Doctor Strange

Eine ausgezeichnete Besetzung. Das Magische Nepal. Ein effektvolles Upgrade, eine visuell überwältigende Biegung der Realität von Inception. Was die Handlung betrifft, dort ist es immer dasselbe, was wir schon so viele Male gesehen haben. (21.12.2016)

I’ve switched several times between three and four stars, and maybe not for the last time. Doctor Strange is a nice and fun comic-book ride that stands out mostly with its visuals; the way they bend reality is beautiful to watch. It’s very playful and clever, and those scenes have so many moving parts that if I tried to visualise something like that in my head, my brain would jump out of it. But other than that, it’s your classic Marvel flick with a lacklustre villain. Don’t they have anyone interesting in their whole universe, other than Loki? It’s pathetic already. And Ejiofor won’t pull it out in the potential sequel, either; the origin of the new villain has a pretty hollow motivation. A very important argument for the lower rating is also the total lack of explanation about the rules and limits of the world in the film. I fear that when Strange joins the rest of the Avengers, it will be such a mess that will bury everything. (27.10.2016)

The refuted skepticism that this cinematic sect has nothing more to offer doesn't make me scream with excitement. This is because the Doctor becomes a magician as if by a magic wand being used, and he also loses a lot in contact fights (despite Adkins' presence), and the villains didn’t have to be so generic. Yet there hasn't been a comic book movie this light-footed in years. It made do with a focused creator and a willingness to come up with a novel protagonist who, once integrated into the team-up game, for whom I don't predict a brighter future, even if Cumberbatch pulls charisma in from every dimension. (31.10.2016)

Maybe I was radiating excessive expectations about this comic book movie that is trying to be different at first sight. What a disappointment it was to me when I realized that not even Benedict Cumberbatch can save a comic book movie that is an absolutely standard comic book movie and that on top of that calls for some pretty strange animations, which were evidently borrowed from the movie Inception. But where I saw the bending of the plane as an original intention, here I see that everything is just a sad effect that is trying to turn the movie into something more than it actually is. It’s a pity. He could have been a unique superhero who has the best catchphrases. But, unfortunately, even Iron Man is cooler than Doctor Strange. (07.02.2017)

I'll admit I didn't have much faith in this movie. Mysticism and stuff like that passes me by, Benedict Cumberbatch is starting to bore me, and I wasn't that interested in another origin stry, but Doctor Strange surprised me. Very pleasantly. Cumberbatch fits the role perfectly, and even though he practically never leaves the screen, he's great as the arrogant doctor, the broken man, and ultimately the superhero. And thanks to him, you don’t even mind the classically understated villain so much, and this time the other characters played by Mads Mikkelsen and Chiwetel Ejiofor deserve more space. But the main star this time is without a doubt Scott Derrickson, who managed to turn the film into an audiovisual orgy (OK, Michael Giacchino's music helps him a lot) and make each action scene different from the previous one. Only towards the end it was maybe a bit too much. Doctor Strange is again a step in a slightly different direction and into places the other Marvel movies didn't even venture. And it works, again, and if Stephen Strange is going to replace Tony Stark as the leader of the entire MCU, I'm not worried about the future of the brand. The character and his representative are up to it without a shadow of a doubt. (15.05.2017)

Die euphorischen Gefühle von äußerster Ekstase wegen des erlebten und wahrgenommenen Raum-Zeit-Kontinuum, die ich bei Inception erwartet habe, stellten sich einige Jahre später ein. Die Größe der Vision mitsamt der souveränen Verarbeitung platzieren natürlich die Messlatte für die anderen Komponenten kompromisslos höher, doch leider schafft es Doctor Strange nicht, den Fluch langweiliger Bösewichte (selbst wenn es dank Mads sehr charismatische Charaktere sind), der verflachten Nebenfiguren und allgemeiner Handlungen nicht. Hierin bleibt er zutiefst marvelartig und überschreitet die Grenzen nicht. In einer anderen Hinsicht haben wir es hier jedoch mit einer köstlich verspielten und unterhaltsamen Ursprungsgeschichte zu tun, bei welcher Cumberbatch endlich sein Potenzial vollends ausschöpft und man dank Scott Derrickson das sterile abgedroschene vom Tag, an dem die Erde stillstand, vergisst. Damit das Marvel-Multiversum auch schön zusammenhält, muss man den einzelnen Helden gelegentlich Fesseln anlegen. Bisher hat niemand so sehr darunter gelitten wie Doctor Strange, welcher die halluzinogene Explosivität der 1960er Jahre in sich birgt und die wohl allzu sehr durchschaubare Prädestinierung einer Marvel-Erzählung besitzt. Ich persönlich kann ich mich darüber hinwegheben und die Reise jenseits der Grenzen der Realität in vollen Zügen genießen. Und naja, sagen wir´s doch gleich offen heraus, ein Doktor, der bei seiner eigenen OP assistieren kann, dass ist doch schon etwas ... beat that! (25.10.2016)

