Doctor Strange Reviews: 10 Big Things We Learned
A middling Marvel outing... or a mind-bending masterpiece?
After years in gestation, it's time to get Strange.
Another goatee-sporting arrogant genius, Doctor Strange is the origin of a conceited surgeon who through drinking and driving (just don't do it) ends up with severely injured hands and the longing to do something more with himself. Seeking out a mysterious shaman who he believes can reignite his purpose...as well as teaching him some sweet magical moves.
Created in the 1960's by Steve Ditko, Doctor Strange featured all the psychedelic artwork you would expect from the time period and the character has become very important to the wide Marvel Universe as well as joining several teams including, of course, The Avengers.
Another supposedly B-List character similar to Ant-Man or the Guardians of the Galaxy, does Doctor Strange excel like the latter or simply stroll through like the former?
The first reviews are in, and here are 10 big things they tell us...
10. It Sticks To The Marvel Formula...
Marvel have been often criticised for making essentially the same movie over and over again and most of their output looks like it came off the same factory conveyor belt. Unique visuals and artistic license is not the aim of the Marvel game, with familiarity and a shared universe being their goal.
Unfortunately, despite some forays into the uncommon, the general consensus is that Doctor Strange is not as strange as the title suggests.
Variety's Peter Debruge states that “Yes, this new project shares the same look, feel, and fancy corporate sheen as the rest of Marvel’s rapidly expanding Avengers portfolio..." with this sentiment being echoed by many other reviewers stating the formulaic nature of the storytelling.
Matt Singer at Screencrush even refers to the film as one of Marvel's "most formulaic origin stories" which is not exactly a ringing endorsement.
Not exactly a surprise that Marvel have yet to deviate from what has been so successful for them thus far, it is no doubt a bit of a disappointment that we are now on our fourteenth film from the Marvel assembly line.