[Movie Review] Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange (2016)

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch (Stephen Strange), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Mordo), Tilda Swinton (The Ancient One), Benedict Wong (Wong), Mads Mikkesen (Kaecilius), Rachel McAdams (Dr. Christine Palmer), Michael Stuhlbarg (Dr. Nicodemus West), Benjamin Bratt (Jonathan Pangborn)
Directed by: Scott Derrickson

I don't know why I didn't review Doctor Strange after I initially saw it in theaters, but I'm making up for that oversight now, having just re-watched the film (it literally finished 5 minutes ago).

I've read some other reviews of this film that accuse it of being a re-hash of Iron Man. That claim isn't entirely without merit. Both films tell the story of a brilliant but arrogant man who nearly dies, which gives him a new view of life. Each man then finds a way to give himself power and becomes a hero to defend the people. But the paths these two characters take to their heroic destinies are quite different.

Dr. Stephen Strange is a brilliant neurosurgeon who treats medicine as an opportunity to display his brilliance. The movie never shows him interacting with one of his patients. I'm pretty sure he does that as little as possible. Once he's done his work, people don't interest him anymore. He's full of pride, and he refuses to accept patients whose problems aren't treatable or won't bring him acclaim and admiration from his peers. But so much of his sense of personal worth is invested in his ability to perform surgery that when a serious car accident deprives him of the effective use of his hands, he feels like his life is over. He sacrifices every dime he has, every relationship, in an effort to find a medical cure, before a patient he once rejected leads him to a mystical option. Even then he's so arrogantly certain of his knowledge that he almost rejects the option he's worked so hard to find.

Once Strange has finally accepted that there are things beyond his scientific knowledge, he's still determined to pursue only his goal of recovering his ability to perform surgery. It takes a terrible threat to humanity to convince him that there's a another way for him to make a difference. But first he has to learn how to stop being afraid of failure, and be reminded that he is a doctor and he took an oath to do no harm.

I think that last detail is the biggest difference between Doctor Strange and Iron Man. Strange was a doctor before he became Sorcerer Supreme (though he doesn't gain that title during this movie). I feel like the Marvel creative team are going to focus on that idea that Strange is a doctor, trying to heal or act as prevention rather than being a more aggressive protector like Iron Man and the Avengers. What prompts him to accept his new role is a desire to protect, while Tony Stark's initial motivation for becoming Iron Man is to save himself and gain revenge. Tony Stark is also somewhat self-aggrandizing about his heroic role; he reveals to the world that he's Iron Man and seeks out publicity and attention. I suspect that Doctor Strange will keep his role out of the public eye and maintain a low profile. But I suppose we'll have to wait for the next Doctor Strange film to find out.

There are a lot of things to like about Doctor Strange. It doesn't shy away from the psychedelic qualities of the Steve Ditko-illustrated comics it's inspired by. It isn't afraid of its mystical roots; they don't try to come up with a detailed scientific explanation of how magic works. Benedict Cumberbatch exudes his usual charm in the role, though I wish they'd let him speak in his natural accent instead of a forced "generic American" accent, that occasionally weakens a bit when he pushes it too hard. Mads Mikkelsen is his usual brilliant self as the villain Kaecilius, and he's a nice foil for Strange as he believes that what he's doing is for the good of the people of Earth. Chiwetel Ejiofor is also excellent as Mordo, and the film does a good job of setting him up to become a future villain as he is in the comics.

The Ancient One, Strange's teacher and mentor and the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth for the duration of the film, is a problematic character. In the comics the character is a stereotypical Asian mystic, written without sensitivity to ethnicity or history. The Marvel film execs wanted to get away from that, so they decided to make the Ancient One female. I'm a big fan of Tilda Swinton, so I'm naturally disposed to enjoy her in the part. But at the same time, I wish they had kept the character Asian. I would have liked to see Michelle Yeoh as the Ancient One, or perhaps some Asian actress I don't know as well. I'm sure many other people could have done as well as  Swinton. Maybe since they decided to place Kamar-taj in Nepal, they could have chosen an actor from that part of the world. That would have been a nice change from the predominantly white Marvel films.

Despite my misgivings about casting a white actor in the role, Swinton has one of my favorite scenes in the film, when she and Strange carry out a conversation about life and mortality while in astral form. Swinton has always had a fey quality about her, and that works well in the role of an ancient, ageless master sorcerer with the ability to see through time and into other dimensions.

Other things I like about this movie: the way they set up Strange's personality without spending too much time giving the audience exposition; several later call-backs to the introductory scene of Strange and his obsession with music; the magic effects; the fact they actually went to Nepal to film some of the Kamar-taj scenes for versimilitude; the astral form combat between Strange and one of Kaecilius' followers, and Strange's later dismay at having used his magic to take a human life; and the clever way that Strange uses his magical powers to overcome the uber-villain Dormammu without actually fighting him. Oh, and of course the mid-credits scene tying Strange into the larger Marvel cinematic universe by introducing him to Thor. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of Doctor Strange in other Marvel films. I think they've done well by this character.