It cannot be denied that, in contrast to the other interchangeable marvel movies, this is distinctive in its own way (however borrowed from Batman Begins/Inception). The problem is that in the second half, all cast that is precisely chosen to match the characters on which the movie is based on until this moment, is simply thrown away. Strange from being no one becomes a super master overnight, Christine disappears as if she was from catering crew and not the main female character (and the motivation of the hero), Mordo disappears in the middle of the sentence, it's event pointless to mention the villain. Well, just for the sake of the compositionally excessive effects for the sake of effect it is losing direction in those mirror worlds in the same way a fly would get lost in a mirror maze. In other words, as much effective as it is (and it's quite effective), as little it’s effective at the same time. And in this case, it's actually quite a pity for the Marvel movie. (26.10.2016)

So much information, so much magic – and so little time. It is clear from every scene how much Scott Derrickson (and ultimately, all of Marvel Studios) love the new addition to their universe and happily immerse themselves in all the magical gadgets, spaces, and twists. However, they could have given us more time in this gold mine because two hours can be desperately little at times. I had a great time, and Benedict Cumberbatch was born for the role of Strange, but in order to reach the highest rating (which is not far away), I will have to devour the entire adventure several more times and finally become acquainted with the source material, which I have been putting off for some time. (06.11.2016)

The unfortunate thing is that Doctor Strange is essentially innocent in all of this. Derrickson tries his best what he has, and the actors - and there are quite a few stars among them - want to earn their salaries. However, Marvel's is at the very bottom of my film preferences because the films are simply too stupid and childish, bombastic and artificial. In essence, there is no title from this studio to which I would give more than one star, and Doctor Strange suffers from the fact that it accumulates an unhealthy amount of other elements I dislike, such as Eastern mysticism and magic in general. The only title that somewhat enjoyed due to its civilian style and pleasant humor was the Spider-Man series, but it is telling that it was created under the Columbia Pictures label, with Marvel Movies only participating. I came across this particular film on TV by chance and I just wanted to get an idea of what the Marvel phenomenon entails and it only confirmed all my old prejudices. Overall impression: 10% for the cast. (14.11.2017)

Strange. I mean strange and great. An excellent origin, focused on a simple, but gripping story of how an arrogant atheist drops a comb, travels to Nepal and begins to save the human race as the most powerful sorcerer in the universe. What helped him was his photographic memory. Everything of course is terribly fast, so the two or so hours are over before you know it. Maybe it’s also because the main theme is time, my favorite guide. Those keeping track know that the stone that controls time that Thanos needs in his glove had not been introduced yet, but Scott Derrickson dealt with that problem excellently. It doesn’t turn it into a MacGuffin, but simply another instrument in Dr Strange’s trembling hands. Benedict Cumberbatch put on a solid performance, slightly different than from how we are used to him and almost unexpectedly pleasant. Don’t forget that he plays a greedy, self-centered bastard. The supporting characters apart from the terrifying Tilda Swinton were not given much room. Mordo makes just a fleeting appearance, Wong is here for fun and the lack of room for another villain is made up for a little by the best side-kick in the entire Marvel universe – a smart red cloak that everyone would like to have. It’s also a cracker visually, especially thanks to Nolan’s Inception and Interstellar, whose tricks were upgraded by Derrickson to create several more universes inside the… ehm … multi-universe, à la Pink Floyd LSD trip, heavily supported by Giacchino’s music. Even Dormammu turned out right. – And who are you, sir... - Doctor. – Doctor…? - Strange. – It seems strange to me too. (26.10.2016)

For a while it looks like an advanced version of Batman Begins, followed by a certain touch of Inception, and it ends very awkwardly, like every Marvel flick where the world is saved, at least until the sequel. Thumbs up that this time they are not destroying skyscrapers, or even entire cities, and are doing it smartly, through casual humour. One cannot but praise the casting and the dynamic music of Giacchino, who has done these fast-paced compositions quite successfully a few times before. The juiciest, however, is definitely Benedict Cumberbatch's character. I don't mean the slightly clichéd transformation into a saviour, but especially in the first half his arrogant and self-centred doctor is very entertaining and wholesome. An alternative, lighter, less bellicose addition to the comic universe, something similar to what Ant Man attempted. (19.02.2017)

