DOCTOR Strange is the latest Marvel superhero to migrate from the comic book to the big screen.
He's not the screwball type like Ant-Manand Deadpool, but that doesn't mean Doctor Strange has no sense of humor. He is more deadpan than hilarious, in keeping with his stature as a sorcerer.
"Doctor Strange" may be about a second-tier superhero, but two things give the film its appeal: the special effects and Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role.
Marvel's 14th film has maxxed-out effects that are strongly reminiscent of the mind warping milieu of "Inception" and "Matrix." Streets and buildings twist and tumble into kaleidoscopic landscapes that make the chase and fight scenes more exhilarating.
Yet this visual feast doesn't at all overpower the characters that inhabit the bizarre environment. Cumberbatch is a perfect fit as Dr. Stephen Strange, a topnotch neurosurgeon whose fame and fortune have gotten into his head and transformed him into an AA - Arrogant Asshole.
His high-flying lifestyle screeches to a stop when he crashes his sports car on a dark, lonely highway. The accident shatters his hands, rendering them useless for delicate surgical work. Strange is devastated and desperately looks for a restorative cure.
He becomes increasingly frustrated until he meets a man who was a former paraplegic but was able to walk again through some ancient,mystical form of healing.
Strange's next stop: Kathmandu, Nepal. And this is where his transformation begins.
He gains access to Kamar-taj, the secret sanctum of sorcerers who guard Earth against an invasion by maleficent beings from another dimension. The head of Kamar-taj, the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), fears the worst after one of her disciples, Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) runs off with a page torn from a book that contains a ritual that Kamar-taj's enemies could use to summon the most bad-ass creature of all -- Dormammu, ruler of the Dark Dimension.
Strange, who came to Kamar-taj in search of a cure for his mangled hands, now finds himself caught up in an inter-dimensional war. He is given a crash course on sorcery and martial arts that must have been based on the same curriculum that "The Matrix's" Neo and "The Last Airbender's" Aang must have taken.
Strange becomes good enough to face Kaecilius and his minions. But in the final battle to save the world, he is the underdog against Dormammu and must rely on something other than sorcery to win.
Cumberbatch brings a studied elegance to his character that makes Doctor Strange more charming than lovable. (The lovable label definitely belongs to Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool) I expect Doctor Strange to grow in stature in the Marvel Universe. The film has already showed sequel potential, having topped the US box office with $85 million during its opening week.
Swinton steps up as the intriguing Ancient One, and Mikkelsen has his moments as the traitor Kaecilius. Rachel McAdams underachieves as Strange's love interest, Christine Palmer.
Director Scott Derrickson, who co-wrote the screenplay, avoids the trap of overplaying the special effects and allows the actors enough leeway to fully develop their characters.