Doctor Strange

A group of sorcerers led by Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) invades a sacred library and steals pages from a book before fleeing into the streets of New York!  The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) pursues, killing about half the invaders.  Kaecilius escapes with the pages that contain a ritual that could destroy the world.

 

Next we meet Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), a brilliant neurosurgeon who seemingly brings an organ donor back to life!  He is an arrogant, self-centered jerk but nevertheless a magnificent surgeon with miraculously steady hands.  Then tragedy strikes.  In a car accident, his hands are mangled and, even after extensive reconstructive surgery, he has difficulty just writing his name.  Desperation takes him to Nepal and the Ancient One.  Though initially a skeptic, once convinced that there is magic, he studies voraciously and quickly becomes proficient in advanced sorcery.  He is soon embroiled in the conflict between the Ancient One and Kaecilius, proving to be the central figure in the final outcome.

 

In the mid credits scene, a bearded Thor discusses Loki and Odin with Doctor Strange.  Strange offers his help in finding Loki for the purpose of getting the Asgardians back to Asgard.  Unsurprisingly, Strange will appear in the forthcoming Thor: Ragnarok.  At the end of the credits, the villain of the next Doctor Strange movie reveals himself.

 

The movie has a very strong Inception feel to it with the mirrored cityscapes that fold upon themselves.  Though often humorous, this plays much more seriously than Ant-Man or Guardians of the Galaxy.  The magic system is solid and well made.  That the movie limited its forms was a good call.  Unlike Harry Potter, we aren't bombarded with all sorts of magic.  Basically, it comes down to magic gateways, invoking a mirror world, conjuring weapons or shields, and astral projection.  Each of these are shown enough times to make them all old hat by the end of the movie.  More spells can be added in later movies but I like that we stuck with some basic tricks for the first outing.

 

Yet again, Marvel has taken one of their lesser characters and created a great film.  When I was reading Marvel in the 80s, I read almost exclusively Fantastic Four and X-Men, both of which Marvel sold the movie rights.  Marvel has more than made do with the second and third string characters.  Thumbs way up for Doctor Strange!