Doctor Strange
Published 2017-03-31
Open your mind. Change your reality
Film info
- Director
- Year / Run time 2016 · 1hr 55m
- Series Marvel Cinematic Universe (14 of 36)
- Genres Adventure, Action, Science Fiction, Fantasy
- Cast
From Marvel comes Doctor Strange, the story of world-famous neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange, whose life changes forever after a horrific car accident robs him of the use of his hands. When traditional medicine fails him, he is forced to look for healing, and hope, in an unlikely place – a mysterious enclave known as Kamar-Taj. He quickly learns that this is not just a center for healing but also the front line of a battle against unseen dark forces bent on destroying our reality. Before long Strange – armed with newly acquired magical powers – is forced to choose whether to return to his old life or leave it all behind to defend the world as the most powerful sorcerer in existence.
Live Blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 2:16 | Ooh, are these books like off of Agents of Shield? |
| 5:30 | Flugelhorn! I envy his musical knowledge. |
| 7:03 | So far so “Sherlock in a hospital.” |
| 12:22 | Don’t text and drive kids. |
| 16:09 | I mean, just struggling with your hands must be awful let alone if you are brilliant with them. |
| 17:19 | “This isn’t medicine anymore, this is mania.” |
| 26:11 | Ha, Benedict talking about psycho-somatic stuff again. |
| 28:19 | Any moment she’ll do the Morpheus come hither sign. |
| 32:46 | Training up someone with great power and them turning to the dark side? Hmm. |
| 34:06 | “The wifi password. We’re not savages.” |
| 36:11 | Adele. Aristotle. Drake. Bono. Eminem. Quite the list. |
| 45:26 | Mmm, mirror dimension. |
| 49:35 | I do quite like the clothes they wear, all wrapped sleeves and stuff. |
| 51:55 | Skewed into this tangent!! |
| 1:01:42 | I like a man doing battle with his cape. |
| 1:09:23 | Free crisps! |
| 1:22:13 | New York got off lightly. Thank god for mirror dimensions. |
| 1:28:53 | They didn’t need to tell us it was Hong Kong, really. |
| 1:32:05 | Matrix, Inception and now Superman. |
| 1:33:12 | Makes a change for a superhero movie to put a city back together. |
| 1:37:42 | Add in a bit of Edge of Tomorrow. |
| 1:44:05 | Infinity stone! |
Thoughts
I was wary of watching this for too reasons: Firstly, I have that Marvel fatigue where I'm nervous of not remembering all the things required to enjoy a MCU film, and secondly, I had heard it was Inception-like, so expected it would be complicated.
Both those concerns were unfounded. It stands alone as a Marvel movie at the moment, and although there were Inception moments, it wasn't a confusing concept. In fact, there weren't just Inception moments, it felt like there was barely an original thought in there. The Matrix, Inception, Doctor Who, Day After Tomorrow, Superman, and more. It also had that ten minute CGI interlude that gets on Mr C's nerves, although I didn't think it was too bad this time.
On the plus side, the moments, when they came, were totally worth it. The laughing librarian. The time loop foretold by Tilda (who was amazing). The cape with a mind of its own. And it was refreshing that there was no great action showdown - in the end, it simply came down to irritating the bad guy into submission. That, perhaps, was an original idea, and it was fun!
So overall, a mish-mash of concepts, good dialogue, occasional glittering moments, and absolutely worth watching.
Rating: 3 / 5
Revisited - Apr 2021
I don't necessarily disagree with the points I made above, but I have knocked this down from a 4 out of 5, which seems overly generous, to a 3. I didn't feel much connection between Rachel McAdams and Benedict Cumberbatch, the cape was a bit more annoying this time round, and the big time loop showdown at the end just didn't quite stack up. But still, an enjoyable enough film.
Rating: 3 / 5
