Doctor Strange

This week's movie rental was Doctor Strange ...

a 2016 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name .... and stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins, Mads Mikkelsen, and Tilda Swinton. In Doctor Strange, surgeon Stephen Strange learns the mystic arts from the Ancient One after a career-ending car accident.

Although I read most of Marvel's comics when I was a kid, Doctor Strange was not among them, so the story was pretty new to me. The special effects were really good, I thought, and reminiscent of Inception. And I liked the mystic/psychedelic theme ... in a brief scene, Stan Lee is shown reading Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception :) And there was a lot of incidental humor too, like in the exchange in this first time meeting between Doctor Strange and the evil Kaecilius ...



And it was interesting to see what Kathmandu is like - yes, they really filmed there ... Doctor Strange: When Benedict Cumberbatch went to Kathmandu

The movie has been well received - the Tomatometer was at 90% approval - and you can read a review from the LA Times here: Review Benedict Cumberbatch anchors Marvel's trippy, transporting 'Doctor Strange'

In Marvel movies one of the parts I like best are the little "preview" bits sandwiched within the end credits. In this film, that has Doctor Strange meeting with Thor :) ...



If you like Marvel's universe, if you like science fiction and fantasy, you will probably find the film a lot of fun.