Potentially better, bogged down by Marvel cookie cutter machine.

Rating: 6/10 (12 April 2019)

Visually, this might be the best MCU movie (not Avengers). Also, Stephen Strange is not like Tony Stark, like a lot of people and critics said it was. It has similarities (super ego, millionaire, best at his job, ultra smart), but the personalities are clearly different. Also, Benedict Cumberbatch seems to enjoy the dumb comic-book world. The story is another Marvel Origin superhero and "it works", barely.
Now the bad. The jokes do not work, for the most part. The villain is underused and weak. The story already done with Thor (humility and being worthy) in the same MCU, which makes it even less original because it has a similar tone and feel. The powers aren't well explained at all. There are some major dumb things, like the prohibited books section and whatnot.
Having said that, the action is fun and different because of the kind of powers Strange has. Also the discussion of the "Chosen One" and "breaking the laws of nature" and the moral conundrum of using power "from the Dark Dimension" and the extent of its use to protect the Earth, etc, is pretty interesting (although again, cut by the Marvel light-hearted formula, it's not the most profound discussion of such things with a conclusion that says: its good when the hero does it). The "final boss" villain was defeated in a very original and smart way, and that was great too.
Good movie, with potential for much more, imprisoned in the good not great Marvel Formula.