Doctor Strange is hands-down Marvel's best-looking film (and no, I'm not just saying that because Captain America: Civil War came out within the same timeframe and that looked about as drab as a comic book filtered through concrete). It's color palette is often and put into effectively great. To put it simply, this film deserves to be seen on the best screen possible, be it either in an IMAX theater or on an HD television that resides in a humble living room. Plus, the effects are so good, Oscar gold is practically gift-wrapped for them (sadly, The Jungle Book snatched that prize from this, but, oh well). Seriously, a lot of this movie's visuals look like the filmmakers pulled through the back catalogs of Steve Dikto's* original comic art, trippy rock album covers from the seventies & eighties, tons of surrealist artists (M.C. Escher and Salvador Dali, in particular) and even cult classics like Altered States & Enter The Void.
Besides the beautifully psychedelic visuals, Doctor Strange works for a lot of the same reasons many other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe work. The main characters are well-developed & likable and the action sequences are fun & inventive (that one is especially true in this film's case). Aside from the excellent effects, I was also pleasantly surprised by what this film does better than some of the other entries in the MCU. For example, Michael Giacchino's score is easily the most distinct, memorable score in the whole franchise (a lot of that is mainly seen, or rather heard, in the film's main theme).
Of course, the cast also turns in some great work. Benedict Cumberbatch exceeds as Stephen Strange for much the same reason that Bruce Campbell succeeds in Army of Darkness (i.e. both actors pull off making their characters cocky but undeniably charismatic). Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Benedict Wong are all fantastic in their supporting roles (their characters and the mythology that surrounds them are, quite simply, some of the MCU's most interesting facets to date). Mads Mikkelsen brings a decent amount of gravitas to what is otherwise a typically one-note villain. Sadly, while Rachel McAdams' performance is perfectly serviceable, it does kind of feel like the script left her character as an afterthought rather than someone who's been fully realized. Still, that's a pretty minor gripe and it doesn't effect the movie as a whole.
Overall, Doctor Strange is easily in my Top Five Favorite Marvel Movies** and the mind-blowing visuals alone make the film worth at least one viewing.
DOCTOR STRANGE gets a...
BADASS out of 10
*For those who don't know, Steve Ditko is the artist who co-created Doctor Strange with Stan Lee
**I may do a piece about that very topic in the near future. So, keep your eyes peeled. ;)
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