Doctor Strange steps out of the shadows to save the world
As the Marvel onslaught of box office domination continues, it has become obvious that the best of them exist outside the Avengers universe. 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy was a delightful departure from the usual “save the world” exploits of Iron Man and his ilk. It was a bottle episode of the cinematic film series, with bright colors, exotic locations, and enough wonder to capture the imaginations of younger views in the same way it did with my generation.
It made no mention of Captain America or Hulk, no references to Asgard or magical hammers—it was simply a fun story about space criminals carrying a MacGuffin around the galaxy, blowing stuff up and rescuing each other. It wasn’t bogged down by realism and complex emotions. Instead, it laughed at the absurdity of the serious.
With this year’s Doctor Strange, Marvel returns to the outside, with the briefest of references to the ongoing story leading to The Avengers: Infinity Wars.
Doctor Strange is its own bottle episode, exploring the mystical side of Marvel and staying true to the ‘70s psychedelia of the original comic. The influence of Steve Ditko is evident throughout the film, particularly with the depiction of the infamous Dark Dimension. The film is an entertaining departure from the usual Marvel fare, making it a stronger film in its own right than some of the flagship superhero titles.
Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a talented, wealthy surgeon, famous for his success rate with highly complicated cases. He’s Ben Carson or Dr. Oz without the weird beliefs about pyramids or weight loss. As with most successful Marvel characters, Strange has a penchant for hubris, an absolute confidence in his abilities and intelligence. Added to this is a photographic memory, which serves as a key to unlocking his own superpower.
As usual, Strange suffers a single sling of outrageous fortune, a car accident that renders his once steady hands unusable. He is thrust into a search for a way to regain his status, past the edges of modern medicine. He journeys east to Katmandu (setting up a great Bob Seger joke) and finds a group of mystics in the Kamar-Taj.
Rather than charlatans peddling low rent meditation, he finds the spiritual protectors of the Earth. They draw their power from the endless universes that reside alongside ours, channeling this energy through spells and hand motions that allow them to create weapons and shields, travel instantly between points in space, and project astral versions of themselves. They can visit other dimensions and fold reality like paper.
Strange hopes to use this power to heal his hands, but finds himself in the middle of a war to stop an ancient being named Dormammu from entering our dimension and devouring it.
The end of the world is, of course, routine superhero fodder. But Doctor Strange even turns this common trope on its ear by eschewing the typical violent final battle in favor of a more cerebral variety. At every turn, the film makes deliberate choices to break convention, in many of the same ways as Guardians of the Galaxy. It doesn’t take itself as seriously as it might, and understands the absurdity of the premise and the opportunities it provides.
The film was directed by Scott Derrickson who first gained prominence with the underrated The Exorcism of Emily Rose, and until now has mostly stayed within the horror genre, giving fans the excellent Sinister in 2012. His horror chops aren’t on display in Doctor Strange but given the “direction by committee” nature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it speaks to his talent that he was able to manage such a cumbersome, complicated task.
Doctor Strange works as its own film and succeeds in telling its own story. While mid and end-credit scenes are present, it doesn’t feel like it exists merely to setup the next Marvel film. The universe of Doctor Strange is endless and infinite, with more stories to tell than what can conceivably be told with Captain America and his band of superheroes.
Doctor Strange isn’t a superhero of that breed. He’s the Sorcerer Supreme, the mightiest magician of the cosmos, and by the Hoary Hosts of Hogarth, he will hopefully be used to his full potential.