Dr Strange opens up a whole new world
Dr Strange enters a world much larger than he knew existed and in the end, he bargains for earth's safety...for now.
TITLE: Doctor StrangeÂ
DIRECTOR: Scott Derrickson
CAST: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wrong, Michael StuhlbargÂ
RUNNING TIME: 115 minutes
RATING: ★★★☆☆
HIGHVELD – With their 14th cinematic endevour, the movie-makers at Marvel Studios bring us a new kind of super hero.
Dr Strange has the usual flashes, bangs and impressive roundhouse-kick filled action sequences, as well as the now obligatory slow motion action replay scenes.
The worthwhile twist in the plot however is Benedict Cumberbatch who plays Dr Stephen Strange, an acclaimed super successful neurosurgeon with a definite hero-complex who falls from grace after a car accident robs him of the use of his hands.
He nearly bankrupts himself in an attempt to restore his hands, hurting the one person who could stand his otherwise obnoxious self.
Fellow surgeon Christine Palmer, played by Rachel McAdams, is the love interest and best friend who unfortunately gets very limited screen time, but still manages to deliver some laugh-worthy one liners.
In an attempt to find a cure for his nerve damages, Dr Strange chances upon a former paraplegic who regained full use of his legs through an ancient mystical healing process.
Her calm head under pressure and ability to believe that Stephen is really himself when he appears in the hospital through a portal he opened in the mop-closet after disappearing for many months, actually saves Dr Strange’s life and makes for some memorable dialogue.
Stephen spends his last savings on a one way ticket to Nepal and in Kathmandu he finds Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One, brilliantly played by the androgynous Tilda Swinton, and soon realises there is much more to this world than first meets the eye.
He learns about different worlds and dimensions and how to bend matter in the mirror realm and how to fight for his life in the real word.
He also learns about a dark and powerful sorcerer, Kaecilius, played by Mads Mikkelsen who entered the secret compound of Kamar-Taj with his zealots, relieved the previous librarian of his head and stole a ritual from a secret and mystical text that explains how to bend time and draw power from the dark dimension.
The dark dimension is a real beyond time and it is from here that the Ancient One drew her power of eternal life.
An epic battle between the guardians of Kamar-Taj and Kaecilius and his zealots ensues, stretching over time and space, leading to fight scenes in London and New York and a final show down in Hong Kong.
One super secret mop-closet portal later, the Ancient One has died, Kaecilius has successfully summoned Dormammu, the keeper of the dark dimension and the world as we know it is about to end, with only Dr Strange and his fighting instructor and fellow mystic Mordo standing between us and ruin.
In an attempt at a final plot twist, Dr Strange uses his cloak of levitation to fly into the wormhole that leads to the dark dimension, much in the same way that Tony Stark saved New York, and approaches Dormammu with an interesting offer – time.
He comes to bargain and in an attempt to force Dormammu to listen to him, he creates a time loop, effectively placing earth in a holding pattern and sacrificing his own freedom.
After dying and regenerating multiple times, the annoying Dr Strange makes Dormammu reach his limit and in frustration they reach a compromise, saving earth… for now.
