Doctor Strange

I don’t know about you, but the last mind-melting, visually stunning movies that I saw were Inception and Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus and that’s going on, what, five years ago? Bit of a drought in the realm of cinematic stunning-ness, but I can say that the drought has been broken thanks to the latest instalment in the epic Marvel universe: Doctor Strange. 

Dr. Steven Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a brilliant, albeit narcissistic surgeon whose life takes a turn when he’s in a horrendous car crash that leaves him with severe nerve damage in his hands. Unable to continue his work, he tries every measure Western medicine affords before travelling to Kathmandu in search of a miracle cure. He discovers a group of mystics who, through incredible magic, defend our universe against threats in parallel realms. Joining their ranks and learning their skills, Strange discovers that he has the talent and the chance to be part of something much bigger than him, to save the universe from a colossal foe that threatens to devour it. 

Anyone who has seen the trailers will agree with me when I say that, in a word, this movie is mind-bending. Really, it’s more than that. What makes this movie ‘mind-bending’ is entirely within the visual aspect. Through incredible special effects and computer wizardry, there are many scenes where the images you see are so hypnotically distorted that your brain has trouble adjusting and telling you exactly what you are seeing. Imagine looking through the most beautiful and shimmering kaleidoscope whilst on acid or some other hallucinogenic: that’s what this movie is like, complete with accompanying sitar twangs. 

Despite its visual complexity, the story itself is simple to follow and the characters themselves are engaging and easy to like. Indeed, by the time you reach the telltale Marvel stinger, you already know what’s coming so there is a bit of predictability going on, but it’s very easy to let that slide given how damn incredible the movie looks. 

Now it can be argued that there is a bit of whitewashing and forced ‘diversity’ at work within the casting choices, especially with the story having this East meets West fusion thing going on, but ultimately Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One is excellent; wise, powerful, and a little bit cheeky and, really, I can’t get mad a movie that looks this good! 

I know I keep coming back to the visual angle, but really that’s what this movie is about and everything from the CGI to the choreography and the costumes, oh the beautiful costumes, is just winning! 

At the end of the day, this movie delivers the invisible generic contract that Marvel has with its audiences, but it ups it so that there is no way you can walk out of the theatre feeling disappointed or jibbed. The story is engaging, the performances are great, the costumes and the action sequences are spectacular and precise, but the overwhelming visual sensation of the film is what you come away thinking about. For days afterwards you’ll be seeing these mesmerising images in your head: a perfect measure for how awesome this movie is!

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwitel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins, and Tilda Swinton.

Rating: M