9 Reasons Doctor Strange Is The Least Anticipated MCU Movie

"Doctor Strange will bring magic to the MCU" is the required opening for any article on the film, mainly because it's one of the few things everyone can say with confidence. It is, after all, the movie's real hook; this one's different because the powers aren't grounded in anything approaching reality.

The problem with that, though, is whether magic really that big a hook? Sure, it looks good, but based on the trailers it's all been rather weird and undefined, with not enough teasing to make it alluring. There's a danger that what the film wants to be its USP may just alienate, especially in the mainstream. At the very least, it's not cultivating as much excitement as the stories with that opening suggest.

There's also the fact that we kinda have had magic all along. Yes, it was explained as super-advanced science, but the world of Asgard and the Nine Realms is magic-by-another name, with much of what Strange is showing not all that different to the antics of Thor: portals, bolts and far-seeing. Beyond that, there's something magical about all the tech in the world anyway, and with Enchantress Suicide Squad showed that mystical powers can wind up being indistinguishable from any other threat.