Doctor
Strange makes me ask a lot of questions, but that’s not a fault of the
movie. I suspect that I know more about
him than the average Joe, if only because I played a couple of the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games way back
when. That was basically my first real
exposure to the doctor, and I was entranced by his antics -- like teleporting
all over the place after spinning like Wonder Woman on a turntable, or transforming
enemies into highly-destructible boxes (with the added, if not game-breaking
effect, of dishing out extra health). In
the time since, I’ve tried to learn more about him; my knowledge is still
surface-level, but I feel like I’ve been rewarded for my efforts.
Doctor Strange is a cool character. I’ve thought that for a while now -- and
there was a time in my life when I would ask with wide, glittering eyes “When
are we getting a Doctor Strange
movie?” While I wouldn’t say I’ve
dreamed of this moment, I’ve been excited to see what Marvel Studios can put
out. By extension, there are questions
that I had (and still have) about the movie.
Chief among them: how do you bring Doctor Strange onto the big
screen? And, you know, do a good job?
I’m not here to tell you if the movie’s good or
bad. I’m here to answer as many
questions as possible in the context of what I’ve seen. Sort out what works, what doesn’t work, and why.
If you’re interested, come along with me on this journey. If not?
I don’t know. Watch a Doctor Strange combo
video. Maybe you’ll pick up some new
tech.
By the hoary hosts of SPOILERS!
Side note: anyone looking forward to seeing the Seven Rings
of Raggadorr is out of luck. Sorry if
that’s a deal-breaker, but as a consolation prize? ASTRAL MAGIC CONFIRMED.
I’m going to go ahead and assume that if you’re
reading this post, you’ve already seen the movie and/or know what it
entails. If you haven’t seen it? 1) You clearly have a high tolerance for
spoilers. 2) You probably need a basic
plot summary and opinion on whether it’s good -- in which
case, I shall provide. 3) You might
have suffered a head injury that distorts every last facet of your judgment
ability.
This seems like a lot of cloak-and-dagger nonsense
to go through for a movie. And it’s a
Marvel movie, no less. You know what
you’re getting by now: superheroes, action, jokes, world-building, setup for
the future, post-credits scenes, etc.
For some people, the “formula” has become too much to bear. And even though I am a fan -- of this movie,
and the MCU at large -- anyone who has a problem or complaint has legitimate
reasons behind them. Honestly, that’s
kind of a good thing. If people are
willing to take the Marvel movies to task, then they’re thinking critically and
asking for more from those in power. If
it keeps up, then I’d wager that someday we’ll get it on a regular basis.
So while I can’t speak for everyone everywhere, I
can still speak for myself. And like I
said before, I’m in no position to declare Doctor
Strange as the best Marvel movie to date (or ever). What I can
say, and with a fair bit of confidence, is that it’s certainly the most
dramatic movie so far. It pretty much
has to be; the story of Stephen Strange is one full of pain and suffering, and
a life that would be absolutely ruined if it happened in the real world. There’s real drama there, and it’s at the
forefront for a decent-sized chunk of the movie.
Even if that’s the case, there’s an issue that
needed to be sorted out. It’s actually
one of the questions I had in mind for this movie. See, the Strange we’re given in the movie is
someone who’s at the top of the world in his field. He’s brilliant, with the fame, wealth, and
material goods to show for it. He has
the skills to perform feats that would otherwise be impossible -- and as a
result, he could do the backstroke in a pool of his own smugness. Tragedy strikes thanks to a problem of his
own creation, and in order to save his life he has to resort to extreme
measures. Said measures end up thrusting
him onto the path of super heroics, albeit with some serious growing pains
along the way. Many jokes will be fired
off while in transit.
Does any of that sound familiar to you?
There were several points throughout the movie
where I thought “Isn’t he just Iron Man?”
It’s not hard to make comparisons, at least on the surface. Maybe it’s just a sign of how well-tread the
movies’ sense of humor has become, but there were multiple times where I got
the sense that I was looking at Tony Stark 2.0 instead of a famed
neurosurgeon. That’s a problem, and in
more ways than one. Think about it:
we’ve not only had a Tony Stark for years now -- he helped jumpstart the MCU,
after all -- but we’ve also seen him change as a character. Even if we don’t know the full effects of Captain America: Civil War, it’s safe to
say that he’s not the same reckless joker that he was before the turn of the
decade.
If we go solely by the worst-case scenario, adding
in Doctor Strange means running back the progress made on that front -- jamming
in a replacement for the snark and smugness that viewers have gotten used
to. It’s true that the style here is an
effective one, but it’s not a perfect fit for every instance or every movie or
every character. So when the doctor
lapses into being the armored Avenger, there are times when it comes off as
jarring and tonally inconsistent -- and ends up creating some of the weaker
moments in the movie. To be fair, it’s
not as if all the blame falls to Strange and his Tony Stark impression, but that
makes the movie at large even guiltier.
