A decent intro in the shape of an origin film - more to come next time?

Rating: 6/10 (23 July 2018)

This film is Marvel's cinematic introduction (or reintroduction if you believe that the 1978 film should be counted as the first outing - although that was before Marvel Studies was a thing) to a long-time favourite character of comic nerds everywhere, Doctor Strange. Doctor Strange is the master of mystical arts and one of the Marvel Universes most powerful people. More than just a magician or a wizard, he controls powers that affect time and space as in this existence and others.
Like other movies, this is an origin story to introduce him. It accounts his story from being one of the world's finest surgical physicians who loses his skills in a freak car accident, to becoming a master of mystical arts and protector of Earth.
Being a superhero film you'd already expect a lot of CGI, throw in the magical element and you know that nearly every scene will be CGI'd. Threat not though, for the most part it's actually tastefully done. There are some beautiful scenes in the city reminiscent of "Inception", there are some wonderfully choreographed fight scenes too, and wit and humour is never far away from the screen. Some film's feel like they need the central character to grow up and become an adult with responsibilities in order for the film to advance. This feels the opposite, while Strange is a responsible adult at the start of the film he needs to relax and let go in order to be victorious. Perfect for what doubters and Marvel haters need to go through to watch something like this unreservedly without pre-judgements. If a man of science and medicine had to believe in magic in order to accept what his eyes and ears were telling him, then I'm sure cinema goers will be okay to sit and watch this for the joy of cinema rather than ulterior motives. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the Doctor and his portrayal, while a little wooden and void of emotional attachment at times, it was exactly how I'd image Strange being on screen when being plucked from the pages of a comic. I'm a fan of Mads Mikkelsen in general, I think his demeanour is very powerful, he is believable as the villain Kaecilius and I only wish there was potential to be in future films. Oops, nearly a spoiler. OK, so the story is a little formulaic, but it has to be, it's an origin story. The central character was X, then Y happens, now he has to cope with Y if he wants to be Z. It's simple sure, but at least this film had the manners not to pretend it was something it was not. It's a simple and fun film with visual treats that won't offend. I couldn't rate this as highly as other Marvel film's I've watched, but I'm not worried about that either. I know that this is an origin, we'll see Doctor Strange in other things soon, the next film, I'm sure will be better than this - but for now, I say decent introduction, 6 out of 10.