Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange*
(2016)

Directed by: Scott Derrickson
Written by: Scott Derrickson, Jon Spaihts,
& C. Robert Cargill, based on Stan Lee &
Steve Ditko’s comic book series
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton,
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams
Rating: PG
Release Date: November 4th, 2016

Tilda Swinton & Benedict Cumberbatch do their best Matrix impressions in Doctor Strange
Image Source

     I find the “Marvel Comic Universe” exhausting; the whole enterprise is absolutely ridiculous. When each successive film keeps piling on more and more exposition, adding characters and stories that mean nothing at the end of the day, the Marvel films become less of popcorn entertainment, and more of a behemoth, sucking up all the money, (and decent actors), at the multiplex. Even Guardians of the Galaxy was so focused on itself that its in-jokes and humour weren’t funny – just off putting. Starting with the half-decent Iron Man, the Marvel films have become what the “Spoof Movie” franchise was. At first, half-heartedly entertaining, and then successively banal, self referential, and void of any type of humanity, realism or sense of importance to the real world. Yes, escapism is important, but not when it’s on every single screen at the theatre. Save one or two for the Moonlight’s and Manchester by the Sea’s of tomorrow. Yet, with all that being said, I must admit, while Doctor Strange is still “just another comic book movie,” I had a hell of a good time.
     Doctor Strange follows the eponymous Dr. Stephen Strange; a brilliant ‘House’-like neurosurgeon who specializes in saving the lives of those thought un-saveable. His arrogance, quick-temper, narcissistic tendencies and bad attitude are all worth putting up with once he’s in the operation room. In short; Strange is a modern science miracle worker. However, Strange’s arrogance and seeming invincibility speed him towards a cliff, both literally and figuratively, sending him crashing hundreds of feet into the ocean's rocky floor, where his sports car, crumbling around him, crushes his surgical hands of gold. Like Icarus flying too close to the Sun, Strange loses the one thing that made him special – his hands. With hands that barely work due to nerve damage, Strange is left looking for a cure; sending him from the best medical offices in the world, to finally, an odd monastery in Nepal, in a last ditch effort to fix his broken hands, and reclaim his dignity. Strange doesn’t find a cure, at least in a literal sense, but he does find another path in life.
     Finding two characters, the kind and chivalrous Mordo, (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and the leader of the monastery, the androgynous Ancient One, (Tilda Swinton). In a scene straight out of the end of Interstellar, (Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar and Inception both seemed to have inspired a great deal of this film's cinematography), Dr. Strange is shown that the only way to heal his hands is through a process of self discovery, which includes discovering new dimensions, galaxies and ways to communicate, both outside, and within. Doctor Strange is basically The Matrix by way of Interstellar. There’s more to the story, and some great performances from Mads Mikkelsen and Benedict Wong, but for such an entertaining movie, it’s chock full of story. In lesser hands, the exposition and physics of such a world would turn the film into an absolute bore. 
     Scott Derrickson, known for some pretty decent horror films like Sinister and the Exorcism of Emily Rose, and the interesting, (albeit boring), remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, finally seems to hit his stride. With the tension of Sinister and the wit of The Day The Earth Stood Still, Derrickson rides a fine line between all out science fiction/fantasy and comedy. If he went too far with the comedy, the film would have been a poor man’s Guardians of the Galaxy. In the other direction, he could have ended up with something more tone deaf than Batman vs. Superman. With Doctor Strange, Derrickson is able to find a tone that knows it’s absolutely absurd, but instead of laughing at that fact, the film accepts it, and runs with total glee, towards destruction. It also helps that the lead is the ever charismatic Benedict Cumberbatch; sly, often hilarious and compelling in an archetypal role that would have been lacklustre without his hardworking attitude, Cumberbatch seems to almost pause to occasionally wink at the camera, as if to say, “I know this is ridiculous, but lets just have some fun, shall we?”
     With a competent director and a brilliant lead, (doing an uncanny American accent), the cinematography is the icing on the cake. Taking inspiration out of everything from the Mandelbrot Set, quantum physics and the multiverse/string theory, the script picks and chooses what it likes from science, and leaves out the boring parts. Stupid? Maybe. Fun? Hell yes. Like Carl Sagan’s kaleidoscopic wet dream on acid, the twisted, turning, fractal and fragmenting images throughout the film uncannily shift into recognizable shapes even under the weight of algorithms and digital manipulation. When the images in the film shift from the Mandelbrot Set to something straight out of a Dali painting, it’s exciting. Still, the skilled editors, director and digital effects artists never forget the most essential thing in filmmaking – it all serves to tell a story. At just under two hours, Doctor Strange is refreshing, taut, and the first enjoyable time I’ve had with a comic book film since the original Spider-Man. Still, that doesn’t mean it’s not without it’s problems.
      One of the biggest controversies with Doctor Strange was the casting of a white woman in the role of The Ancient One. A Tibetan monk in the comic book series, some fans were outraged that Hollywood was once again whitewashing a role that could have gone to a competent Asian actor. Marvel's response didn’t instil good faith – they stated it wasn’t to whitewash the role – they attempted to make Swinton’s character androgynous and almost sans-racial, (if that’s true, they failed miserably), because, as one of the screenwriter Robert Cargill acknowledged; "if you [say] that Tibet is a place and that [the Ancient One is] Tibetan, you risk alienating one billion people who think that that’s bullshit and risk the Chinese government going, ‘Hey, you know one of the biggest film-watching countries in the world? We’re not going to show your movie because you decided to get political.’" I don’t know how bowing to a fascist dictatorship, who is still pretty damn evil is better than being racist, but I guess both are chill with Marvel and Disney executives, (Walt Disney was kind of a morally bankrupt person though, so I'm not that surprised)? Still, Swinton is good in a thankless role, and even finds a morsel of poetry in her final lines in the film. Such is the case with most of the cast.
      One of Marvel’s most brilliant moves has been to cast independent stars and classically trained actors in every role available. Kenneth Branagh, one of the worlds biggest Shakespeare authorities, was brilliant as the director of Thor. The casting of Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man, then a washed up actor, fresh out of rehab, was wise; he was healthier than ever and still an Oscar winning actor. Again, the Marvel team takes calculated risks. Chiwetel Ejiofor is great as a quasi-sidekick/teacher’s assistant, Benedict Wong is fantastic as a Librarian/Warrior, (pretty neat when someone can tell you about the Dewey Decimal System and then roundhouse kick you in the face), Mads Mikkelsen is a brilliant villain and Rachel McAdams is great as a doctor/ex-girlfriend of Dr. Strange. Still, the big names, (like McAdams, in a do-nothing role), are kind of distracting, especially when they have about three lines of dialogue in the whole film, (I’m looking at you, Benjamin Bratt).
     Overall, Doctor Strange is still a comic book movie; it’s absurd. With a little too long of a running time, and some problems with casting on and off the set, it does have some issues to bear. However, with a fresh sense of wonder, the awe of the universe at it’s smallest and largest, witty writing, explosively creative cinematography, and a cast led by the incomparably talented Cumberbatch, make Doctor Strange a roller-coaster ride of fantastical wonder; something missing from most comic book adaptations these days. It’s a welcome change.

GRANT’S RATING: 4/5 STARS

Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange: "Vast Multiverse"



*Please excuse the small font. There seems to be a formatting error that won't allow the text to be any larger - Grant.