LogFAQs > #970809375

Doctor Strange
Release Date: November 4, 2016
Stand-Out Character: The Ancient One (played by Tilda Swinton)
Best Scene: "Open Your Eye"

God, I am so mixed on this movie. I love a ton of it, but I think ultimately it just played it too safe.

When this movie wants to be cool, it is so god damn cool. My favorite scene is just Strange going through the multiverses early on in the film. It's just a gorgeous, wild trip. Buildings folding in on themselves in the mirror dimension? THE DREAD DORMAMMU!? All of that stuff rules. But everything in between feels so dry. Kamar-Taj feels kind of dull. The Sanctum is also kinda boring. The conversations are also kinda dull as well for the most part. And Kaecilius? Man, that guy is a snore. Give Mads Mikkelsen a better character ffs.

That said, there's a lot of good storylines. Doctor Strange, in particular, has a character development that feels a bit... stilted? Like it was missing a few steps in there. I love his character. Benedict Cumberbatch plays him so damn well. He has an aptitude for this and he goes through the entire gambit of emotions. From being the cocky and sure surgeon, to being down on his luck, absolutely broken, desperate, and then being sure of himself as he begins to really learn magic. Everything Benedict Cumberbatch does is great. He's one of the best. I just think that there was something missing on his development and I can't quite pick it out.

Christine Palmer, played by Rachel McAdams, is great too. As a love interest, she works fine. She's a good character for strange to bounce off of, even if she doesn't do a ton. I enjoyed her when she's on screen and she had a few good scenes with Strange.

The stand out to me is definitely The Ancient One though, masterfully played by Tilda Swinton. I know there's issues with white washing, but looking past that, Swinton plays this role so well. She's confident, patient, understanding, and wise. You see her keep a peace within herself, and while she pushes Strange hard, she also has a kindness to her. She has guilt, but in the end she even admits she just doesn't know it all. Her final scene is tremendous, and I think without her this movie just doesn't work as well as it does.

Mordo by Chiwetel Ejiofor is... you know, he's here. He has some good scenes. I feel like he doesn't have enough good scenes though. They talk about how Mordo really won't like breaking the rules of magic and I had to stop and say... wait, where did they establish this? I really don't remember. I think they could have had a lot more of a dynamic between him and Strange. He has some cool scenes, but ultimately... he's just a disappointing presence. And they set him up for so much more for the sequel, and he's disappointingly not even involved. To be honest, what they set up seemed like a far more interesting direction, but that's another conversation.

Wong, by Benedict Wong, may as well not even be in this movie. He does nothing. He has maybe two funny scenes. He's just... there. Big who cares. Glad they managed to do some great stuff with him since this movie though.

And then there's Kaecilius, by Mads Mikkelsen, our lead villain who is just boring. He has a scene where he sheds a tear explaining how everyone is broken and it's just... nothing. Didn't hit me in the feels. He's a good character to show that off, but they just didn't go the full way to expose everything. Give me some fire and emotion from this dude, not just a calm monologue. Have him show some hate for Ancient One. He just had a poor script, poor direction, and a half-baked idea.

I want to give a small shout out to Jonathan Pangborn's actor, Benjamin Bratt, as well. He has his scene with Strange where he is his polar opposite. He tells him he's an asshole, almost blows him off, but then he explains his own philosophy that is so counter to what Strange believes. Really great scene and I loved how it played out.

And finally, Dormammu, also played by... Benedict Cumberbatch! Dormammu rules, always, and it sucks he didn't appear in the second movie. Dormammu looked badass and the take on him was great, but they could've done so much more. My issue is this movie sets up a lot of stuff and then the sequel doesn't follow up on any of it. Hindsight makes this movie more disappointing in that way.

The choreography and action is great in this film too though. I greatly enjoyed seeing every fight scene that was totally mind bending and wild. Except for maybe the ones in the actual Sanctum and the hospital. Those were... I mean, they were fine I guess. I want more bat shit magic stuff though. That's where this movie was the best, was when they explored that. Seeing two guys wrestle on an astral plane wasn't doing anything for me.

So yeah. Doctor Strange is a very disjointed movie that while it was a good introduction for the actual character, it could have been far more. It's certainly carried by the performances of Cumberbatch and Swinton, as well as the actual magic elements they went all out with. There had to be a better script for this one though. But for what we got, it's alright.