REVIEW: “Doctor Strange” does not meet high standards of Marvel

By Breana Lee,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

“Doctor Strange,” one of Marvel’s newest additions to their ever-growing fandom, was an enjoyable movie despite its flaws. I decided to watch the movie based solely on the fact that it was a movie produced by Marvel.

Although watching “Doctor Strange” was entertaining, there were a few parts that I found to be cliche or a slight overkill.

I had no background knowledge of the story, but like the other Marvel films I had watched in the past without any previous familiarity with the plot, I wanted to watch “Doctor Strange” to see if it was as good as the other Marvel movies I had enjoyed.

I normally love Marvel movies for the creative combination of humor and action not to mention the marveling special effects in addition to a normally well-developed plot with unexpected endings leaving the audience wanting more. “Doctor Strange,” however, met less of my typically high expectations.

The movie revolves around Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), an arrogant but extremely talented surgeon, and his journey to find purpose in his life after losing his ability to use his hands and perform surgery after a disastrous accident. When Western medicine fails him, Strange travels in search of another cure when he meets the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton).

Rachel McAdams and Chiwetel Ejiofor also play major roles in the movie, and Marvel fans are promised the traditional Stan Lee cameo.

“Doctor Strange” is a very humorous movie guaranteed to leave the entire audience burst out in laughter, and the few characters make it easier to watch because the audience can better relate to and watch the development of those select main characters.

Directed by Scott Derrickson, Marvel’s latest movie included special effects that although included many different color and flashy movements, the overall effect was not very impressive and seemed excessive.

In previous Marvel movies, most of the ideas were more super-power based while Dr. Strange seemed to revolve mostly around magic. Strange has to wear a sling ring that provides him with his magical powers, much like Harry Potter’s magic wand.

One of the biggest problems with the movie was the selfish motives that inspired Strange to become a sorcerer. His goal was to heal himself and get his old life back when he gets caught up in the magic and decides to save the world on a decision on the fly.

This reason to become a sorcerer isn’t very developed in the movie and his self-centeredness was infuriating.

Varying from most of the other Marvel movies, Dr. Strange is more predictable. You can almost guess the next scenes and dialogue. Also, because a lot of the movie was obviously fiction, it distracted the audience from the events taking place and the overall plot of the movie.

For example, when the sorcerers used their magic to make landscape folded in on itself, although it was quite an extraordinary feat, the audience will rather admire the CGI rather than the intense fight scene occurring right before your eyes.

In general, however, Dr. Strange is an overall good movie, however, it didn’t meet my high expectations for Marvel in some of the effects, plot and dialogue.