Doctor Strange

The euphoric feelings of utter ecstasy from the experienced perception of space-time that I had expected from Inception came a few years later. Of course, the size of the vision and the sovereignty of the processing uncompromisingly raise the bar for the other components, but unfortunately, Doctor Strange does not overcome the curse of dull villains (although very charismatic thanks to Mads), flat side characters and generic plots. He is deeply Marvel in this and cannot bend the limits. In other respects, however, this is a deliciously playful and entertaining origin story, in which Cumberbatch finally makes full use of his potential and Scott Derrickson makes you forget the sterile crap from The Day the Earth Stood Still. In order for the Marvel multiverse to hold together, the individual heroes must occasionally put on shackles. So far, no one has suffered as much as Doctor Strange, who has the hallucinogenic explosiveness of the 1960s and the overly legible predestination of Marvel storytelling. Personally, I can rise above it and enjoy this trip beyond the barrier of reality to the fullest. Let’s be honest, a doctor who can assist in his own operation... beat that! (10/25/2016)

The unfortunate thing is that Doctor Strange is essentially innocent in all of this. Derrickson tries his best what he has, and the actors - and there are quite a few stars among them - want to earn their salaries. However, Marvel's is at the very bottom of my film preferences because the films are simply too stupid and childish, bombastic and artificial. In essence, there is no title from this studio to which I would give more than one star, and Doctor Strange suffers from the fact that it accumulates an unhealthy amount of other elements I dislike, such as Eastern mysticism and magic in general. The only title that somewhat enjoyed due to its civilian style and pleasant humor was the Spider-Man series, but it is telling that it was created under the Columbia Pictures label, with Marvel Movies only participating. I came across this particular film on TV by chance and I just wanted to get an idea of what the Marvel phenomenon entails and it only confirmed all my old prejudices. Overall impression: 10% for the cast. (11/14/2017)

Strange. I mean strange and great. An excellent origin, focused on a simple, but gripping story of how an arrogant atheist drops a comb, travels to Nepal and begins to save the human race as the most powerful sorcerer in the universe. What helped him was his photographic memory. Everything of course is terribly fast, so the two or so hours are over before you know it. Maybe it’s also because the main theme is time, my favorite guide. Those keeping track know that the stone that controls time that Thanos needs in his glove had not been introduced yet, but Scott Derrickson dealt with that problem excellently. It doesn’t turn it into a MacGuffin, but simply another instrument in Dr Strange’s trembling hands. Benedict Cumberbatch put on a solid performance, slightly different than from how we are used to him and almost unexpectedly pleasant. Don’t forget that he plays a greedy, self-centered bastard. The supporting characters apart from the terrifying Tilda Swinton were not given much room. Mordo makes just a fleeting appearance, Wong is here for fun and the lack of room for another villain is made up for a little by the best side-kick in the entire Marvel universe – a smart red cloak that everyone would like to have. It’s also a cracker visually, especially thanks to Nolan’s Inception and Interstellar, whose tricks were upgraded by Derrickson to create several more universes inside the… ehm … multi-universe, à la Pink Floyd LSD trip, heavily supported by Giacchino’s music. Even Dormammu turned out right. – And who are you, sir... - Doctor. – Doctor…? - Strange. – It seems strange to me too. (10/26/2016)

I’ve switched several times between three and four stars, and maybe not for the last time. Doctor Strange is a nice and fun comic-book ride that stands out mostly with its visuals; the way they bend reality is beautiful to watch. It’s very playful and clever, and those scenes have so many moving parts that if I tried to visualise something like that in my head, my brain would jump out of it. But other than that, it’s your classic Marvel flick with a lacklustre villain. Don’t they have anyone interesting in their whole universe, other than Loki? It’s pathetic already. And Ejiofor won’t pull it out in the potential sequel, either; the origin of the new villain has a pretty hollow motivation. A very important argument for the lower rating is also the total lack of explanation about the rules and limits of the world in the film. I fear that when Strange joins the rest of the Avengers, it will be such a mess that will bury everything. (10/27/2016)

It cannot be denied that, in contrast to the other interchangeable marvel movies, this is distinctive in its own way (however borrowed from Batman Begins/Inception). The problem is that in the second half, all cast that is precisely chosen to match the characters on which the movie is based on until this moment, is simply thrown away. Strange from being no one becomes a super master overnight, Christine disappears as if she was from catering crew and not the main female character (and the motivation of the hero), Mordo disappears in the middle of the sentence, it's event pointless to mention the villain. Well, just for the sake of the compositionally excessive effects for the sake of effect it is losing direction in those mirror worlds in the same way a fly would get lost in a mirror maze. In other words, as much effective as it is (and it's quite effective), as little it’s effective at the same time. And in this case, it's actually quite a pity for the Marvel movie. (10/26/2016)