SPOILER ALERT

 

Hands. Lots of close-up of hands.

That was my only note from my first watching of Marvel’s latest offering Doctor Strange (2016). I was going to be an objective Marvel fan who was going to write about the latest Marvel film, but I am sorry my brain failed me the minute those beautiful hands showed up on screen, in close-up and in 3D — under flowing water, encased in latex (gloves, I mean gloves), holding sharp implements. 

Yep, that was our first introduction to neurosurgeon extraordinaire Stephen Strange played by the owner of the said hands, Benedict Cumberbatch. I promise I’ll stop talking about those hands, soon. But, in my defence, if you are going to going to dish up Benedict Cumberbatch as a superhero to the Cumbercollective and want them to concentrate on the film, you shouldn’t start with his hands! And you definitely shouldn’t put him in black scrubs and give him dishy silver streaks in his hair (breathe in-breathe out, repeat).

So here’s what I am going to do. While my physical form (physical *giggle*) writes about the film from a Cumberloving point of view (what can I say, I am shallow), I’ll make my astral form, yeah it’s a ‘Strange’ thing, address the film from a mature, Marvel fan’s POV. 

 

I have no idea how many times I was seduced by Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange

• As I mentioned in the intro, it was the minute his hands appeared on screen. How did I know it was his hands? Any self-respecting Benedict Cumberbatch fan has special folders on their computers of gifs of his hands (after this film it’s going to be pretty full).... What do you mean that’s creepy? It’s appreciation of art.
• His swagger in the operation theatre where he undertakes a complicated surgery (Dr Stephen Strange doesn’t take on simple cases). His foot taps to the song being played on a computer and he indulges in a little trivia contest while he is at it. Of course he wins.
• When Strange asks Nic, another doctor, with utter disdain, to cover his watch, as he goes into a tricky operation. Yep, even I was like ‘Oh shit, Sherlock!’
• When he sheds the green protective outer gear and is wearing those black scrubs and looking divine, while being absolutely mean about fellow doctors. Oh, and he does arrogance so well!
• (Hold on to your horses, I’ll move past the first 10 minutes in a bit!)
• Him using those hands to choose from a drawer full of expensive watches and then strapping it on. The fixing the bow tie bit also helps. And he does look rather dashing in the tux.
• His distress when he loses the use of his hands, that make him what he is, is palpable but that arrogance never falters! BC slays as the broken, arrogant man. 
• His face when he gets the first psychedelic taste of the multiverse.
• Every interaction he has with Wong (played by Benedict Wong) leaves you little bit more in love with him. He’s got such great comic timing.
• Every time he does a mudra with his hands. And he does it throughout the second and third acts of the film. And often.  
• The first time he whips on the Cloak of Levitation. Even more when he flicks up the collar of the cloak. But the most when those lapels gently stroke his cheekbones (isn’t that what we’ve all wanted to do?).
• When he uses his wits, not his fists, to defeat the villain and save the world.

 

What we learnt that may be significant in the MCU... 

• We now know that Doctor Strange wields an Infinity Stone that is the Eye of Agamotto. So we now have five Infinity Stones — the Tesseract (Avengers), the Aether (Thor: The Dark World), the Orb (Guardians Of The Galaxy), the gem embedded in Vision’s head (Avengers: Age of Ultron), and now The Eye Of Agamotto. Only the sixth Infinity Stone, required to complete the Infinity Gauntlet, is yet to be revealed.
• If the end-credit scene is anything to go by, Baron Mordo has had a change of heart and will become a villain of later adventures, whether of Doctor Strange’s next or as a part of the Infinity War films, remains to be seen.
• The mid-credit scene of the Doctor hanging out with Thor at the Sanctum Sanctorum in New York gives us a clue to the Thor: Ragnarok storyline — Loki’s deception has been revealed and Thor and Loki are looking for Odin on Earth. We are also sure that this scene and may be a little bit more of Doctor Strange will pop up in Thor: Ragnarok.
• Yes, Doctor Strange will definitely crop up in Infinity Wars and will probably protect the world from Thanos on the mystical level.

 

What worked in the film... and what didn’t

The yays:

• From the first scene of the film Doctor Strange is a visual spectacle with psychedilc mutliverse sequences, cityscapes folding in and out and around, fights at the astral level and more. You often wonder what the director and the actors were smoking, to get this done.
• Tilda Swinton. She is just gorgeous even with her head shaved. Yes, the Ancient One should have been Asian, as per the comic book, but I think Swinton is fantastic as the teacher and Sorcerer Supreme. 
• Benedict Wong’s Wong is another character that adds more to the film, I just wish there was more of him.
• The climactic sequence where a battle takes place within a time reversal. Insane!
• The ending of Doctor Strange is a much-needed departure from the world-destroying climactic battle that has become the par for all superhero films ever since Joss Whedon pulled off that jaw-dropping battle in Avengers. Unfortunately, not one of the other films has been able to get even close to what Whedon did. So here’s a superhero who goes through a hole in the sky, goes up against a powerful villain from beyond, saves the world from destruction — in short, goes up against what all the other Marvel heroes have — and saves the day not through a fight but by tricking the enemy. Bravo!
• Both the mid-credit and end-credit scenes are excellent additions.
   

The nays:

• It is the same old story. Listen to this — a brilliant, rich and entitled guy goes through a tragic accident and fights his way back to become a superhero. Yep, it is as much the story of Iron Man (2008) as it is that of Doctor Strange (2016)!
• It has once again created a villain, Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), who falls short of the standard set by Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. And once again, it is a complete waste of an actor of Mikkelsen’s calibre.
• Another waste of a great actor is Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays Mordo. Here he is not the supervillain of the comic books, but is rather a mentor to Doctor Strange. But that may all change (hopefully) in the sequels.
• Oh, and some of those gags just didn’t work, especially the one with the Cloak of Levitation having a mind of its own and preventing Doctor Strange from grabbing an axe.

Will you watch the film for Doctor Strange or Benedict Cumberbatch? Tell t2@abp.in