Before we start, can we just take a moment and acknowledge how insane it is that we’ve gotten to this point? Fourteen movies into an interconnected Marvel Cinematic Universe. A little over a decade ago, nobody could have guessed that this would come to pass. Anyway, let’s get into it. While watching Doctor Strange, I couldn’t help but feel that the whole movie felt familiar, even as it showed itself to be one of the trippiest, strangest (the only Strange pun in this piece, I promise you), and all around cleverest comic book movies yet.

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Dr. Stephen Strange, a brilliant and arrogant world-class surgeon. When a high-speed car accident causes intense nerve damage in his gifted hands, Strange turns to one experimental medical procedure after another in an effort to get back to his career. When modern medicine fails, Strange turns to a spiritual teacher known as the Ancient One (Tilda Swanton). Instead of the healing he sought, Strange discovers the Masters of the Mystic Arts, a cabal of sorcerers dedicated to protecting our dimension from mystical threats. After being subjected to a psychedelic trip across dimensions, Strange joins fellow sorcerers Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Wong (Benedict Wong) just in time to battle Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), a former student of the Ancient One.

It’s hard to read that synopsis and not immediately think of the superhero formula made popular by Iron Man way back in the day. Arrogant jerk suffers a debilitating injury that humbles him, makes him rethink his life, and leads him to becoming a snarky yet lovable hero. That formulaic approach continues in the romance and villain departments as well, in that Marvel has a fairly mediocre record with them. Rachel McAdams plays Strange’s love interest, but really doesn’t get a lot to do and it feels like she was just sort of thrown in. Kaecilius is already a step above roughly half of Marvel villains on the basis of being played by Mikkelsen, but he also doesn’t get a whole lot to do and isn’t given nearly enough development to be something more than just another standard to decent Marvel villain.

Here’s the thing though. If Doctor Strange took everything I just said and ran with it, it would have been a boring but watchable movie. Luckily for us, that’s not the case. The magic system of Doctor Strange revolves around layers upon layers of dimensions and that theme seems to cross over into the movie itself. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the action sequences. Doctor Strange takes an obvious delight in taking scenes we’ve seen a million times- a fist fight, a foot chase, the obligatory city smashing brawl- and turning them completely on their heads through the clever use of truly mind-boggling special effects. Also, that thrown in romance subplot? It completely diverges from the standard resolution. Finally, instead of a titanic showdown between hero and villain, we get an insanely entertaining and engaging climax that shows a true understanding of Stranger’s character and his place in the Marvel pantheon of heroes.

I’d be amiss if I didn’t acknowledge the stand out performances. Cumberbatch is definitely channeling the Sherlock persona that put him on the map, but it's tendered by a sort of humility and even fear that results from his training. Swanton’s Ancient One feels like a relic from a time gone by and there’s a palpable sense of wisdom and strength emanating from her. Ejiofor is playing the strong, noble, Knight Templar-type character that he does so well. Wong’s Wong (heh) gets a lot of humorous interactions with Strange and I look forward to seeing their relationship evolve in future movies. As a comic book fan, it’s a real treat to see these distinguished actors fully immerse themselves in the mystical lore of the Marvel Universe and watch them bring it to life.

I’m going to backtrack a bit and just emphasize how visually amazing this movie is. There are downright surreal moments when buildings are bending, gravity is being shifted, and you have to take a second to think and process what’s going on. The movie also successfully recreates the art of Steve Ditko, Strange’s co-creator and original artist, during that psychedelic inter-dimensional trip I mentioned, treating us to wild, occasionally nightmarish, sights straight out of the comic pages. This is where Cumberbatch really gets to show why he was chosen for the role. He’s always possessed the surety and confidence required to stay grounded in these scenarios, but also the bit of offbeat wackiness that lets you believe he’d be right at home in the weirdness that is the mystic side of Marvel.

In light of the great visuals, the stellar cast, and the subversion of your standard superhero tropes, I’m definitely willing to give the formulaic story a pass. I think it’s worth remembering that Captain America’s first movie was even more simplistic and didn’t have the positives of Doctor Strange. Now, Cap heads up Marvel’s most critically successful branch of movies. If we need a simplistic introductory story for the good doctor before moving on to movies on par with Winter Soldier, I’m game. With this kind of potential, Stephen Strange is on the path to greatness.