Doctor Strange Review: Dormammu I’ve come to bargain
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Doctor Strange
Director: Scott Derrickson
8.5
Where to Watch Doctor Strange?
The second film of Phase 3 was the second time people doubted Marvel. Although I said that after Captain America Civil War, all the MCU movies became must-watch events I will say there was one more that people thought was too out there. Doctor Strange came out in late 2016 and from what I remember, it was similar to Guardians of the Galaxy in terms of people’s apprehension towards the project.
You see, if you are unaware, Doctor Strange is a weird psychedelic wizard man who was probably inspired by Stan Lee’s time doing drugs. So, I mean to put that in a universe that, yes, had aliens but was still otherwise grounded was kind of a curveball. In Thor, the explanation of magic was science we don’t understand yet, but what Doctor Strange was presenting was true magic.
With spells and mystical beings. Some audiences struggle with magic in fantasy films let alone a superhero universe. My parents were once again doubters and eventually they would both once again concede that I was right and they enjoyed the film. This actually happened to be the first film I saw in a theatre without my parents.
I wasn’t going to miss this film since I hadn’t missed an MCU film yet and I was fully on the hype train. The first thing I want to mention is that this film is the introduction to the MCU intro that has been used ever since. The intro is specific to this universe and distinct from other movies that have used the logo that usually says in association with Marvel.
I think the intro is cool and I like the way it spotlights our original Avengers as well as other prominent characters and shows scenes from the various films. The score that goes with it is also cool!
Ok this time around I want to get my negatives out of the way so I will start with the few I have. Firstly, we have another weak villain. Though Zemo was a good start to Phase 3, I feel that Kaecilius is just not a compelling. He is a very standard villain looking for revenge and power. I think that Mads Mikkelsen is a great actor I just think that this movie definitely focused more on the hero and the villain just doesn’t get the same attention.
The other complaint that you often hear about this film is that it is too similar to Iron Man. Or more specifically Tony Stark and Stephen Strange are similar characters who follow very similar trajectories in their original films. To some extent I do agree with this opinion as they are very similar characters and their journeys are quite similar as well. They both are very arrogant and enjoy showing how great they are. While this fact may be true I don’t feel it completely detracts from the positives of this film.
To start with one of the biggest positives of this film is its visuals. This film is the most visually interesting MCU film up to this point and that is one of the reasons I am so happy I did see it in theatres. Since they explain that their magic comes from other dimensions the visuals are allowed to be quite weird and wacky. They use vibrant colours and have shots of things like Strange falling into his mouth which is made up of his own hands.
With the mirror dimension, they can flip things on top of each other and see multiples of locations which is just super fun and cool. The visual style and distinct look for the magic in the MCU make it different from things like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. The orange that we see for most magic users is very specific to the MCU and it pops on screen.
Benedict Cumberbatch was someone who had been in talks for a couple of years to play Stephen Strange and with the success of Sherlock(which is a great show) he got the part and I must say he killed it in the role. He perfectly balances that mix of cockiness and yearning for knowledge so well. He might be an arrogant man but he also wants to know as much as he can do to his fear of failure. One of my favourite scenes in the film is his talk with the Ancient One on the astral plane.
I like how she tells him that he can go back to his old life but how he can be so much more if he puts aside his ego. My other favourite scene in this film is definitely the “Dormammu I’ve Come to bargain” scene because it is so clever and it really encompasses all that Strange has learnt throughout the film. My other favourite character is Wong because he is just so funny in the way he tries to play everything super seriously and when he finally laughs at the end of the film you laugh with him.
As a massive Harry Potter fan, I was predisposed to liking Doctor Strange but I got to say I enjoyed it more than I expected. While the villain may be on the weaker side and the plot might be similar to other MCU origin films it still has a lot to offer with some creative fights, a unique visual style, and a great performance by the leading man! Definitely give this one another go if you haven’t in a while and let the magic take you to another dimension.