We’ve spent time with MCU heroes from all sorts of interesting backgrounds. From a playboy genius in an Iron suit to a galactic outlaw joined together by other cosmic misfits. Now the MCU takes us into the world of magical wizards and the unique talents they have to stop threats that are much bigger than reality itself. There is much potential with such a high concept as this and luckily for the most part, this movie surely delivers.
Dr Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a self absorbed and wealthy surgeon who is the best of the business and a bit of a show off. All of that changes though when he finds himself in a car accident where he survives but his hands are injured badly to the point of being unusable. Despite his fellow surgeon Christine (Rachel McAdams) trying to tell him there is more to life than his profession, Strange desperately searches for ways to get his hands healed until he gets advice from a former patient to go to Kamar-Taj as he’ll find the answers to his problems. What Strange discovers is a magical society of mystics that are masters of bending reality. Strange begs the leader of the Mystics named The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) to train him in the mystic arts and then soon finds himself in a battle with evil forces who want to destroy the world and its people.
Now the story might sound somewhat familiar and that may be because the character progression of Stephen Strange is almost similar to the Progression of Tony Stark in Iron Man. Heck they even throw in a love interest for Steven to add on to how similar the movie is with other MCU fare. Thankfully what the story lacks in originality more than makes up for it in Worldbuilding and execution. The best parts of the story are when we focus on the world and powers of the sorcerers and the unique action packed moments that come with it. Seeing Strange take his place as one of the more magical Marvel superheroes is well done and they bring enough freshness to the redemption story to make the journey enjoyable. Despite having a somewhat forgettable villain there are plenty of characters we meet along the journey that leave a memorable impact such as the Ancient one and Wong the Librarian. The other side of the story is the relationship Strange has with another surgeon named Christine which is fine but is not quite as interesting as other stuff this movie has to offer.
When it comes to groundbreaking superhero visual effects, The MCU has always been at the forefront with coming up with some interesting and mind blowing action set pieces and Doctor Strange might be one of the most ambitious on a visual scale. There are so many ways that Strange and the other wizards of his kind use their magical reality distorting powers that in some cases push the levels of what CGI technology can do. It may also be the most trippy in terms of how much of a visual overload it is for any normal moviegoer to take in. Some of the best highlights include a chase in a kaleidoscope version of New York City or the final battle at Hong Kong with Dormammu. They take full advantage of the idea of the abilities our heroes poses and how they use those powers for fighting forces beyond the realm of reality.
There are many composers that could be choosed to score this movie so it's quite a surprise that they managed to get none other than the great Micheal Giacchino. Giacchino, is most well known for doing the score for animated hits such as The Incredibles, Inside Out and Zootopia. The score creates a very weird and sensational vibe with electric guitar tunes to create a unique score that matches the magical uncertainty of Doctor Strange.
Doctor Strange may not have the most original plot in the MCU, but the movie is still a great superhero origin story that has enough freshness and worldbuilding to disguise its somewhat familiar storytelling problems. Also, its likable characters, mind bending visual effects and a great movie score from Micheal Giacchino amp up the movie's enjoyment into being more than what the plot suggests. It's still a worthy edition to the MCU and a great introduction to one of the most magical superheroes in the Marvel universe.
(Final Grade B+)