The latest film from Phase 3 of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe is a bit “strange.”
I have to admit, Doctor Strange is one of those characters from Marvel
who isn’t familiar to me because I’ve never read his comics in my youth other
than maybe a couple of cross-overs. Not
that I dislike him or anything; it’s just that there are so many superheroes
and characters in the Marvel and DC universes that I simply don’t have the time
to cover them all even if I had the allowance to buy every comic book of every
title.
In a way this is refreshing
because, as in the case of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ I don’t have to wait
impatiently for the familiar obligatory origin story to be told, in
this instance that of a brilliant but egotistical neurosurgeon played by Benedict
Cumberbatch who’s vain (not stupid) enough to attempt multi-tasking with a
tablet while driving his speeding sports car in the rain on a slippery mountain highway,
which proved to be a fatal mistake and his undoing as a surgeon. The “unfortunate” accident also proved to be
fateful and maybe even fortuitous, however, as it placed him on a path to enlightenment
and becoming part of a group of mystical warriors entasked with protecting our
world against magical and mystical
threats, much like The Avengers protect earth against physical threats as the
first among them known as the “Ancient One” (Tilda Swinton) succinctly put it
during his orientation.
While it is derivative and
borrowed liberally from oriental Buddhist traditions and mysticism as well as the
good-pupil-turned-bad soap operatic tragedy of ‘Star Wars’ and other stories,
‘Doctor Strange’ nonetheless managed to be yet another solid addition to the MCU that is
mind-blowing, entertaining and smart.
The reality-bending special effects (which is best viewed in IMAX
3-D) are reminiscent of ‘Inception’ with its topsy-turvy skylines but are fun to watch. My favorite scene is probably the one at the end of the movie when Doc Strange insists on striking a bargain with “Dormammu,” a
malevolent god-like being from the Dark Dimension, which serves as a perfect example of never-say-die (no pun intended) persistence.
Grade: A
Grade: A
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