Another great film from Marvel

Rating: 8/10 (27 October 2016)

Doctor Strange is a film about a doctor named Strange. He is involved in an accident, and when traditional medicine fails to heal him, he turns to alternative methods and discovers a world of magic.
Being a movie about a magical magician, it relies heavily upon its VFX to create a believable world for its characters. And in this department, Doctor Strange delivers with beautiful results. It's tough to make an entirely new world, and it's even tougher to make it seem as though it's part of the real world. In this regard, ILM seems to have taken inspiration from Double Negative and their work with Inception six years ago, displaying an exceptional knack for weird shapes and impossible movements. It's also really tough to make a kaleidoscope of buildings, roads and inhabitants (as you might have seen in the trailer) but still keep a sense of direction and focus in an image, especially during the action sequences, but ILM keeps on astounding with their incredible skill with VFX.
Those action scenes also need to be edited well in order for us to be able to really appreciate it, and thankfully, editor Wyatt Smith has made clarity a priority. Instead of a Bourne-style mess of camera movements and quick cuts, action sequences are well organised, with clear distinctions between the two sides of the fight and a direction that can be followed throughout. Despite this calmer edit, the fighting never feels as though it might lack energy, and there's definitely a hair raiser (or two, don't want to spoil anything).
As well as some parts of the film is edited, there are bits where it feels decidedly slow (I yawned a few times). The pacing isn't the best and it feels like the movie was stretched to longer than it should have been. In trying to explain this new magical world, there ends up being a few bits when there is a little too much boring exposition. But even with a few lengthy explanations, there are still some things that are left unexplained – some weird rules which are only mentioned a handful of times and not really elaborated upon. It leaves the audience a little in the dark as to the motivation behind certain decisions that characters take.
Speaking of characters Scott Derrickson made an interesting choice with the 'villain', in that he isn't really evil at all. He is the antagonist, but there is more to the character than a desire to kill and hurt, which is unlike the usual in many superhero films. It means that there's a unique tension throughout a majority of the film, something added to by Strange's mentor Karl (I won't elaborate). Sadly, this is really the only differentiation this film makes compared to the several other origin-story films that Marvel has made over the years. It's a pretty standard setup, where someone has a good life, something bad happens and they are forced to re-evaluate. Not to say that it is bad, but 13 movies later it feels a little overused and definitely contributes to the film feeling a little predictable and on the slow side. Another part that doesn't work too well is the music. Though he is a very talented composer, it doesn't seem as though Michael Giacchino brought his best to the table, instead putting down some more forgettable music which has been a constant problem plaguing almost every Marvel film.
Determined not to take itself too seriously though, Doctor Strange is filled with the usual humour found in Marvel's movies, and Stan Lee's appearance is definitely one of the funnier moments in the film. It also helps that the acting, while not Oscar worthy, is definitely believable, and even the supporting cast did a pretty decent job with their characters. This gives it a very consistent feeling, and no one person is really overshadowed by another, making the film a little bit more believable.
Overall, Doctor Strange is a great watch, a wonderful glimpse into the world of magic and multiverses. Despite its standard plot structure and forgettable music, it remains one of the better films to have been released this year (and miles ahead of anything DC has done so far).
8.4/10 – Definitely worth watching, even if you only go for the psychedelic worlds