Not Strange Enough

Rating: 5/10 (26 October 2016)

The Doctor Strange movie is OK but doesn't benefit to being seen on the small screen my cinema allocates to 2D screenings (It's hard to believe The Odeon, Brighton, UK once had the biggest screen in Britain!). I should have brought binoculars.
The movie combines a lot of kaleidoscopic effects with a few nods to the work of comic book artist Steve Ditko who defined Dr Strange universe. In a way the film is a triumph of visuals over plot which actually mirrors the comic book. Marvel has never used Strange to explore existing magical systems or Christian demonology instead relying on a few nonsense phrases penned by co-creator Stan Lee. Lee himself admitted he never expected to have to actually explain where the Many moons of Majipoor were or who was The Vashanti. As a result, Dr Strange's 'magic' has tended to involve firing magic bolts at his enemies . The movie's concept of magic is some gobbledygook about spiritual manipulation of quantum physics, with a bit of Harry potter thrown in in the form of a semi-comedic cloak of levitation that switches from a cute puppy to a rottweiler, beating one of the villain's hench people to death. The downside of this comes with some laugh out loud dialogue (Sling Rings anybody?) and when Strange finally has a heart to heart with his mentor, The Ancient One, it plumbs unforeseen depths of banality. A lot of the audience got really restless at this point. If the movie is like an hallucinogenic drug, this was its come down.
Benadict Cumberbatch certainly looks the part of Dr Stephen Strange, the arrogant but brilliant surgeon who turns to mysticism to heal his hands after they are wrecked in a car crash, Tilda Swindon (a bizarre casting choice) plays The Ancient One who teaches Strange that there's more to life than luxury apartments and a draw display of rotating watches. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Mordor The ancient One's star pupil until Strange comes along and reveals that his mentor is not all she seems.. As a Doctor strange fan, I was happy to see references to the character's slim mythology and a surprise appearance by Dormammu, ruler of the Dark dimension. As a throw away gag, some of the human villains are transformed into Mindless Ones as they are swept up into his realm.
In contrast, I didn't welcome the continuity tie in dialogue that positioned the heroes as Earth's supernatural Avengers. Perhaps a different director (Del Toro?) would have got to grips with the magic stuff. Since Thor and family have been retconed as aliens, I don't see, as an end credit sequence suggests, is a supernatural threat. Similarly, if the good Dr's magic is simply the manipulation of the quantum universe, I don't see how he can claim the title of 'Sorcerer Supreme'.
The origin by numbers story construction didn't deliver anything narratively special. Strange's character was basically Tony Stark in a frock.
As it stands, Dr Strange felt a bit too familiar.