I appreciate the laughs they’re aiming for by having Strange’s cape wipe
away his tears for him; I just didn’t need them at that exact moment, at the
height of a very emotional and somber moment.
Sure, it’s cathartic and releases tension, but…really? Right there?
Really?
In hindsight, there were times when I wanted to
grab the movie (or the physical embodiment of it, at least) by the shoulders,
shake it ferociously, and shout “Don’t be somebody else. You be you, movie. You be you.”
It’s kind of an empty gesture; even though I make it sound like a fatal
error, there’s less Doctor Strange = Iron Man and more Doctor Strange = Doctor
Strange. Even though there are
similarities, there’s more than enough material here to separate the two Marvel
heroes.
Like I said last time, there’s a lot of credit to
be laid at the feet of Benedict Cumberbatch.
There haven’t been a lot of Marvel heroes (if any) that have made the
show of suffering such a high priority, but both this character and this actor
have gone a long way towards putting that pain on the big screen. I feel as if I said this about Civil War, but it certainly applies
here: there are plenty of moments where the movie is legitimately hard to
watch. I’d bet that people see these
movies to have a good time, but it seems like these days, Marvel Studios is out
to give everyone tickets to the Feels Express.
So here’s the clincher. When all’s said and done with his origin
story, Tony Stark gets to go back to being Tony Stark, albeit as a changed
man. When all’s said and done with Stephen
Strange’s origin story, he loses
everything.
When he’s out of his suit, Mr. Stark is immensely
wealthy, a powerhouse in the public eye, inundated with resources, a pioneer in
his field…the list goes on and on. He
may still have a lot of issues that need sorting out, but even with the Sokovia
Accords rooted in place, he can still rest easy on a bed made out of money
every night. Hell, he doesn’t even need
an Arc Reactor in his chest to keep him alive anymore (which was half of the
point of becoming Iron Man). The
consequences of his actions are still there, but they’ve been minimized. He’s had time to resolve a lot of his issues
-- both in terms of sequels and in his movie of origin.
Compare that to Mr. Strange. Even though he still has his life after a
potentially-fatal accident, he doesn’t have the means to fix it. His hands are ruined, after all, so he’s got
no choice but to entrust his well-being to others -- and those very people fail
him again and again. He spends every
penny he’s got, to the point where he makes a visit to Nepal with no plan on
how he’ll get back to the States. He
ends up walling off everyone, including his version of Pepper Potts (the gap
between them narrows by movie’s end, but it doesn’t look like they’re back
together in any sense of the word).
Critically, Strange doesn’t go back to being a
neurosurgeon. He’s the new Sorcerer
Supreme thanks to The Ancient One biting it in a kung fu wizard battle (don’t
you just hate it when that happens?), so now he’s got a new job. Now he’s got a new life -- and with his hands still mangled before the credits roll,
it looks like he’s made his choice. He
hasn’t forgotten who he was -- he still keeps a watch that broke in a street fight,
no doubt as a memento of his lady friend Christine Palmer -- but he has a deeper
understanding of how big the world really is.
Even if he can save lives as a famous neurosurgeon, he can save entire realities as Doctor Strange. And he kind of does in his movie of origin,
but I’ll get to that.
The important thing is that I 100% buy into the
changes and consequences Strange goes through over a two-hour span. He starts off as a cocky bastard, but it’s
not long before he transitions into a broken man. He goes from clean-shaven to progressively
more scraggly (and hairy) prior to becoming a sorcerer; with the use of his
hands limited, he can’t bring himself to shave off his depression beard unless
he wants to slice out a chunk of his face.
And it IS a depression beard, because seeing him go through a rejection
by a newly-healthy patient he refused to help, endure a Nepalese beatdown, and
slump despondently against the sealed door of his final hope is some harrowing
stuff. Even the biggest asshole in the
universe doesn’t deserve half of what Strange does.
On top of all that? Strange broke the Hippocratic Oath.
It’s a Marvel movie, so of course some bodies are
going to get dropped. The guys who bite
it in this movie aren’t even close to innocent; movies past have had the heroes
take out aliens, robots, monsters and various villains without any moral
complications or lost sleep, and I’d say that “cabal of evil wizards” doesn’t
quite qualify as a band of Good Samaritans.
With that said, they’re still people with lives -- and even if magic
helped them break the natural laws of the world (i.e. furthering their goal of
eternal life), Strange still came at them with the intent to kill. He effectively does kill them, given that he dooms one to wander around in the
desert with no hope of return, and blows up the astral projection of another --
itself after leaving him for dead in an ancient sanctum’s hallway.
