Doctor Strange: Marvel’s 14th consecutive No. 1 movie
- Daniel Maynard
- Nov 17, 2016
- 3 min read
Marvel Studios laid the foundations for their shared universe way back in 2003 with the hit ‘Iron Man’ (Favreau, 2008) starring Robert Downey Junior as everyone’s soon to be favourite ‘genius, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist’; Tony Stark. Since then the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has grown over the course of 14 interconnected films, and various loosely connected TV franchises.
At the end of October, Marvel Studio’s released the Scott Derrickson directed ‘Doctor Strange’. The film dropped at number one at the UK box office making it Marvel’s studios 14th consecutive no. 1 movie. The film has remained at the top stop for the past 3 weeks and has gone on to open in a similar position at world-wide box offices.
‘Doctor Strange’ is the MCU origin story of the Marvel Comic’s character Stephen Strange; a gifted but arrogant neurosurgeon. After being involved in a car accident that cripples his hands he seeks the healing of ‘The Ancient One’. What he gains from his journey is an understanding of the magical arts, skills that he must put to good use to foil a fellow sorcerer.
The cast of Marvel’s ‘Doctor Strange’ is of high calibre; Benedict Cumberbatch plays the lead with Mads Mikkelsen as the central villain; Kaecillus. The films supporting cast includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams and Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One.
Overall It’s fair to say that ‘Doctor Strange’ has been another success for Marvel’s studios and granted it is a very unique film. It’s a fun and enjoyable ride from start to finish, and the films visuals are outstanding. What is so unique about this entry in the MCU is its integration of magic into the shared universe – up until now magic has simply been passed off as science that we do not understand yet. The film has embraced its trippy routes and constantly throughout provides us with scenes that look like they could have been dragged straight from the Steve Ditko drawn original comic panels.
However, once again Marvel has let its self-down with the films narrative. It is very generic and formulaic of the superhero franchise, and even very closely resembles the character arc followed by Tony Stark in the MCU’s first feature. Despite this the film does remain enjoyable to watch; it is well paced and has enough surprises to retain interest.
The biggest issue I have with Doctor Strange though is the villain - Once again, Marvel Studios have chosen a rather boring character as the central villain, one who’s skill set matches or is similar to that of the protagonist. There is nothing wrong with Mad Mikkelsen’s performance but it just wasn’t memorable – I never felt for a second that it was a threat the hero could not defeat.
Despite these issues Doctor Strange has undeniably been a success – along with all the other films that Marvel Studios have produced. It is highly entertaining, and provides a solid origin story. The story possibilities with this character going forward are endless, and in the newly established Marvel Cinematic Multi-verse it looks like Stephen Strange is set to be a key player within the interconnected world (and universes/dimensions etc).
It has been confirmed that Doctor Strange will be involved in the Avengers: Infinity War (The Russo Brothers, 2018) event and an appearance is rumoured in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok (2017).
WATCH: DOCTOR STRANGE TRAILER
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