Doctor Strange is easily the Marvel Cinematic Universes biggest risk to date and could be classed as the Guardians of the Galaxy of Marvel's Phase Three. Thankfully, like Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel takes what could effortlessly have been a massive shambles and turns it into an intelligent and thought provoking film, with stunning visual effects and a plot to match and most importantly the famous one liners and quips to diffuse the tension.
So what's it all about...?
Steven Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a world renowned neurosurgeon who has achieved great success, but it has left him with an overly inflated ego (think Tony Stark at the beginning of Iron Man) who suffers a terrible car accident leaving him without the proper use of his hands, ending his career, which had defined him. So he begins seeking treatments and that is how he ends up on the doorstep (literally) of Kamar-Taj in Kathmandu where he meets The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) who enlightens Strange about the endless possibilities of infinite dimensions of astral planes and forms, resulting in Strange becoming desperate for the to teach him. However, as always this also brings with it terrible and world ending peril in the form of Kaecilius, another wilder of the fantastic abilities who is trying to save the world but will presumably bring it's doom.
The plot is strong, allowing the audience time to get to know their new hero which has previously been a weakness of Marvel's in the past, but also not holding back on action and humour. The plot is brought to life through the mind-blowing special effects, you couldn't help but feel as though the visual effects artists hadn't taking some inspiration from Inception, with the streets of New York being folded and turned like pages of a book, but also on the exterior of individuals buildings in the twisting and turning of bricks like kaleidoscopes, or one of the many intergalactic worlds. The result is the audience feeling as though they are being swallowed up by the visuals making them a treat for the eye, but what must have cause a few headaches for the artists. The calibre of the cast also highlights Marvel's success attracting Oscar nominees to its films (Cumberbatch and Ejifor). Cumberbatch is brilliantly cast as both the arrogant neurosurgeon but also the heroic protagonist which was a pleasant surprise because while you were desperate for it to work, you were still unsure if the man famous for playing Sherlock and Hamlet could switch to the world of heroes, but he manages it in a cool and convincing way be it either in the operating theatre of the Ancient Temples. he looks as though he belongs. It takes a while to adjust to the idea of Cumberbatch with an American accent but once the film got going you believe he is. Tilda Swinton is fantastic as the calm, all knowing, al powerful Sorcerer Supreme or The Ancient One, who has the ability and look that makes the audience believe she has been wandering the Earth for thousands of years. Another character worth a mention is the beautiful and very fashionable cape of Levitation, which will defend Doctor Strange to the death with it's fierce attitude which just highlights marvel's attention to detail in giving inanimate objects a personality (think Groot... but velvet). Add to that the general wit that Marvel is legendary for, it is used effectively such as when Strange is given a pice of paper with an ancient word Shamballa written on it, the expectation is that it will be a spell but in reality it's the Wi-Fi password. Marvel also succeeds in doing what it does best in linking together it's now extensively diverse universe that is becoming bigger and more complex with each film; it manages to create subtly bonds and more importantly, it's ability to make you desperate to find out what is coming in the next films.
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