by Aleah Sia, Year 12
WARNING: Article contains major spoilers
Dormammu, I've come to bargain.
When I heard that Benedict Cumberbatch was going to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I was overwhelmed with excitement. Imagine the famous British actor (who plays Sherlock) flashing an American accent. Truly, this ignites creative sparks that embraces a whole new dimension to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Cumberbatch plays a successful, arrogant neurosurgeon with miracle hands and an ego similar to Tony Stark’s. However, when Strange was texting whilst driving, he crashed his Lamborghini which resulted to dysfunctionality with his hands. After months of searching for help, he finds salvation in Kathmandu wherein he gets taught by the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton).
The visual landscape we encounter in this film is extremely daring and to my opinion, was the highlight of the film. The audience at first witnesses Strange bouncing between dimensions from the dark shadows of outer space to a kaleidoscope of colours. Scott Derrickson, the director of the film, does a marvelous job creating visual dazzles extracted from the comic books created by Stan Lee. As Strange begins to learn his powers, the scenes progress to beautiful ‘folding’ effects, when Strange starts to learn how to change the environment around him.
Though the film has been accused of whitewashing for giving the role of the Ancient One to a British actor whilst supposedly being a Tibetan descent, the Ancient One was my favourite character. Despite her having little dialogue and emotion, she is the character the audience acknowledges the most. She is the master of magic as she sees everything, including the inside and outside aspects of people. She shows that even the most heroic of characters are flawed.
However, those who are not fans of excessive use of CGI may not enjoy this movie. Moreover, Strange’s character is similar to Starks’. Strange, with the loss of his medical career, embarks on an adventure to find himself, just like how Tony Stark dug through his past. He’s irreverent and satirical, just like Stark. The script of the movie is also very similar to a typical Marvel movie; as Marvel studios releases a handful of superhero movies every year, their scripts tend to be alike and their plots become quite similar. In addition, his female love interest, played by Rachel McAdams, is the stereotypical boring character that we see in every Marvel movie.
Overall, Doctor Strange may not be Marvel’s best film, but it was still an entertaining film to watch with friends and family. I am sure everyone is looking forward to Doctor Strange’s return in a sequel and, especially, in Avengers: Infinity War.
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