Doctor Strange (October 2016)

Official Australian release date: 27/10/16. Viewed: 29/10/16.

Director: Scott Derrickson

Actors: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Mads Mikkelsen

Genre: Action / Fantasy

Rating: M

‘Doctor Strange’ is the 13^th (14^th? 15^th? Even I’m losing count!) Marvel film, and continues the trend of 'Guardians of the Galaxy', ‘Ant-Man’ and ‘Deadpool’ – not the most well-known comic book characters, but they’ve given chance to breathe and create their own energy separate to the Avengers, and are more fun because of it. Simple premise here – Dr Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) is a famous, conceited, surgeon who has a car accident and can no longer fully use his hands. In search of radical treatments, he visits Nepal and encounters Mordo (Ejiofor) and The Ancient One (Swinton).

He – like us – has to surrender everything he thinks he knows and enter the world of mysticism, spells and magic. There’s some funny scenes and remarks as he comes to grips with these new possibilities in the world. The film is actually funnier than I thought it was going to be, since Dr Strange is no Spider-Man or Deadpool in terms of quips, but it’s handled well. The director, Derrickson, is coming off a patchy output at best – ‘Deliver Us From Evil’, ‘Sinister’, ‘The Day The Earth Stood Still’ – but does a decent job of keeping the pace up and not having too long between scenes with action. Some of the “city/room-bending” scenes are great to watch.

While the tone is sometimes dark and “we’re all just a speck in this world, which is only part of one universe, let alone the multiverse”, it’s generally upbeat and handled more with awe and fun than seriousness and fanaticism. Christine (McAdams) serves as the real-world foil and Kaecilius (Mikkelsen) is an adequate bad-guy. Cumberbatch carries the film and is a douche when needed, and a strong presence at other times. The end-credits scene has a nice quick Thor appearance. I look forward to seeing more of Dr Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Overall: Good entry into unknown territory for Marvel.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.