Have you seen Dr. Strange yet? Well, if you have, congratulations! You've seen the latest and greatest Marvel film. And if you haven't seen it yet, I would recommend doing so, and here's why:
1.) Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange:
No, not just because he is an attractive human being, but also because he is an excellent actor and his character type was perfect for this role. I have to say that type-casting the archetype of the douchey character in cinema as the douchey Doctor was a great choice. On top of that, Cumberbatch is somehow able to make the audience experience the transformations Dr. Strange makes as a character, which takes a really skilled actor to accomplish. I won't reveal exactly what changes happen to Strange in the movie, but I will say that Dr. Strange discovers a lot about himself and the world that allows him to start his life anew. Whether he goes good or bad, I will not say; it is just a cool journey to be a part of.
2.) This film is delightfully sarcastic and pretty funny:
Talk about combining comic relief with intense moments. I mean, it takes a lot for a film to feature both intense fight scenes and comedy. That is sort of the mark of Stan Lee stuff though, isn't it? I would tell you a little bit about the jokes here, but I want to stay away from spoilers for those of you who haven't seen the film yet. And spoilers about the jokes totally count! You want to actually think they're funny when you are watching the film, right? So, what I will do is give the gift of memes *yay!* about the film instead to compensate.
3.) THE CG, baby!
I was so happy about all the kaleidoscope effects in the fight scenes where the characters morphed reality. This was incredible for me as a viewer and made the film even more intense when the fate of the earth was in the hands of Dr. Strange!
But, like all superheroes, Dr. Strange has a weakness...
At the same time as liking the film for many reasons, I have to admit that there were some weaknesses to it that made Dr. Strange not exactly my favorite in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first of weaknesses that bothered me the most is the music. I'm big on having a great soundtrack, so I admit that I may have a little bias in this department. However, I feel that, even without a bias for good music in a film, the tracks for this movie are simply uninteresting. They are well-composed, I will not doubt that; though, the tracks could have been more badass in such a way that better conveys the personality of the characters, especially Dr. Strange. I just didn't get that from the music and felt like there was a disconnect between the music and the movie's events.
The whole origin story thing.
Okay, I have to admit that this was an origin story that was done well. And, even though I am thankful Marvel didn't overuse their same pattern of in medias res that they often do in this particular film, I think this is ironically something that could have actually made this film better... What I mean by this is that a lot of people might be tired of the Wolverine-esque "No, I will not let you in on the whole story yet. In fact, you have to wait for another five years just to know where the superhero comes from," this is actually a very effective mode of story-telling. In Dr. Strange's case, his personal transformations made the origin a great place to start with, but I actually think that making his story more mysterious by starting in the middle of his life as a superhero might have been cooler.
Too surreal for the Marvel Universe?
This was a common complaint about the comic book series and I honestly see why. When I was watching the film in theaters, it was totally cool and I was smitten by the film gods into a daze of "Wow, this is tight!" But now that I am released from that and have thought about it a little more, Dr. Strange is a little too, well, strange for a world that includes Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, and even Thor. There seems to be a more Kung Fu Panda mysticism feel to Dr. Strange, rather than that of a Marvel superhero. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but to note the fact that Dr. Strange dosen't truly fit in in some ways.
My Rating:
To tell you the truth, this film was great, but not the best I've ever seen. I might watch it again if I feel like a superhero flick, but I would probably not make it my first choice if I had other movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe at my fingertips. That said though, you have to see it if you love superhero--namely Marvel--films and if you are feeling like a quality film on a slow, winter day. This is still a pretty amazing movie!
Corey's Rating: 89% Overall. So, a strong B+ that's almost an A-, but not quite there. And seeing Cumberbatch's face right next to the rating isn't helping me feel any better about giving the film a B, so..... Adieu for now, friends! I'll be back soon to talk about another of the latest films of the holiday season.
By: Corey Cherrington
No comments:
Post a Comment