Movie Review: Dr. Strange…stranger not stronger

Ever since The Avengers brought everything together so neatly, the Marvel universe has been getting stranger and stranger. While some would herald the newbies like Guardians of the Galaxy, Antman and Deadpool as welcome additions that brought freshness to the universe, I see these as distractions and obstructions, to the simplicity with which The Avengers brought magic to the silver screen. Dr. Strange, while stranger still, is sadly, no different.

The story is the real letdown here. Have you read a book called Simoquin Prophecies? While a relatively lesser known fantasy title by author Samit Basu, it pulls ‘inspiration’ from a variety of existing, well known epics and fantasy stories (from Ramayana to Harry Potter to give you some clue). Such a description would suit Dr. Strange as well – string together some concepts from The Matrix and Harry Potter, some scenes from Inception, give it a different name and lo behold – Dr. Strange shall appear before you. Only, after drawing such inspiration, there is nothing inspiring or magical about the tale Dr. Strange chooses to weave for this newest superhero. The start is intriguing and interesting, but after keeping your interest somewhat to the half way stage the threads just fall apart. This really is a disappointment, because the visual effects and humor manage to keep you engaged and with a stellar plotline this could’ve become one of Marvel’s better offerings

The visual effects are spell binding. The context of the movie is such that it required significant visual delight to truly impress and to give credit, Dr. Strange does excel in that department. While not all scenes do justice to the 3D, some scenes show considerable promise, especially during the initial stages of the movie. The (now trademark) Marvel humor is also very much present and makes for some much needed comic relief during particularly dull moments.

Cumberbatch gives it his all and it is apparent that he is enjoying himself – pretty much through the movie. The challenge is also that you don’t know whether to take Dr. Strange seriously or simply see this one in a lighter vein wherein truly anything can happen. There is a fair amount of ‘learning’ that the audience has to do and terms we have to get familiar with as well. The sad part however, is after all that learning, the climax completely disappoints and it all seems like much ado over nothing spectacular. The visual effects continue to impress and there is a kaleidoscope (quite literally) of images making for one spectacular visual showcase. However, the yarn continues to disappoint. You don’t at all feel vested into Dr. Strange or any of the characters in this universe (or is it multiverse…)

There are both mid-credits and end-credit sequences so stick around for those. For a change, these sequences actually pique your interest – more perhaps than even the movie manages. Strange as it may seem, my suggestion to you despite the seemingly rave reviews, would be to sit this one out unless you want to go purely for the dazzling visuals – plotwise Dr. Strange doesn’t conjure up enough to keep your interest.