I get surprised sometimes thinking how far we have come in Marvel Cinematic Universe. Doctor Strange is another step in the right direction for Marvel in my opinion. This is first solo origin story that we have seen after a long time watching the sequels to their established big heroes namely Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America. And it was a delight to watch on screen first and foremost because of the special effects and some excellent acting performances from Benedict Cumberbatch and Tilda Swinton.
Doctor Strange marks Marvel's venture into the multiverse and other dimensions of reality and brings almost their first foray into magic and spells (in Thor, the explained it as science). It is not about parallel realities like the one DC has but other wordly dimensions. This is a story about a arrogant but brilliant neurosurgeon who gets terribly injured in a car accident and breaks down unable to use his hands until he goes on a journey to Nepal where he learns to control his mind through the mystic arts from the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton). Their first ever encounter is a Doctor Strange comic book cover brought to life and is a trippy trippy (even for this movie) amalgamation of scenes that will either excite you or give headaches. I loved it! Although he was came to the Ancient One to heal himself, her eventual death finally makes him realize his duty towards saving the other dimensions and this leads to him fighting Kaecilius who is hell bent on bringing the ultimate Doctor Strange villain Dormammu from the dark dimension to Earth in an excellently stunning and visual final act.
I did feel that some of the amazing special effects made me overlook the character development which was not there for the other characters except the titular one. Although every part from Mads Mikkelsen to Rachel McAdams was acted great, I would like to have seen more of their motivations and relationships. The villain definitely will not stand amongst the best that Marvel have portrayed on the big screen (and this list isn't big unfortunately). In terms of origin stories in the MCU, I would rate this movie third behind Iron Man and Captain America (yes I liked the first one but thats a discussion for another day). I am also not yet convinced how Strange will fit in with the other characters in the MCU so we shall see. Some of the humor worked well like the one with the cape but some did felt like it was forced
I would give Tilda Swinton, Benedict Cumberbatch, the director Scott Derrickson, the cinematographer Ben Davis, and all of the CGI team all the positives for this movie.