That raised a red flag immediately. As soon as Strange used some teleportation
shenanigans to strand an evil wizard in the desert, I thought “Okay, so you
just killed a person. Wait -- shit, does
that mean that he just broke the Oath? I
hope this movie addresses that.” And to
my shock, it did. Strange references the
Oath directly as soon as he has a few quiet moments to catch his breath, and
he’s legitimately horrified over what he’s done. Yeah, it was arguably in self-defense, but it
doesn’t change the fact that he took a life -- and if the other wizards keep
forcing him to be a mystic guardian, then it’s probably the first death out of
many that he’ll cause. It’s no surprise
that he wants to quit right there -- and calls out the other guardians for
making him play hero against his will -- but he gets in deeper once The Ancient
One bites it and forces his hand.
You know, I feel like an alternate title for this
movie could’ve been Stephen Strange and
the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Except the “day” goes on long enough for him
to grow a depression beard (and beyond).
All of that helps make Doctor Strange an exciting
character to watch. Not to revel in the
schadenfreude, but it’s not often when you get to see a character’s struggle so
sharply presented and punctuated on the big screen. There’s a part of me that thinks that the
movie could’ve axed the expected fights with the baddies and rapid-fire witticisms,
and as the day goes by that part gets a little bit bigger. Kaecilius (finally remembered his name!) has
been routed alongside his cultist crew, and I doubt we’ll ever see them
again. Even if we do, there’s been so
much effort put into making Strange stand out that -- as usual -- the villains
feel comparatively marginalized. That’s
a problem, and it’s one that needs to be sorted out sooner rather than later.
Loki’s popularity should’ve been a big hint to the
moviemakers, a sign of what they should do and where they should go. Baron Zemo managed to deliver something
different, and that’s 100% appreciable (as are the efforts of Alexander
Pierce). But one member of the rogues’
gallery after another has gotten the boot, and that’s a trend that needs
reversing -- a trend that should’ve been addressed years ago. The Marvel movies shine because their main
characters are given the care and spirit needed to entertain fans. Imagine how much more they’d shine if the
villains had the same care. Strange’s
struggles show just how much you can get from a story when its lead is
inundated with adversity, and a good set of villains can bring that in an
instant. Rivals, foils, whatever you
want to call them -- they can work like gangbusters. So far, they haven’t been for Marvel Studios.
Even if all of that is true (and your mileage may
vary), I’d still argue that there’s more going on under the surface of Doctor Strange. I was under the impression that this movie
would sidestep the bigger ideas of the MCU canon, particularly those set up by Civil War. Since Strange is still an outsider -- and
only just got his powers -- he doesn’t have a stake in the Sokovia Accords
issue, which means his movie at large would theoretically sidestep some crucial
themes. But when you think about it,
there might be more there than most would expect. There was certainly more than I expected, at
least.
I think the main idea here is how to use one’s
powers for the greater good. Strange
starts out as a doctor whose surgical prowess can save otherwise-doomed
patients. Rather than letting them go
gentle into that good night, he prolongs their lives through the power of
science -- with skills and technology people from thousands or even hundreds of
years ago would’ve never thought possible.
In hindsight, it does beg the question of how much Strange truly cared
about saving lives (irrespective of “rejecting the natural cycle of life and
death”) when at the outset he made it sound like he only saved patients whose
surgeries could garner glory/pose a challenge.
Still, given that he’s already set up as a jerkass, I’ll give him the
benefit of the doubt.
The important thing is that as an outsider,
Strange has the mindset and perspective needed to ask questions that those
well-versed in the mystic arts would just shrug off. There’s a sense of pragmatism to him that
lets him see a direct route to a solution, with only a minor concern for
consequences as long as things work in his favor. To wit: he’s got no problems using the Eye of
Agamotto to screw with the flow of time, even though he’s fiercely scolded for it by magic veterans like Mordo. There are certain things you’re just not
supposed to touch or do in the magical world, at least in the eyes of those
well-versed in it. But Strange is of a
different opinion: “Why not?”
It makes sense, I suppose. If you have the power to save someone --
immediately, conclusively, or whatever -- then why not jump on it? Why get tangled up in rules, procedures, and
mores when you can nip a problem in the bud?
The immediate answer is that that’s the same line of reasoning Kaecilius
has; he’s out to use the Dark Dimension -- and with it, the power of the Dread
Lord Dormammu -- to tap into eternal life, albeit via union with an
all-powerful embodiment of chaos. Those
are some freakin’ immediate consequences to deal with, and I don’t blame Mordo
for sweating over the prospects.
