Doctor Stephen Strange is a character in Marvel Comics known best for being the Sorcerer Supreme. Recently, a new portrayal of his story hit the silver screen bringing his character right into the heart and soul of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). 2016’s Doctor Strange is a mesmerizing masterpiece that is a must see for any of you who love superhero films just as much as I do!
The film began with Stephen Strange’s backstory as a surgeon. He showed some similarities to the character Tony Stark at the beginning of 2008’s Iron Man. His egotistical mindset mixed with the brilliance of what he does, made myself and many fellow superhero fans wonder what he could bring to the MCU’s future, as Tony Stark/Iron Man brought so much to the MCU himself. The movie picked up with Strange getting into a horrific car accident, losing nearly all function in his hands. His narcissistic antics drove away the one woman he loved, and he finally hit rock bottom.
Realizing he needs a change, Stephen Strange makes a last ditch effort to travel to the Himalayas in search of the Ancient One, a master of the mystic arts who has supposedly healed someone who lost function of their legs. He found the temple he was looking for and ultimately mastered mystical arts, taking the title of Sorcerer Supreme.
One thing that really drives the MCU films forward is their use of the Infinity Stones. Marvel portrays the Infinity Stones as six singularities that were in existence even before the universe itself was. They are all-powerful, concentrated ingots of the six things that the universe is made up of: space, time, reality, power, the mind, and finally- the soul. These six ingots are being hunted down by “The Mad Titan” himself, Thanos, who is the biggest Marvel villain throughout all fourteen big screen films. Thanos wants all the Stones to put into what is called the Infinity Gauntlet so he can unleash infinite power against Earth’s mightiest heroes.The reason I bring this up is because 2016’s Doctor Strange had no shortage of this in the film, and we can look forward to see Strange wielding his Infinity Stone in future MCU films, such as Thor: Ragnarok.
Now getting back to Doctor Strange itself, the movie was great. The effects in the movie and absolute action packed fight scenes made the movie a sight to see. The film definitely had its comedic moments with certain magical relics, the best in my opinion being Doctor Strange’s Cloak of Levitation. Basically, the way they show off mystical relics is like how, in Harry Potter, the wand chooses the wizard. Therefore in Doctor Strange, the relic chooses the sorcerer. This was an interesting way to showcase the Cloak of Levitation off in the film and a great way to add some extra character and fun to it too.
Overall, the movie was fun, exciting and action packed! I would rate the movie at an 8/10 for the incredible effects and furthering the plot for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole. I recommend you see this film unless you already have, but maybe you could even go see it again because it was that good in my opinion.
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