Visually awe-inspiring.

Rating: 8/10 (27 October 2016)

Marvel Studios has had solid success when it comes to bringing their second-tier heroes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU): Ant-Man was a fun little heist flick and Guardians of the Galaxy is still one of the franchise's best entries to date. This multi-realm fantasy film sits comfortably in the top echelon of MCU movies thanks to its ambitious concept and dazzling set pieces, the mind-bending parallel dimensions arguably the greatest challenge Marvel Studios has set themselves yet. Director Scott Derrickson and his VFX team visualise the multiple plains of existence with jaw-dropping splendour, the Inception-esque world-shifting of the dark dimension is awe inspiring and lends itself to a superb action sequence in the final act. What the climactic battle lacks in originality – an otherworldly entity wants to destroy Earth – it makes up for in sheer visual awesomeness, with our human heroes and villains going at it whilst a recently demolished town in Hong Kong mends itself in reverse. If the action is A+ then the story is a respectable B+. The pre-powers backstory of the titular hero is mercifully brief and there is a plethora of jokes that hit the mark, however there's some clunky exposition serving as narrative shorthand and the odd bout of dire-logue that could've been cleaned up. As for Strange himself, Benedict Cumberbatch plays him with a dash of Tony Stark's arrogance, a pinch of Steve Roger's sincerity and a sprinkle of Scott Lang's what-the-hell-am-I-doing bewilderedness, all the while adding a touch of the rock 'n' roll to his brain surgeon turned sorcerer. It's a mixed bag elsewhere though, Tilda Swinton's mischievous Ancient One and Mads Mikkelsen's malevolent Kaecilius are compelling, but Rachel McAdams is given little to do as Strange's love interest Christine and Chiwetel Ejiofor is frustratingly dour as sidekick Mordo. All in all Doctor Strange is a hugely entertaining blockbuster that once again cements MCU's position as the preeminent superhero series.