Dr. Strange - Nov 4

Let us now talk about ‘Dr. Strange’ the movie. What can be said about it?

It is an origin movie. It does not talk about just Dr. Strange’s origins, but also about Mordu’s and Wong’s, in the terms of MCU. The Ancient One…yes, you can talk about whitewashing here, but after Mordu and Wong, it does not really work, (at least not in my opinion, yeah). If you want, you can say that it is an introductory movie, as opposed to ‘Captain America: Civil War’ film, where everyone knows each other, and pieces are largely fusing together to form a greater whole, rather than appearing unexpectedly, out of the blue. Alternatively, if you want, CA: CW has closed the lid on the stage 2 of MCU, while ‘Dr. Strange’ has opened stage 3.

Consequently, the plot of ‘Dr. Strange’ is more straightforward than, say, that of CA: CW. The character do not know each other at first, they are strangers to each other, not just to the audience. This is one of the movie’s main elements, and it works.

(For the record, Kaecillius, the movie’s main villain – Dormammu doesn’t count, he is more of a Galactus-type entity, and beyond good and evil, really – isn’t an OC either; in the canon, he is one of Mordu’s minions, but here Mordu isn’t evil, or at least – not yet evil; more like misguided or has a philosophy crisis; he isn’t chaotically evil as Kaecillius is, but he is just too lawful and righteous. It happens.)

Another element, of course, are the special effects. They are overwhelming and help disguise the fact that the movie’s plotline is simple and straightforward. Neither of that is bad, but, hey, special effects! Kung-Fu fighting! Magic! Surreal cityscapes! You name it! The movie got it! Including Dormammu, which is currently little more than a magical talking head! A deadly magical talking head, but still. Is anyone reminded of the titular wizard from the wonderful wizard of Oz movie? I was.

And yet, that aside, ‘Dr. Strange’ is supposed to entertain – which it does. (It IS a movie based on a comic, after all). Character-wise, Steven Strange is like Tony Stark, (the Iron Man, duh), with Christine playing the role of Pepper (sort of?). His journey from a rather arrogant arse to a selfless hero, the Sorcerer Supreme, who was willing to die, repeatedly, to save Earth from Dormammu is presented really well. Three cheers for Benedict Cumberbatch! And Wong can make a great Dr. Watson, too.

Anything else? Not really. As a movie, ‘Dr. Strange’ was a journey from point A to point B, focusing on the titular character. Everyone else, even Mordu and Wong, were secondary characters, though hopefully, Strange and Mordu will be able to become friends once more, rather than enemies, as they actually were in the comics, but still. Otherwise, it is a movie aimed exclusively at entertaining, with few connections to the real world, (thought there IS realism, of course), which is a good thing for MCU, since between the Hydra matter, the moral debates generated by the AoS TV show and even the entire Steve vs. Tony conflict, MCU doesn’t need any more controversies anytime soon. So – behold ‘Dr. Strange’, the new Marvel movie, which is quite entertaining, but – nothing else.