‘Dr. Strange’s’ acting, special effects triumph over predictable plot, villain

I was just chilling one of the many cushioned red seats in one of the many rows, one hand holding a bucket of popcorn while the other repeatedly took its fluffy buttery contents and put some into my mouth. I waited, preview after preview. First came the “Power Rangers,” then the “Guardians of The Galaxy 2” previews. After waiting for what seemed like forever, the lights dimmed, and the red Marvel logo shined across the screen. The level of excitement was high at this point, and I was ready to see what was in store for Marvel’s new film, “Doctor Strange.”

This newest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduces a new hero, not only literally, but a new type of hero as well.

In this origin story, Benedict Cumberbatch plays a genius, yet pompous neurosurgeon, Doctor Stephen Strange.  When Strange gets into a car accident, he wakes up to find that his hands are severely damaged. Strange goes ballistic, trying to find any way he can to fix his hands so he can get his job back.

After finding nobody willing to help him, just as he wasn’t willing to help others in similar predicaments as him, Strange goes East. He attempts to find an unorthodox way to cure his jittery hands, but while on his adventure, Strange finds himself in a brand new kind of journey, one that tests him both physically, and mentally.

“Doctor Strange” has somewhat of a refreshing feel to it, in a Marvel Universe filled with hand to hand combat, explosives, guns, you name it. “Doctor Strange” is a new kind of hero in a new kind of world we have never seen before. Instead of huge fight scenes, we see a lot of psychedelic movement and spells. I did not have the pleasure of seeing the movie in 3D, but I am almost afraid of how crazy it would have been. There is just so much there that it really is overall just an entertaining thing to gawk at.

The movie also is fantastic due to its acting and source of subtle humor. Cumberbatch does a perfect job of playing this arrogant, yet likable hero. Cumberbatch mixes up the hilarity with also being someone that people can relate to and root for.

The other supporting characters also do an amazing job as well, especially Tilda Swinton who does an amazing job as the mystical ancient one, the one who teaches Strange the ways of the mystical world.

The one part of the movie I didn’t like was the plot development, the movie seemed like it followed the normal plot line for your average superhero movie. It all just seemed like the same, but with different content in it. The movie also really felt like it had no real big turning point, like all of a sudden it was just randomly over. Maybe this last thought is because of the fact the villain really never gets talked about in depth. I understand they are trying to take over Earth, but what makes him really an evil person? Like out of all of the Marvel movies I have seen, this one is probably the only villain I walked away not feeling like I just watched something super challenging.

But overall, I really did enjoy my time watching “Doctor Strange.” It’s trippy scenes combined with the fantastic acting by Cumberbatch really sold it to me. The humor in the film really caught me off guard with how funny it was and truly how much there was in it.

The film just seemed to lack a big turning point, a part where you truly felt that the hero had maybe been defeated. It just fell a little flat from that perspective, but, otherwise, I feel the movie is a fantastic watch, especially if you are into the comics and/or are an avid watcher of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

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