Doctor Strange (M)
119 mins I recently expressed a hope that Doctor Strange would make Marvel marvellous again. I’ve not read the comics, but I knew Benedict Cumberbatch was in the titular role, and Sherlock Holmes/Alan Turing/ Frankenstein/Smaug has never put a foot wrong in his ever-increasing and consistently esteemed acting career. Even so, never could I have anticipated the extent to which this latest comicbook movie would transform my previously jaded attitude towards superheroes, world-saving and special effects. But it has.
Doctor Strange is two eye-boggling hours of clever, interesting plotting, delivered by an excellent international cast, who spout relevant, oft-witty dialogue, before engaging in the sort of cine-theatrics that finally warrant the Imax ticket price (or at very least, the biggest screen you can find).
Cumberbatch, albeit with mild American accent, is wonderful as the eponymous surgeon whose arrogance makes him one of those people you admire as utterly brilliant while simultaneously wishing he’d get his comeuppance.
So when Strange’s high-powered car crashes spectacularly off the road and his hands – his lifeblood, as well as the vessel for his detestable pride – are devastated beyond repair, we have the perfect set-up for a true hero to be created from the ashes of a terrible learning lesson.
Desperate to heal at any cost, he ends up in Nepal where a mysterious organisation headed by The Ancient One (a typically splendid Tilda Swinton) and her crew teach him in the ways of spiritual other-worldliness and empowerment.
Everything about Strange’s trip is engrossing, from the actually-not-thathokum ideas spouted by the learned folk to the literally trippy out-of-body experiences he is subjected to in order to break down his scientific scepticism.
Cumberbatch plays Strange with just the right mix of sneer and vulnerability, uttering hilarious lines without resorting to Chris Pratt’s winkwink. In support, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams and Benedict Wong make for perfect foils.
Director Scott Derrickson has only a few (very sinister) films to his name, so it’s a miracle that he was given this comic adaptation and has made something iconic from it.
Nods to Inception and briefly Edge of Tomorrow feel welcome rather than rip-offs, and the overall production – from the exquisite orchestral score to the pitch-perfect pop songs and the fabulous CGI – makes Doctor Strange a hero among Marvel movies. – Sarah Watt