DOCTOR STRANGE – The 96th superhero film of the year probably. What can Benedict Cumberbatch do in spandex and with this never ending genre.
Nutshell – A surgeon loses his hands in a horrific car accident and goes on a voyage of discovery to the Himalaya’s where he finds superpowers in magic form meanwhile a mystical bad guy attacks two of the three entry sanctums in Honk Kong and London and it’s New York next and then the World is f***ed .
Running Time – 115 minutes; Certificate – 12A
Tagline – ‘The impossibilities are endless’
The Gay UK Factor – Either you think Benedict is the sexiest man alive in which case you will love him in action mode or otherwise you will just enjoy his superb acting chops as usual. No other eye candy or gay sexiness here except the main henchman Scott Adkins who looks as though he would be a great lay… so bring on the fight and chase sequences.
Cast – Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tilda Swinton, Benjamin Bratt and Mads Mikkelson doing the same bad guy thing he did so well in Hannibal and Casino Royale he is the new Alan Rickman of baddies.
Key Player – Marvel of course who seem to produce an endless supply of new superheroes many of which we have never heard of before and they all hit. They also a clever at creating new angles each time and twists in the story but keeping to the winning formula. This is the 14th movie in the Marvel Universe.
Budget – $165 Million which is big but already made that back; now on for some serious profit and a bunch of sequels.
Best Bit – 1.15 mins; When the hero discovers what will become his trademark cloak which turns out to have a life of its own. It becomes its own character and starts stealing scenes from this point on.
Worst Bit – 0.35 mins; This is an origin film so we know there will be some discovery and a training montage but this one does drag a bit and makes your feet start to shuffle. It is not helped here with the learning curve being about mystical planes and alternate realities basically, out and out bollocks tbh.
Little Secret – Benedict was the first choice for the role but had to turn it down due to his stage schedule in Hamlet. Joachim Phoenix was then cast but he went AWOL, so back to Cumberbatch it went. Casting Tilda Swinton as a Tibetan guru is seen as whitewashing the film in a partially racist way by many to placate the vitally important Chinese market who are touchy about anything Tibetan.
Further Viewing – Surely you can work this out for yourself – every X-men, Iron Man, Captain America, Spiderman, Batman, Deadpool, Antman, Guardians, ad infin..effing..nitum.
Any Good – Very good indeed there are two major action beats where reality is truly skewed in a sort of Inception/Matrix fashion that makes it unlike any other Superhero movie around. Having a truly great actor in the lead makes it all so believable and he is on top form here. So great characterization, humour, action and a cool story with a better bad guy and evil plan this could be really jumping onto everyone’s fave superhero film lists. The sequel could be incredible but he is in the new Thor next.
Rating – 21/100 (21st out of the last 100 films reviewed with 1 being Gay UK filmatic heaven and 100 being a dud).
