Film of the Week: Doctor Strange

The fourteenth film in the MARVEL Cinematic Universe and the first to introduce magic. This will be a spoiler filled review so if you have plans to watch this film, I recommend you do before reading this article because I will be covering some major moments that would ruin the experience gained from seeing it for the first time and not knowing what’s going to happen next.

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Doctor Stephen Strange, an extremely talented neurosurgeon who has built up a successful life and enjoys it, however he’s arrogant, and thinks he knows everything. After surviving a horrific car crash, the injuries sustained to his hands means he can no longer be the person he was, and that destroys him emotionally. Stephen tries all he possibly could in an attempt to regain full functionality in his hands, but to no avail, but after hearing about this place that helps with healing, he takes a trip around the world. Stephen lives in New York, he’s fully aware of the Avengers, but when he goes half-way round the world, he discovers just how big the world really is, and so much more beyond that.

When I first watched the trailer and it showed off a few snippets of the grand special effects to show the magic and alternate dimensions, and I was slightly hesitant, if I’m honest. A trailer is a collection of moments edited in such a way to entice you to go and see the movie, and there has been plenty of cases over the last few years when the trailers were given away too much – either of the story or when the special effects were at their best and that can spoil the film because you feel as if you’ve seen all the best moments already. I am happy to report that the special effects are as magnificent as they appear in the trailer and throughout. From beginning to end, they only get so much more magnificent before peaking at the climactic battle where Doctor Strange confronts Dormammu, ruler of the Dark Dimension.

The film has been in production for quite some time. Benedict Cumberbatch was the only choice to play the character, and when he was finally able to make the film, he didn’t disappoint. As the film continues and he slowly learns the ways of magic and becomes the character we all know and recognise from the comics, there is no better person to portray him than Cumberbatch.

As well as establishing Doctor Strange’s origin, it also introduces new elements and furthers the main story that serves as the backbone in every movie. We get our first look at the Time Gem, one of the six Infinity Stones, and Dr. Strange uses it successfully to save Hong Kong from being destroyed and prevent the Dark Dimension from engulfing Earth. Again, the incredible effects used throughout that final sequence were spectacular. The inclusion of the gem was done well. An Infinity Stone is an incredibly powerful magical item, but although Dr. Strange didn’t know what it actually was other than having the ability to reverse and forward time, we were only given a taste of its true power, which I am confident in saying will see more of in the final two Avengers films when Thanos makes his grand appearance along with the other five stones.

There are no plans within Phrase Three of the MCU for a sequel to Dr. Strange, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be one when the final Avengers film wraps up and Phrase Three ends. Whether any sequels after the main storyline will be classed as Phrase Four, or just standalone sequels to whet the appetite of eager fans who would like to see another instalment of Dr. Strange, or other much-loved characters, that has yet to be confirmed. Knowing MARVEL and their reputation of creating trilogies save from the Incredible Hulk, it’s probably more than likely that we will see a sequel. There are enough storylines within the comics to make fourteen Dr. Strange movies; the list of enemies won’t run out before long. MARVEL’s first outing with the character was huge. They went big from the very beginning, and I am grateful they did that, but what will they do next? Can they go bigger? They can introduce more powerful enemies, sure, but will they be able to implement them into a bigger movie as a whole? At the end, although he accomplished so much and save the world from utter devastation, he was told that there is so much more he needs to learn, and I don’t doubt that we will see that storyline in the next couple of instalments.

Dr. strange is known in the comics as the Sorcerer Supreme. A master of magic. Seeing him at the height of his powers would indeed prove that they had gone bigger, but would they be able to accomplish so much learning in one movie before the final third act? I unfortunately cannot answer these questions because they haven’t even announced anything about any plans concerning after Phrase Three. There have been some complaints that MARVEL is stretching their films too far, and any more would be too much. However, this film shows that they are still capable of keeping this epic and fresh.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)