Dr. Stephen Strange played by Benedict Cumberbatch is a brilliant neurosurgeon who is universally liked but arrogant. After a devastating car accident causes severe nerve damage in his hands, he looks for healing and comes across Kamar-Taj, a secret compound that is more then meets the eye. He meets The Ancient One played by Tilda Swinton, the leader of the secret compound who has lived for an unspecified amount of time and has healed others before Strange. He quickly learns that the compound and The Ancient One are involved in a battle against unseen dark forces, determined on destroying reality as we know it. Strange is tasked to choose between his life of wealth and fortune or leave it behind to defend the world from more mystical threats.

Doctor Strange is the 14^th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is definitely one of the weirder movies they’ve done besides Ant-Man. Many comic book fans never expected that this character would get his own stand alone movie. Doctor Strange first appeared in Strange Tales #110. Created by artist, Steve Ditko this has been a fan favorite since the 60s. Debuting in the Silver Age of comics, the character has been in much more than the pages being featured in animated movies and video games. This movie certainly does the source material justice by taking the character’s personalities and visuals from the comics to the big screen.

Benedict Cumberbatch does a phenomenal job playing former Neurosurgeon turned Sorcerer Supreme. He starts out likable as a person that is very intelligent and liked by his colleagues, even the ones that he corrects. After a car crash renders his hands basically useless in his line of work, he becomes desperate and really shows his arrogant side as he pushes everyone who cares about him away as he tries to find a way to heal his hands. He becomes more likable as Doctor Strange as his determination to heal makes him a more powerful sorcerer. He becomes conflicted with the decision of leaving Kamar-Taj after being healed or defending the universe with the rest of the sorcerers.

Tilda Swinton does a great job as The Ancient One, former sorcerer supreme who teaches sorcery and has lived for a very long time. She also brings some comedy to the roll for someone who is very serious about the battle against the powerful dark forces. She doesn’t get much screen time but is very good at kicking mystical butt in some of the movies coolest scenes. Baron Mordo, one of the ancient one’s followers also helps to teach Strange as he was once troubled and found inner peace and has become devoted to fighting the good fight. Benedict Wong who plays Wong in the movie is also a very serious but funny character as he is basically a librarian in the secret compound. His lack of sense of humor actually makes him funnier as the character. Sadly, he also doesn’t get much screen time as he was one of my favorites in the movie. Rachael McAdams plays Doctor Christine Palmer who is Strange’s love interest and also doesn’t have much screen time either but does a great job.

Mads Mikkelsen plays the villain Kaecilius, a rogue sorcerer who wants to bring an entity that dwells in the dark dimension to earth. He definitely is a better Marvel villain that we’ve seen in recent years but doesn’t exactly break the curse of less screen time in this movie. He kinda shows up out of nowhere but you can kinda understand where he comes from. He draws power from the dark being that allows him to bend the physical world and almost fold reality.

The visuals in the movie are amazing as you find your self in awe as New York City folds in on itself or as Stephen Strange is catapulted through different dimensions and realties. The kaleidoscope type CGI creates something that makes Doctor Strange an authentic film and nothing like it has been done in superhero films before it. The magic in this movie is very cool as it doesn’t involve shouting spells but using hand movements to conjure a spell. A couple of magical tools Strange uses are the sling ring, basically a piece of jewelry that allows him to open up portals to different areas in the world or even the universe. He uses the Eye of Agamotto, a relic that allows him to bend the laws of nature and control time. The last tool or relic is the cloak of levitation that has a mind of its own as it protects Strange from attacks and can even be brutal when fighting as a floating cape. Doctor Strange is a very solid origin story that follows the marvel formula  for movies but still manages to be something completely different with the element of magic. The only problem I had with the film was the lack of characters that I wanted to see more of. This movie still left me excited for the future of this character. I give Doctor Strange a 9/10 for stunning visuals, great performances, and a great story.