Marvel’s Latest Feature is a Long, Strange Trip

Dr. Strange is the 14th movie in the Marvel cinematic universe. It stars four-time Emmy nominee Benedict Cumberbatch and is directed by Scott Derrickson, commonly known for his horror films such as Sinister, and Poltergeist. In its opening weekend the movie grossed nearly $85 million in the global box office, almost overtaking its entire budget of $125 million. With praise from critics, Dr. Strange is being hailed as one of the best Marvel movies to date.

The movie begins with the rogue sorcerer, Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), stealing papers from a book in the private collection of The Ancient One or The Sorcerer Supreme (Tilda Swinton).  After an exchange and a brief chase scene they end up in a simple New York alley, only for the world to start folding, turning, and contorting like a Rubic’s Cube. The cinematography in Dr. Strange is on another level in comparison to other Marvel movies with the majority of the shots looking like very “trippy” and feeling like what Disneyland is.

When introduced to Doctor Stephen Strange, the audience is exposed to an ignorant, self indulgent, and ingenious character. Dr. Strange shows off his brilliance when he performs a highly difficult and mysterious surgery. The movie also contained a useful scene that could be used as a distracted driving public service announcement. After a tragic accident, Strange finds himself in a hospital bed with his arms in slings, dangling from the ceiling. Dr. Strange begins to realize that his most important necessity as a surgeon, his steady hands, has been embedded with stainless steel rods and synthesized joints. After attending inconclusive therapy and throwing everyone that cared about him under the bus, Dr. Strange hears about man who was paralyzed from the waist down. His condition was classified as a point of no return, yet somehow he walked again. Dr. Strange tracked down this miracle case and was given the vague advice to travel to a distant land to find the answers he seeks.

There Dr. Strange learns a new life philosophy and uses his photographic memory to excel and become a wise and powerful sorcerer where he must soon attempt to save the planet from from another “big bad” many Dr. Strange comics fans will recognize. Strange fights this battle with help from notorious items affiliated with Dr. Strange in the comics such as the “Cloak of Levitation” and the “Eye of Agamotto” which breaks the laws of nature and manipulates time. After the “strange” ride, remember to stay for the popular MCU “after credits scene” where Marvel hints at the next movie.