Altstiel’s Movie Reels: “Doctor Strangea��

The newest Marvel Studios movie, “Doctor Strange”, was released in theaters on Nov. 4, 2016. Being a big superhero fan, I decided to take a break from renting and streaming old movies in order to see “Doctor Strange” how it was meant to be seen: on the big screen.

“Doctor Strange” falls into Marvel’s exciting new gimmick of creating movies about some of their lesser-known heroes. “Guardians of the Galaxy” is another example of this trend. “Doctor Strange” shows the origin story of a surgeon, Dr. Stephen Strange, who was in a terrible car accident that ended his career as a doctor. During his recovery, Strange seeks to find a way to return to his profession, but along the way reluctantly finds a better way to save people’s lives by protecting them from mystical threats that were otherwise unknown to the world. “Doctor Strange” received very positive reviews and earned itself a rating of 8/10 from IMDb after opening weekend. So does “Doctor Strange” deserve this rating? And more importantly, should you go out and see it?

Short answer: Yes. “Doctor Strange” was a very refreshing change from the big name superheroes that we’ve been seeing so much of lately. The movie does a great job of portraying the mystical powers of Doctor Strange, as well as packing in a lot of information about the hero that many people are unfamiliar with within its two-hour runtime. I truly enjoyed every moment of the film and, if asked to, I would willingly go see it again in theaters. No movie is truly perfect of course so let’s talk pros and cons.

“Doctor Strange” has many positives going for it. First of all, Benedict Cumberbatch did a fantastic job of portraying the hero of the film in both its serious and epic moments, as well as its comic reliefs. I honestly forgot that it was Cumberbatch that was acting in the film as he really blended well into his role, which is what you want from an actor. I was also very happy that the film, much like other Marvel films, wasn’t afraid to be funny. Comics themselves tend to be something that you read for fun, lighthearted entertainment, so a movie that is based on a comic should also reflect that. “Doctor Strange” does this well. The movie also does a great job of fully building the character of Doctor Strange in the short amount of time that it has. As someone who had no idea who this superhero was before I entered the theater, I left very excited for the next movie to feature Doctor Strange. Finally, with all its included magic and mystical elements, “Doctor Strange” manages to create a very visually pleasing film that is easy to get drawn into.

Let’s talk about the negative aspects of “Doctor Strange.” Although the overall storyline is quite interesting and pieced together well, the villain of “Doctor Strange” lacks substance. You come to understand who the villain is throughout the movie and why he is doing what he’s doing, but I feel that his character should have been fleshed out a bit more. The movie doesn’t give you enough time to personally realize why you don’t like the bad guy. It basically just tells you, “here’s the bad guy, you don’t like him because he’s the bad guy.” Although “Doctor Strange” is a visually stunning movie and has great cinematography throughout, there were a few times that I wasn’t happy with what the shots on screen looked like. To the average viewer this probably won’t affect your experience. However as someone who makes videos himself, I would like to take another look to see why some shots were taken like they were.

So should you go out and see “Doctor Strange?” And does it hold up to IMDb’s rating of 8/10? I say yes to both. In fact, I would actually bump the rating for “Doctor Strange” up to an 8.5/10. “Doctor Strange” is a great experience and a very refreshing change from the big name superheroes we’ve already seen so much of. I was pleasantly entertained throughout and look forward to watching “Doctor Strange” again. I also can’t wait to see where its story goes in future movies.