Having been disappointed by Marvel’s Captian America: Civil War, X-Men: Apocalypse, and only mildly amused by Dead Pool, I’m hoping for a distinct improvement when Doctor Strange hits theatres 4 November this year. With Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One, and Chiwetel Ejiofor and Rachel McAdams, the odds are favourable. You may remember Chiwetel Ejiofor from Firefly’s feature film Serenity.
When a car accident limits the use of his hands, egotistical neurosurgeon, Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange, begins a quest for a miracle cure. His journey through the eastern realms will transform him from an injured man into a “Sorcerer Supreme”. He also gets to wear a great red cape. According to the Marvel website:
“Doctor Strange is one of the most powerful sorcerers in existence. Like most sorcerers, he draws his power from three primary sources: the invocation of powerful mystic entities or objects, the manipulation of the universe’s ambient magical energy, and his psychic resources. Strange’s magical repertoire includes energy projection and manipulation, matter transformation, animation of inanimate objects, teleportation, illusion-casting, mesmerism, thought projection, astral projection, dimensional travel, time travel and mental possession, to name a few.”
The character has been around for ages: Doctor Strange first appeared in Volume #115 of the Strange Tales comic in 1963.
There are some excellent special effects on display, reminiscent of Inception, with a bit of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. The trailer also features the annoying, well-worn cliche: “Forget everything that you think you know”.
Doctor Strange is directed by Scott Derrickson and written by C. Robert Cargill and Jon Spaihts.
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