Doctor Strange

I'll admit I didn't have much faith in this movie. Mysticism and stuff like that passes me by, Benedict Cumberbatch is starting to bore me, and I wasn't that interested in another origin stry, but Doctor Strange surprised me. Very pleasantly. Cumberbatch fits the role perfectly, and even though he practically never leaves the screen, he's great as the arrogant doctor, the broken man, and ultimately the superhero. And thanks to him, you don’t even mind the classically understated villain so much, and this time the other characters played by Mads Mikkelsen and Chiwetel Ejiofor deserve more space. But the main star this time is without a doubt Scott Derrickson, who managed to turn the film into an audiovisual orgy (OK, Michael Giacchino's music helps him a lot) and make each action scene different from the previous one. Only towards the end it was maybe a bit too much. Doctor Strange is again a step in a slightly different direction and into places the other Marvel movies didn't even venture. And it works, again, and if Stephen Strange is going to replace Tony Stark as the leader of the entire MCU, I'm not worried about the future of the brand. The character and his representative are up to it without a shadow of a doubt. (16/05/2017)

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. (27/10/2016)

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! (26/10/2016)

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. (15/11/2017)

So much information, so much magic – and so little time. It is clear from every scene how much Scott Derrickson (and ultimately, all of Marvel Studios) love the new addition to their universe and happily immerse themselves in all the magical gadgets, spaces, and twists. However, they could have given us more time in this gold mine because two hours can be desperately little at times. I had a great time, and Benedict Cumberbatch was born for the role of Strange, but in order to reach the highest rating (which is not far away), I will have to devour the entire adventure several more times and finally become acquainted with the source material, which I have been putting off for some time. (06/11/2016)