** Potential Spoilers Ahead! **
To be frank, it was strange.
I'm a massive nerd; I'll admit it. My heart skips a beat when someone says "Infinity Stones." I eat comic books and Marvel movies with the ferocity of someone who hasn't eaten in days. When I heard that THE Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange was getting his VERY OWN movie, I could've cried from the happiness. You could say I had big expectations.
In some ways, the movie was everything I wanted. The visuals were incredible. Kamar-Taj was aesthetically delightful, the costumes were vibrant and well-crafted, the different environs and architectures were well-explored and appealing. Dormammu's appearance was an interesting yet respectable choice, and the scene in which Strange bargains with him is both humorous and powerful. I particularly enjoyed the recrafting of Baron Mordo, into a more sympathetic, more dynamic and complex character. Chiwetel Ejiofor's performance is laudable.
However, in many ways, the film is lacking and problematic. The trope of the arrogant, wealthy, tormented genius is overused in the Marvel universe; Tony Stark is enough. Just as many complained after the first "Thor" movie, the love-based subplot in this film seemed unnecessary and also rather underdeveloped if it had to be included. The relationship between Dr. Strange and Dr. Christine Palmer is unusual, not a typical romance subplot, in fact being one of "past romance." I find it irritating, though, that one of the two central "female" characters in the movie (the other being the Ancient One, is portrayed as quite androgynous despite female pronouns) is placed into such a typical role. The compassionate, cares-too-much, beautiful past-lover who is both a former (less-adept) colleague and the emotional tie Strange has to the life he left behind. Women are more than just caregivers, lovers, and symbols. I really wish Marvel would move away from so frequently painting their (relatively few) female characters as such. Additionally, the inclusion of Palmer (in the comics, also a hero known as Night Nurse) over the popular Clea is understandable but disappointing. I love Clea, and I hope to see her in future films.
And, of course, the issue of race has dogged the film since the announcement of the cast. On one hand, Benedict Wong's character Wong is a non-stereotypical portrayal of an East Asian man, which I appreciate very much, as the Wong of the comics is a rather offensive "Asian valet" caricature. The character of Mordo is canonically white, so the decision to instead cast a black actor to play him lended additional diversity to the film. The whitewashing of the Ancient One, however, is something I find quite inexcusable. Don't get me wrong, Tilda Swinton is a fantastic actress, and her performance was good, but there are so few POC characters in most forms of entertainment, especially Asian characters, and so to take an Asian character and make them white is wrong. Especially considering the Ancient One's background (born in Kamar-Taj in Nepal, a master of "The Mystic Arts" which take root in East Asian martial arts and spiritualism), the whiteness of the character is erroneous. To be fair, director Scott Derrickson claims that he made the choice of casting a white woman in an Asian man's role was to prevent the furthering of Asian stereotypes, avoid getting involved in the Tibetan sovereignty debate, and to empower women. This is admirable, and yet I feel Derrickson could have avoided stereotypes and still cast an Asian actor or actress. For example, he feared playing into the stereotypes of the Dragon Lady or the fanboy wet dream if he cast an older or younger Asian woman, but honestly, that seems like an excuse. No one said that the Ancient One has to be physically attractive, even if she is a young woman, or has to be the "domineering and deceitful" Dragon Lady. Yes, it's important to avoid stereotypes, and I'm happy that this was considered, but there are ways to avoid stereotyping POC characters other than avoiding POC characters altogether. How can we defy stereotypes if POC characters are just never represented? Work and thought need to be put in; complexities need be explored. You can't just plop a single black character and maybe one named Asian character into a movie and defend yourself as being diverse, especially when a movie that primarily takes place in Nepal has very few Nepalese characters beyond Nepalese extras. Seriously, why were so many of the disciples of both the Ancient One and Kaecilius (the antagonist) white? It makes little sense, and this error should be addressed in the next Doctor Strange movie. I really hope it is, too, because this franchise shows promise, both for the inclusion of more Asian characters and for some awesome Marvel cinematic magic.
P.S. Stan Lee's cameo, reading "The Doors of Perception," is amusing as always. Also, head's up, there are TWO post-credit scenes. You're welcome.
