Film Review: Doctor Strange

Benedict Cumberbatch took Britain by storm in his role as Sherlock in the BBC series of that name and he has now done the same with the world in Marvel’s latest blockbuster hit Doctor Strange.

Set in both America and Nepal, Cumberbatch’s character of famous neurosurgeon Stephen Strange is a complete waste of space in the beginning. He is arrogant and unwilling to help patients who would not contribute to his stellar professional record. However, when Doctor Strange is unable to use his hands after an almost-fatal car crash, his life changes forever.

If you loved Tilda Swinton as the White Witch, you’ll love her as the Ancient One in Doctor Strange. Living up to her name in a sacred quarter in Nepal, Swinton’s character is respected and has just the right amount of comedy and impeccable timing when it is delivered. This is representative of the film as a whole, especially in a scene featuring the very serious library guardian listening to ‘Single Ladies’.

Perhaps the greatest thing about Doctor Strange is the fact that it dares to be different. Marvel is famed for its superheroes and they’re all pretty much the same when it comes down to it. However, Doctor Strange – who is quite the anti-hero in the beginning – is unlike Spider-Man or any other character in the Marvel franchise. Much the same is the features of the film which bear some relation to Ancient Greek philosopher Plato in that another world very different to the one we live in exists. This world can only be accessed by the power of thought and forgetting everything you thought you knew.

Doctor Strange is simply a great film – for both the family and the friends. It’s entertaining, relevant and really thought-provoking (or, as others may say, it’s ‘trippy’).