It took me an hour to remember I'd seen Doctor Strange. I've experienced this phenomenon repeatedly ever since I saw Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe's Doctor Strange, and that made me feel, for a lack of better words...odd. Not the film, mind you, but the experience of constantly forgetting I'd seen it. Doctor Strange was a pleasant astral ghost that moved in and out of my life, and I probably don't mean that in a weird sexual way I promise.
Anyway, you've seen this movie. It's the Marvel Superhero's First Movie. It's like all those others ones you've seen, with more or less comparable ratios of humor and action. Witness Benedict Cumberbatch do Hugh Laurie doing House M.D., witness your typically meaningless comic book movie pseudo-philosophical/political ramblings and motives, but stick around for Mads Mikkelsen because it's Mads Mikkelsen and a fairly clever resolution to the Big Evil.
I mean, clever relative to most of these comic book movies. I think I remember finding some moments and lines clever. I think I remember chuckling a few times. I'm starting to wonder if I'm not manufacturing memories as a coping mechanism to deal with the amorphous gap in my memory that was Doctor Strange.
It's like I had a tumor removed. Beating cancer is a good thing, and so is Doctor Strange. Doctor Strange is a good thing. People do cool things with glowy stuff and sometimes fight. There's a female romantic interest so you know Doctor Strange is a proudly heterosexual man. Well, not that proud. All the moments you saw in the trailer are in there, as well as some more that were not in the trailer! The writing is fine, the direction is fine, and the acting is also pretty okay. There's nothing metaphysically or physically wrong with Doctor Strange, I've cupped his balls and made him cough and it looks like he's okay with it. That sure is a weird mole though.
Doctor Strange is very psychedelic and visually thrilling at times, particularly some mystic bullshit that happens early on, though a lot of the surreal and wild imagery feels like Inception II. I remember the film like a vaguely pleasant but mostly gaseous memory, like recollecting that you may have gone to Sizzler (Sizzlers? The Sizzler?) once when you were in kindergarten. Did you? Or do you think you did? It doesn't matter, and neither does Doctor Strange. But then again, neither do any of us. Doctor Strange is the perfect film for an uncaring and undying year.
I guess not every movie has to "stick" with you, or do something new, or make you think. Sometimes it's fine to just have a fun spectacle of an experience, and even if Doctor Strange's spectacles pale in comparison to many other films from this year and in years past, it's what's in theaters right now so whatever I guess. It's fine. It's goodish. It's funnish.
Sanbudmeter:
Rating:
THREE DOGS IN WITCH HATS OUT OF FIVE
Verdict:
Shove it in your face and stop complaining.
