I think the highlight of my Sunday was showing my
brother a picture of Kamen
Rider Ex-Aid, telling him that he blows into game cartridges to power up
his special move, and watching his strained, despair-riddled reaction. I consider it sweet revenge for him effectively
dropping Final Fantasy 13-2 into my
lap once upon a time.
Huh? This
isn’t a post about Kamen Rider or Final Fantasy? It’s about a recent Marvel movie? Who cares about that?
…Okay, let’s talk about Doctor Strange. Via a
lickety-split post. No spoilers, so come
on down.
So in case you haven’t heard (of the movie, or the
character at large), here’s the rub.
Stephen Strange is a brilliant surgeon, famed and revered for his
nigh-superhuman acts of life-saving. The
tradeoff, of course, is that he’s gotten a swelled head because of it. He’s arrogant, selfish, and just a generally
unpleasant person, to the point where you have to wonder if he even cares about
saving people. But things go awry when
he gets into a car accident; the doctor ends up getting surgery to save his
life, ironically, but there’s irrevocable damage done. His hands have been ruined, and he can never
perform another surgery.
Since his whole life is based around his
neurosurgeon swagger, Strange ain’t havin’ that. So he becomes obsessed with finding a
treatment -- and turns up empty-handed (ha) while burning bridges with everyone
near him and blowing virtually every
penny he has. Luckily, his quest leads
him to a remote section of Nepal; there, he stumbles upon a secret sect of
magical guardians. Strange takes up
residence to find a way to heal his hands -- but in exchange, he’s roped into a
conflict that has the fate of every world in the multiverse (or at least Earth,
I guess) on the line.
Okay, so cards on the table: is Doctor Strange a good
movie? In my opinion, of course it
is. But it’s not quite as simple a
matter as “is it good or bad”. It never
is, but it’s truer than ever with this new entry in the MCU.
The Marvel movies have been bumping around for
almost a decade now, which brings with it a lot of expectations. Some of those are good, for sure; still, you
don’t get to putz around at the top of the box office without having a few
million eyes on you. To be more precise:
whether you’re judging by the shakeups in Captain
America: Civil War or the multi-year command of the silver screen these
movies have held, the time has come for greater scrutiny. If it hasn’t already, of course; regardless,
Marvel needs to start stepping up its game and proving conclusively that it
deserves its place. Even if it hasn’t
happened yet (or now -- and even that’s up for debate), at some point being “good”
won’t be “good enough”.
But as a staunch defender and aficionado of the
MCU, let me say this to start: I’m not sure if Doctor Strange is the best of the Marvel movies to date, or ever,
or has set a new benchmark. With that in
mind, I’m convinced that it’s absolutely the most dramatic MCU entry.
A lot of that comes from Strange himself. There are points throughout this movie -- and
plenty of them -- that are absolutely painful to watch. Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance plays into
that; he’s able to make Strange seem like a complete tool in some scenes, and
someone you want to give a hug -- and desperately
-- in others. The character is supposed
to get his comeuppance in a cautionary tale against hubris and ambition, so it’s
natural to see our hero at his best and worst.
Highs and lows. The combination
of Strange and Cumberbatch leads to lows that make Challenger Deep look like a
saucer of milk.
Strange isn’t the only good character in the mix,
though. Once he begins his training to
master the mystic arts, he comes in close contact with warriors like the
stone-faced Wong, the ever-dedicated Mordo, and of course his mentor The
Ancient One. It’s hard to say which
character is my favorite of the bunch, because they all have their strong
suits. Going strictly by plot relevance,
though, I’d give it to The Ancient One; the bald-headed mistress is in tune
with the magical world, but not so much that she’s without humanity. Or faults, for that matter; some late-game
developments help inject some thematic heft into the characters and the story
at large, and I’m thankful for it.
But once again, the villain in a Marvel movie is
hardly worth writing about. Another
mystic disciple wants to get his hands on some advanced powers, which is fine
and dandy. Even so, I get the feeling
that he’ll be forgotten pretty handily within the month; I had trouble
remembering his name during my
viewing of the movie, so that should tell you all you need to know about his
lasting impression. Granted there’s
still more going on with the villains this time around; I won’t say how, but
those who know about the comics solely through video games are in for a mahvel-ous treat.