That doesn’t stop Strange from at least hearing
Kaecilius out. And that doesn’t stop The
Ancient One from preemptively tapping into that forbidden power for her own
purposes.
The truth is that The Ancient One used Dormammu
and the Dark Dimension to extend her life far longer than it had any right to
go. How long? Too long, ultimately. The reveal is enough to basically shatter
Mordo’s mind, since A) it’s a perversion of the natural laws of the world, and
B) The Ancient One herself made her disciples (Mordo included) swear off using
such dark power for obvious reasons. The
irony of the situation is that there were both good and bad takeaways from her
unholy dabbling. On one hand, her long
life is what allowed her to become a mentor and savior to Strange, which set
the stage for the world’s salvation. On
the other hand, her defiance of natural law is what inspired Kaecilius (a
former student of hers in turn) to do the same -- and put the world in danger
in the first place.
I can see her side of the argument, though. It’s pretty safe to assume that The Ancient
One isn’t a malevolent figure by any stretch of the imagination, so I doubt she
used her powers to rob banks or steal candy from babies. What did she do with all that extra
time? Presumably, she bettered herself,
honed her art, and passed vital teachings onto others (like Mordo and Strange). If she gave herself more time on the clock,
then she likely made the world a better place for generations. That seems like a pretty good use of
forbidden magic if you ask me. Then
again, I’ve always been a few life choices away from becoming a dogma-obsessed Knight
Templar, so maybe I’m a little biased.
The important thing is that there are multiple
sides to the argument, and it’s an argument centered on the proper use of
powers. To be lawful
or good, basically; do you use the means available to you to serve the
greater good, even if the circumstances are less than ideal? Or do you move within the bounds of the
rules, maximizing the ability to act within reason but potentially minimizing
the amount of help you can offer? The
Ancient One already made her choice, and her death at the hands of Kaecilius
(and his goons via a sneaky stab attack) means that she can’t guide anyone
anymore. It’s up to Strange, Mordo, and
the other mystics to figure out where they stand.
I’ll be the first to admit that the situation isn’t
a complete one-to-one comparison of Civil
War, but there’s enough to suggest that the film crew had it on their
minds. Strange is basically Captain
America Junior, and wants to solve problems with as few limits as possible
(though unlike Cap, he’s willing to back down when it’s plainly obvious that he
might do grievous harm). That would make
Mordo Iron Man Junior, only in a more extreme variant.
Even the armored Avenger was willing to bend the
rules to shift things in his favor; while Mordo does ultimately become an
accomplice to Strange’s rule-breaking, he’s not happy about it in the
slightest. He believes in the natural
order of the multiverse and the magic that weaves through it; given that Strange
nearly shatters space-time by fumbling with the Eye of Agamotto, he has every reason
to uphold the rules. Of course, the
problem then is that he becomes an extremist -- inflexible, and incapable of
seeing the possibilities that Strange (and The Ancient One, by proxy) sees by
default.
I’m sure that Strange’s shenanigans won’t have any
negative consequences in the future.
Well, unless you sat through the credits like you should have.
You know, I keep harping on Kaecilius being a weak
villain, but that’s not an entirely fair assessment. He’s fine when you get down to it; he’s a
legitimate threat, he has an air of sophistication about him, and the fact that
he seemingly drew the movie’s hero to the dark side (or at least made a good
case for infinite evil power for a
couple of minutes) is worth at least a few points on the scoreboard. I think my problem is that Mordo might’ve
made for a much better villain -- partly because he’d be a villain with a damn
good point.
He’s already a good foil to Strange (which to be
fair is true of Kaecilius as well), so it’s only a matter of giving him a
chance to go up against the fresh upstart whose mere presence flipped Mordo’s
world upside down. And who knows? Maybe instead of the villain being handily
defeated in his movie of origin, a rivalry between Strange and Mordo could
persist across several movies -- starting with this one, with Mordo limping off
after an inconclusive defeat.
On the other hand, I guess that if Marvel Studios
intentionally tried to draw parallels to Civil
War, it’d be a bit too on-the-nose to have that struggle rehashed between
Strange and Mordo. And while I wish that
we didn’t have to wait to see the full fallout between these two characters, it’s
nice to know that this strained relationship won’t be forgotten. Beyond that?
The major selling point of Doctor
Strange is, well, Doctor Strange. I
feel like I’ve gotten my money’s worth for watching, and even if I don’t know
the ins and outs of the character, I’m more than satisfied. I hope that others are, too.
But there’s more I can say about the movie. Because you see, I have a very important
question -- one that could make or break the MCU from this moment on.
Is Doctor Strange a Magikarp?
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