MCU Retrospective, Part 15—"Doctor Strange"
In this weekly series, Film Yap writer Andrew Carr revisits each installment of the decade-long Marvel Cinematic Universe. Once a week, Andrew will review one film in the series, in the original release order, reevaluating his previously held opinion of the film and giving each film a new score out of 5 Yaps. All 18 films (plus Avengers: Infinity War, upon release) will be compiled into one definitive ranking. Each entry in the "MCU Retrospective" series will include a short review as well as a historical recap about the film's initial conception and release.
A new entry in this series will be posted every Sunday until the weekend prior to the release of Avengers: Infinity War on May 4.
Last week's entry in the series: Captain America: Civil War
Complete list of all entries in the "MCU Retrospective" series!
NOTE: The next two entries will feature TWO films each in order to account for Infinity War being moved up to April 27.
Next week, 4/15: Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming
4/22: Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther
History Time!
Doctor Strange would mark Marvel's first foray into the mystic arts. Promising alternate dimensions, time manipulation, and spirituality, it seemed this might be the first MCU film to really embrace the utter weirdness of the Marvel Universe.
Upon release, the film was received with middling to positive response, some praising it for its trippy visuals and eclectic score (from Michael Giacchino), while others criticized it for being too similar to Iron Man, having too much humor forced in where it doesn't belong, and lacking the colorful cast of characters that many Marvel movies employ. I always felt that the film was better than given credit for, and before 2017, it sat in my top 5 or 6 MCU films. Read on to see what I thought this time around.
The Review
DOCTOR STRANGE (2016)
Much like its immediate predecessor, Civil War, Doctor Strange is great in parts. Benedict Cumberbatch is utterly perfect casting; his visage may be one of the most accurate comic-to-screen looks ever. The world-bending kaleidoscope aesthetic is a wonder to behold. The costume and set design looks decidedly not superhero-y, which is nice, since they're all supposed to be mystical monks. And the third act takes an unusual and refreshing turn to set it apart from the cacophony of final-battle slugfests that is so pervasive in the genre. I will always be thankful that writer Dan Harmon (of Community and Rick & Morty fame) stepped in to lend the climactic scene some levity and creative problem solving with the "bargaining" bit—which makes even more sense when you consider that our protagonist is a genius neurosurgeon who is constantly looking for unconventional workarounds to seemingly hopeless problems.
Unfortunately, Doctor Strange also marks my most disappointing rewatch since Thor. As many said at the time of release, the humor is a problem here. I am rarely one to complain about humor in Marvel's films, as so many do, because I think the vast majority of the time, a sense of humor is inherent in the characters, and it is written about as well (or better) than the movies that are actually proclaiming themselves as comedies. But... Doctor Strange has, I think, the worst ratio of "jokes I laughed at" to "jokes I can immediately pinpoint how I would have rewritten to make them funny, or removed them entirely." Strange himself is arrogant and snarky, so if he makes jabs here and there, I have no issue. And frankly, I don't think the film has "too much" humor. Rather, it's just overzealous humor at the wrong time. It's Marvel's first significant case of "trying too hard for a joke." Most notably, I think making the Cloak of Levitation a sentient vessel for slapstick comedy (beyond its introduction) was a mistake, as it not only makes for lots of cheap laughs but also undermines the tension of some fight scenes and sets up too many conveniences when Strange is in a pinch. I'd rather see him get himself out of a situations than see his cape do it for him.
Additionally, the film could have benefited from greater commitment to its weird and freaky world. The most captivating scene in the movie, in terms of world building, is Strange's first and frightening brush with the mystical world, when the Ancient One thrusts him down a supernatural rabbit hole, exposing him to confusing and terrifying hellscapes and cosmic dimensions. The film could have used a lot more of that weirdness. Instead, most of the film's magic consists of conjuring orange sparklers from one's hands and doing Kung fu with them. Why is all of the magic orange? I don't get it. The more interesting magical concepts that the film toys with are the astral dimension (essentially the world in which your spirit exists alongside but separate from your body) and the talk of other worlds, forces and spells that are beyond Strange's current abilities or comprehension. If this film did just one thing right, it certainly made me interested in sequels that can further explore his range of abilities and the diverse "multiverse" around him.
I would also agree that the supporting characters around our hero are fairly dry. Rachel McAdams' character, Strange's friend and love interest, gives a strong, emotiemot performance when needed, but isn't given much to do, and we don't really get a sense of who she is or what she's all about. Strangers mystical colleague and partner Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) does have a compelling arc on paper, but makes a few directional shifts a little too quickly, and ends up feeling a bit stagey. (That said, I am intrigued by his tragic fall to villainy, and I'm interested to see where sequels go with it). Wong the librarian (Benedict Wong) is endearingly stoic at the start of the film, and then the victim of a downright terrible joke at the end. And Strange's mentor, the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), is enigmatic and interesting, and gets a beautiful final sceme, but there's just a few too many cold, stoic, mysterious folks in the cast, leaving us with few to attach ourselves to. Patchy dialogue occasionally contributes to this issue as well.
There's still a lot to like about Doctor Strange, as mentioned before. The action and production design is both fun and beautiful. Strange himself undergoes a compelling arc, and the canvas on which the story is told, a world in which secret monks safeguard the world from myriad multidimensional threats, while the majority of the world has no idea they exist, is an intriguing one. Unfortunately, in execution, the film doesn't leave that typical MCU strong impression. The characters, while not Thor levels of lame—to the point where I downright don't want to be subjected to them again—are not especially memorable, minus a couple, and the half-baked comedy really undermines a lot of potential for resonant drama and further character development among the supporting cast.
In all, Doctor Strange is undeniably a good movie and a good time. It also opens up the series to a new sandbox to play in, which is always fun. I certainly want to see more of Cumberbatch's Strange. But those things aren't enough to ignore the blandness and, at times, sloppy execution in other aspects of the film like supporting characters and humor. I like the movie, but it's low on the list of MCU films I would want to rewatch in the near future.
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The MCU Ranking!
Every week, I take each entry covered for that week and place it in an ongoing ranking, which will eventually include all 19 films.
Doctor Strange makes the top of the lower-tier Marvel movies, or maybe the bottom of the top-tier ones. Regardless, it's a good movie, but doesn't quite hit that impressive Marvel standard of greatness.