Marvel keeps dishing these out

Rating: 6/10 (31 October 2016)

"Doctor Strange" is an American movie that runs for under two hours slightly and was released this year, 2016, very recently actually. The writer and director is Scott Derrickson and after making a handful of films for horror film fans, here he enters the world of superheroes, namely the Marvel Universe. And this will without a doubt turn into Derrickson's most known work to-date. No need to mention all the other characters who already got their own films or were in the Avengers movie as you probably are aware of them anyway if you consider seeing this one. Obviously, Marvel is not running short of these and I am sure Doctor Strange will not be the last guy entering the scene. The title character is played by Benedict Cumberbatch and there are more fairly famous names in the cast. You can check out the list to find out who exactly appeared in here. Actually, I myself thought Stuhlbarg's character would turn into some kind of antagonist judging from the early scenes but he was just a mean to show the character development towards being a nice guy for Cumberbatch's character. Speaking about him, you could call him a mix of Dr. House, Sherlock and a superhero eventually I guess. Other than that, the film also makes parallels to stuff like "Inception" or "Doctor Who".
The way how you see this movie will have a lot to do with how much you like Cumberbatch. I personally think he is a very overrated actor who does not have half as much range as people make him out to have plus his approach to very different characters looks almost always the same. And this movie here is no exception either. Let's be honest: The first half hour of the film is Cumberbatch channeling his Sherlock 100%. But away from him and let's look a bit at the film in general. Stan Lee has his cameo as usual and the main antagonist is played by Mads Mikkelsen 10 years after he gave another very memorable villain performance in a Bond movie. But sadly, his turn here offers very little in terms of memorability and this has mostly to do with how forgettable and generic the character was written. Mikkelsen still makes the most of it. In terms of the plot, a bit of it is predictable (Swinton's character's fate e.g.), but not everything. These two hours definitely also have many lighter moments, but there aren't many that are working out from a comedy perspective. One exception would be the name confusion between hero and antagonist or Cumberbatch mentioning his astral body. McAdams was part of several of these comedy moments and she definitely elevates the material, but seriously Cumberbatch is so bland and has no comedic talent at all and his always-the-same tongue-in-cheek approach becomes stale and cringeworthy quickly. Most of the scenes intended as somewhat funny to create a balance with the more heavy material aren't working.
Eventually, this film here is a decent watch for comic book film fans, even if there are many weaknesses included. Still, the story is solid for the most part and some of the scenes and characters are also memorable, even if there was nothing really new or innovative in here that you haven't seen in Marvel films in recent years yet. The film also offers some of the best in terms of special effects, but for real film lovers like me it's difficult to really appreciate these if the story is a bit flawed. I'm curious what you think about the film's comedy. As for me, I definitely prefer the darker, unfunny approach to superhero films, but this is not the one taken in the Marvel films and this should not come as a surprise to anybody anymore. Besides that, I don't think Cumberbatch was ideal for the part. Most of the other actors are though and I am a bit surprised how many English actors are in here. What else can be said? Oh yeah, at the end there is already a bit of a teaser about Strange and Thor working together on a future project and this is probably the next film we can expect where the focus is on Thor, his dad and once again the brute brother Loki. Finally, one more word on this one here. They really tried to make it different compared to other Marvel films with all the intellectual, the doctor, the scientist references, but it's not working out. The only effect it had on me was that I was wondering where are the other heroes when the world is in danger. Besides, the time references (and how crucial it was at the end) felt a bit random. Clumsy references to watches just aren't enough to make it work in the long run. I see this film has received many strong reviews and receptions so far and I am a bit baffled by that. It is a solid film, but there is not a single aspect that stands out and even if these 2 hours flew by quickly, I don't think it will get people interested in superhero films if they did not like them before already. If the latter is true, however, then you can check it out and I recommend the watch.