No Magic Needed To Explain Success of Doctor Strange

The latest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the first that focuses on the mystical side of the story. And the thing that makes Doctor Strange a very good movie is also its one biggest problem.

Below you can read my review, as always with no more spoilers than you would get from having seen the trailers or commercials.

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As you will have gathered from the movie trailer, Doctor Strange tells the story of a brilliant surgeon who has an accident that destroys his ability to operate. He seeks non-Western solutions to his problem in Asia and discovers the magical side of the Marvel universe. Wait a minute, does this sound a bit familiar?

An arrogant egomaniac genius — like Tony Stark? Undergoes a debilitating physical injury — like Tony Stark? Has a complete change of his world view while in Asia — like Tony Stark?

Even Marvel has had to acknowledge the similarity between Stephen Strange and Tony Stark, including a shocking physical similarity. In a recent issue of the Iron Man comic series, Tony calls them “awesome facial hair bros!” much to Strange’s shame.

That similarity in story is what makes Strange work — it fits into the Marvel formula perfectly. Take a really good actor, give them a solid script that enables them to show some range but doesn’t force them to take any real acting risks, load the movie up with action and tie it very closely into the same universe as its brothers and sisters. Bake for two hours, and enjoy!

Benedict Cumberbatch is excellent as Stephen Strange, and his egomaniacal asshole makes Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark look like a dilettante at being a jerk. Yet Cumberbatch doesn’t let loose and eat up the scenery like he can (and did in Star Trek: Into Darkness). He is mostly restrained, even when being the most jerkiest of jerks.

Tilda Swinton is excellent as the patient and secretive Ancient One, and I will gloss over the whitewashing controversy of casting a white, British woman as the character who is very Asian and male in the comics. If you accept that she is in the movie, you will enjoy her performance. If not, you won’t, no matter how good she is.

Chiwetel Ejiofor occasionally channels The Operative from Serenity as Mordo, but is otherwise his usual solid acting self. And Mads Mikkelsen is good as the villain Kaicilious, if a bit wasted.

But the best casting may be the other Benedict — Benedict Wong as, well, Wong. He takes the Alfred Pennyworth knock-off character from the comics and makes him a powerful and fascinating sorcerer in his own right.

The formulaic nature of the story can be seen as a problem, as much as it is responsible for its success. Telling yet another single-character origin story could be tiring for the audience, but Marvel excels at changing the details of the formula enough to make each movie seem different. And in this case, it uses humor to wonderfully deflate any moment that seems to be building toward being excessively cheesy. It is a surprise just how funny this movie is, and how well it works for the story and characters.

Other issues with Doctor Strange include a bit of clumsy CGI early on (it gets much better), and real problems with continuity (seriously, did no one in set decoration or makeup look at the previous take’s dailies?) Also, the pacing early on seems jarring, but that may have been an effect of editing it into a two-hour time slot.

One note: the design of the alternate worlds of the multiverse channels the sense of Steve Ditko’s trippy, psychedelic 1960s designs without being a direct ripoff. But the color scheme can best be described as exactly like my older brother’s first place after he moved out of home in the 1970s — that is, “I’ve never met a black-light poster I didn’t like.” Seriously, I got a contact high just looking at those parts of the movie.

Edit – Another note: There are two credit scenes at the end. The one in the middle has the closest direct tie-in to another franchise in the MCU since Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver appeared in the credits of Captain America: Winter Soldier. And the one immediately after the credits sets up a Doctor Strange sequel.

Doctor Strange (Marvel Studios, PG-13, 115 mins.) — 4 stars.

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