly some of the best of any MCU movie. Also, the performances are spot-on : Benedict Cumberbatch kills it as Stephen Strange, and the other cast members play their roles to near-perfection. I would complain, however, that the pacing is an element that could have been improved, especially in the first act when they set up Strange's character a little bit too quickly for my personal taste.
However, Doctor Strange is another amazing addition to Marvel's stacked lineup, and I can't wait to see what Sam Raimi will do with the sequel in 2022.