Doctor Strange (2016) Review

I am off to see Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in a few hours, so I decided to re-watch the original Doctor Strange film and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees an arrogant neurosurgeon get drawn into the mystical arts in order to try and cure himself. 

Main Character

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Doctor Stephen Strange and he is great in the role. He plays both the arrogant Doctor and the Sorcerer really well and he feels natural as both. He is quite funny and as the film progresses and you see his character develop and grow an understanding on what he has to do as the character of Doctor Strange. It is a great introduction to the character and would lead to him being a big addition to the MCU. 

Supporting Characters 

There was some controversy when Tilda Swinton was cast as The Ancient One but I thought she was really good and there is real depth to her performance. You go in expecting one thing and the film makes you thinking other things about her and this is big credit to the performance from Swinton. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Mordo and he is was a pretty cool character too, he takes up a mentor role for Strange but his character also gets time to develop and he progresses nicely with this new arrival totally changing his role as a sorcerer. Benedict Wong plays Wong and he is good in the smaller role he is given, the chemistry between him and Cumberbatch is good and it is a nice taster to what we would see in later film. Rachel McAdams plays Christine Palmer & Mads Mikkelsen plays Kaecilius, both are fine in there role and do nothing wrong it is a slight shame they weren't given more to do but they are both decent actors that try their best. 

Story

This is an effective origin story for Doctor Strange, it isn't the most unique one but it does a good job of building this character up and bringing this crazy wizarding world into play that was new to the MCU at this point. But some of the plot doesn't quite hold up, mainly the romance and villain plots, they just feel underdeveloped and like they were an afterthought which is a shame as it is a big part of the film. 

Script

The script is good, it is what is to be expected for a film in The MCU. There is a good blend of humour and drama and it pretty much all works. The characters are developed well and the plot is handled well enough for an introduction of a new character. 

Style 

The film looks amazing, the magic looks incredible and so unique. Seeing this on screen is mind blowing and there wasn't really much that could reach these levels. When it is in the IMAX shots it looks stunning and absolutely incredible. Unfortunately, the film transitions between the IMAX and normal Aspect Ratio way too much and it is really jarring, I wish they had stuck to one or the other as it really takes away from this amazing looking film. 

Overall  

Overall, Doctor Strange is a great origin film and does a really effective job in building this character for his debut and it is worth a watch for sure. 

Rating - 8/10