Stranger Things

Rating: 6/10 (19 April 2018)

I rewatched "Doctor Strange" in preparation for his role in "Avengers: Infinity War". To be honest, I'd been putting off watching it again, as I felt going in it was my least favourite film of the MCU - this second viewing confirmed that, but did remind me that it has lots of great moments.
Renowned Surgeon Stephen Strange loses the fine motor skills in his hands following a serious car accident. With all traditional medical options exhausted, he heads to Tibet following rumours of a break through cure. There he meets The Ancient One who introduced Strange to the mystical arts and the ability to tap into powers from another realm. But this power can be corrupting, and one of the Ancient One's former pupils, Kaecilius, returns with a plan to release Dormamu and ancient and powerful evil.
So, what are my problems with this film? They are mostly in the first half of the film, and mostly around Benedict Cumberbatch. Shackled to an accent he never quite masters, the first glimpses of a successful Stephen Strange aren't enjoyable. His arrogance is understandable, and part of the arc that the character goes on, but the wit is missing. Jokes throughout this film feel forced and fall flat, which is really strange when you consider how successful the 2017 trilogy of "Guardians 2", "Spider-man Homecoming" and "Thor: Ragnorok" would be. Despite the reliable supporting cast, this humour failure extends to them too.
It does look good though, the Inception (let's go with inspired, rather than rip off) folding cities in a mirror universe are really good. In fact all the visual effects are as impressive as they've been since day one. (18 movies without a bad special effect is pretty impressive). The ending is really good though and, without spoilers, it's nice to see one of these films end with the hero coming up with a plan and outwitting the villain rather than simply overpowering him, or a Deus Ex Machina finish.
I like the way they left the character in this film, and the "Thor Ragnorok" cameo pushed towards a better written character. I have higher expectations for the good Doctor in Infinity Wars and hopefully beyond.