Wenn man weiß, dass man keinen originellen Film erwarten soll, sondern einfach nur eine nächste Geschichte über die Geburt eines Superhelden, ist der Eindruck ein bisschen besser. Benedict Cumberbatch ist erwartungsgemäß ausgezeichnet und sein Mantel spielt auch toll. Die Tricks sind super. Dank ihnen und dank all dem einfallsreichen Spiegeln wirken die Actionszenen sehr frisch und originell. Giacchinos Musik gehört zu dem Besten, was jemals für Marvel komponiert wurde. Ab und zu kommt auch ein guter Witz (die Diebstähle in der Bibliothek hat aber bis zum Ende nichts übertrumpft). Ich bestehe jedoch immer noch darauf, dass man Doctor Strange besser vorstellen konnte. Das Publikum könnte sich mit Doctor Strange gleich in ein Abenteuer stürzen und ihn erst im Laufe der Zeit kennenlernen. Das würde mir viel besser gefallen. (28.10.2016)

It’s alright. No glossing over, it’s an overlong introduction to the character of Dr. "Iron Man meets Sherlock" Strange with unnecessary over-stylized passages. Derrickson helms his life project (so far) without much hesitation, works well with humour and even comes up with two truly brilliant action sequences, putting the film squarely in the position of the second best comic book movie of the last two years. It is of course helped a lot by Benedict Cumberbatch playing Benedict Cumberbatch as only Benedict Cumberbatch (and Downey) can do it – brilliantly, that is – and by the flood of familiar faces in supporting roles, Tilda Swinton deserves special mention, her hypnotic appearance would make even Dan Bilzerian sit on his ass, and also Rachel McAdams, who is just there for a moment, but that's enough for me. It's all a patchwork of tried-and-true Marvel and DC motifs (Doctor Strange Begins?) and the film could get a patent for the aforementioned action scenes plus a few funny motifs (the cape), but it's really damn good to watch and at no point will you feel the urge to look at your watch, which, given the avalanche of comic book macroverse and increasingly cheesy bad guys, it's a huge success on itself. (02.11.2016)

(UCI Kinowelt, Potsdam, Deutschland, 4.11.2016) Doctor Strange bietet als weiterer Marvel-Film ein ordentliches, actionreiches und witziges Spektakel, bei dem man mehr als einmal das Gefühl hat, im Delirium zu sein, weil sich alles dreht, fällt und zusammenfällt. Die Besetzung war gut gewählt, und die Macher haben uns in optimalen Abständen mit einer angemessenen Portion Humor versorgt. Stranges roter Umhang hätte auf jeden Fall eine Oscar-Nominierung verdient - eine wirklich beispiellose "schauspielerische" Leistung eines Kleidungsstücks. Im Gegensatz zu Avengers spart dieser Film nicht an Magie, was jemandem, der mit HP aufgewachsen ist, gefallen wird. Kurzum, ein flott gefilmtes Movie buchstäblich jenseits der physischen Welt, die mich von Anfang bis Ende unterhalten hat. (05.11.2016)

Ein mit europäischen Stars und Hollywoodstars bestücktes Märchen darüber, wie aus einem aufgeblasenen Arzt ein demütiger Zauberer wird. Und ich kann nicht sagen, dass mich dieses Märchen besonders angesprochen und amüsiert hätte, weil es nicht viel geboten hat. Und doch hat es mir geholfen, Avengers: Infinity War besser zu verstehen, und ich bin dankbar dafür. Und Rachel und Mads sehe ich überall und in jedem beliebigen Film gern. (12.08.2018)

It was a little boring up until the doctor's accident, then the plot moved to Nepal, where there were noticeably few Asians, all represented by Wong in Kamar-Taj. Admittedly, I didn’t get bored for the rest of the film, but I didn’t like how it ripped off Inception and a lot of things were left unexplained. For example, it is not at all clear to me how a powerful villain could have been defeated by a neophyte who learns everything on the fly using a trial-and-error method. I seem to have stopped enjoying superhero movies, I prefer series now. (18.02.2017)

I usually avoid comic books, but I was lured by the stellar cast. Surprisingly, I didn't have any major reservations about the plot, so I have to say that I quite liked the film, much to my surprise. However, I will not become a fan of the Marvel world just because of Doctor Strange. (70%) (05.09.2021)