Also, I’m hard-pressed to think of an MCU entry
with a better way to defeat the bad guys.
So that’s a point in its favor.
Since this is basically a knee jerk reaction post,
I still need time to mull over and think critically about the movie. Even so, I think I already know what my
biggest gripe is: some of the tricks and trappings of the Marvel movies end up
hurting Doctor Strange. People have come to expect lots of jokes and
lightheartedness from these movies; to be clear, that stuff is still in this
movie (and it’s hard to, at the very least, not crack a smile). The tradeoff is that some of it feels like it’s
placed in inappropriate spots -- like the moviemakers felt like they had to have a joke, instead of letting
it come in naturally. Like I said, this
is a dramatic movie with a ton of weight behind it; jamming in a wisecrack or
stripping certain scenes of their quiet/heaviness does more harm than good.
There’s also a part of me that wonders if Doctor Strange would be better-served if
it just dropped the villain aspect entirely.
Seeing the would-be Sorcerer Supreme struggle -- with his condition, and
eventually with the mysteries of magic -- is worth the price of admission in
its own right. There are some powerful
scenes without a single punch thrown. So
was it truly necessary to have a major threat, or a band of baddies, or big
dumb action scenes, when I’m entranced by the plight of a decisively-flawed
hero?
Well, I say as much, but I’m no pedant. The movie pretty much starts out with a fight
scene featuring kung fu magic, and that alone was enough to get me amped up for
the rest of the runtime. I can’t go into
detail here for fear of stumbling into Spoiler Town, North Dakota, but I can
say that there’s some very fancy action on display here. The environments also get some bigger play
here than they have in Marvel movies past.
If you’ve seen trailers or promo materials, then you know what I’m
talking about. If you don’t? Let’s just say that someone decided to try
and one-up Christopher Nolan -- and then one-up the one-up.
In general, though, one of the strongest aspects
of Doctor Strange is the
visuals. It’s a slick-looking movie on
multiple fronts, with some affecting shots and imagery. Even though every scene isn’t exactly
bursting at the seams with color, there are minutes-long sequences featuring
some of the most elaborate, most insane visuals you’ll ever see in a
mainstream, multimillion-dollar blockbuster.
I’d imagine some of it might give kids in the audience nightmares; not
every generation has been desensitized by the boat scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,
after all. But hey, terrifying imagery
is better than no imagery.
And with that, I think I’ll cut it short for
now. I was going to upload another post on JoJo, but seeing as how this is fresh on my mind, I’ll go ahead and
push that back. You can look forward to
more in-depth thoughts on Doctor Strange soon
(ideally this Thursday), so I’ll be sure to provide as much as I can. In the meantime, you make sure to see the
movie if you’ve got the time or interest to form your own opinions. Voltech pro tip, though: make sure you sit
through all of the credits for the
extra scene. Seriously, I cannot believe
that people are still walking out of the theater at this point before the names
even start rolling.
As a final thought, I’ll say this: yes, I
wholeheartedly recommend a viewing of Doctor
Strange. IS it the greatest Marvel movie? That’s debatable, and everyone’s going to
have their own answer. But I’ll at least
argue that it’s a good movie, regardless of the pedigree (or baggage)
associated with the brand. It’s by no
means perfect or mind-blowing, and trips over itself at a few crucial spots,
but when you take the good and the bad, the net worth still leaves it well in
the black. That opinion’s coming from
someone who enjoys these movies, so take my bias as you will. Judge for yourself, use your best judgment,
et cetera, et cetera.
Thanks for reading -- and check back soon for more
Doctor Strange. And not JoJo,
sadly. Then again, my impression of the
movie is that there’s a pretty big overlap between the two. I won’t be able to confirm it until I see the
full context behind “BITE
ZA DUSTO”, but…well, I have a hunch…
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