MARVEL fans, get ready for a different kind of superhero sensation.
The doctor is in the house with a strange brew of philosophical strains and emotional journeys, melded to mind-bending visuals and mystical action.
Those stimulated by the straight-up kinetic force that was Captain America: Civil War will find Doctor Strange a more mellow and intimate viewing. But that’s not a weakness.
The film is about the journey of Dr Stephen Strange, played by Benedict Cumberbatch of Sherlock fame. He takes the arrogant, intellectual and intense persona of the famous British sleuth and dials it up to 11 here, mixing it with a warm charm of Grey’s Anatomy McDreamy as a world-famous neurosurgeon whose hubris and successful career takes a nosedive after a horrific accident renders his hands useless.
His life and outlook certainly change for the worst as science, as well as traditional medicine, fail him. Angry, fearful and frustrated, his stubborn determination finally sees him discovering healing and hope, in the most unlikeliest of places.
Tucked away in the middle of bustling Kathmandu, Nepal, the mysterious enclave known as Kamar-Taj is where he stumbles on the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton).
Prickly personality aside, the centuries-old sage sees potential in the bedraggled ex-surgeon and presents him with a new side to reality: The mystical way of magic!
One of her students, Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), is then tasked with mentoring the unfortunate character.
At first a fish out of water, Strange quickly learns that this is not just a simple centre for healing but also the front line of a battle against unseen dark forces bent on destroying the world.
The villain comes in the form of a rogue student named Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) who, helped by his zealot followers, is using every malevolent tool at his disposal to see the current reality melded with the shadowy powers of Dormammu, the Lord Of Dark Dimension, even if it leads to the destruction of existence.
Eventually Strange is forced to face Kaecilius and the zealot gang. This is where his character evolves, with the aid of the Cloak Of Levitation.
Before long, Strange, armed with newly acquired magical powers, is forced to choose whether to return to his life of fortune and status or leave it behind to defend the world as the most powerful sorcerer in existence.
Cumberbatch, not surprisingly, was amazing as Strange. Although initially he was clearly riffing off his Sherlock role, the image of Cumberbatch in that iconic long coat and hat quickly vanished as the movie progressed.
Keeping him grounded after the whole mystical experience was his love interest, Doctor Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams).
She stuck by his side even when he was acting pretty strange after the accident.
The strikingly talented Swinton played what was easily my favourite character. Her wise and enigmatic figure was like a mixture of her previous roles as the White Witch in The Chronicles Of Narnia and the androgynous half-breed angel Gabriel in Constantine.
Marvel Studios initially wanted a male actor for this role but decided to make it female. Bold move for the bald character and it worked!
Although director Scott Derrickson’s previous films such as The Exorcism Of Emily Rose, The Day The Earth Stood Still and Sinister 2 received low ratings from critics,he did a good job with this one (it even got an almost perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes).
But while the movie flowed smoothly and the fight scenes were seamless, it looked a bit cartoonish on Imax 3D and the reality bending sequences were like a more advanced rendition of Inception.
Nevertheless, it was engaging from start to finish. As usual, there were post-credit scenes.
Although it seemed quite dark and intense for the most part, there were some bits of humour as well (look out for Stan Lee!).
So let the healing power of Dr Strange move you. Whether you are a DC fan (I am) or not, you will still find this movie interesting. Just open your mind.