Doctor Strange

Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is one of the best neurosurgeons in the world. His enormous talent is matched only by his arrogance. His work is his life - and it goes completely off the rails when, after an accident, he can no longer move his hands the way he needs to in order to perform difficult surgeries. No specialist can help him, no operation, no matter how expensive, can fully restore the mobility of his fingers. In his desperation, he opens himself up to healing arts beyond modern medicine. Supposedly, there is a place - Kamar-Taj - that can work wonders for cases like his. When he arrives there, he quickly discovers that it really is a place full of miracles and magic. And suddenly his hands are no longer the central problem, as Doctor Strange finds himself in the midst of a battle against dark forces that explodes not only our reality, but every known dimension.

Doctor Strange is the next MARVEL superhero to make it to the big screen. Unlike his counterparts Iron-Man, Spider-Man, Hulk or Thor, the master of the mystic arts is probably really only a household name to comic book connoisseurs - and that's despite the fact that he first saw the light of the comic book world back in 1963. But just like Ant-Man or the Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Stephen Strange will no longer be an unknown hero after this film at the latest. Because his big screen debut is absolutely successful. This already starts with the visual realization, which puts elements from Inception or Matrix into a blender, adds a little Far Eastern mythology, spices the whole thing with a proper shot of magic and conjures up a 3D spectacle of the particularly worth seeing kind.

Surely, the wheel is not reinvented here. And in places the story is also a bit confused. But you should never forget that this is about magicians who can move in different dimensions and bend and twist our reality as they please. If you're looking for logic or plausibility, you're in the wrong place. But if you can just let yourself fall into this fantastic world, you'll get your money's worth. This is not only because of the great effects, but also because of the really good actors.

Benedict Cumberbatch moves on very safe terrain, his Doctor Strange is not too far away from the characters he masters with bravura. But the mix of arrogance and self-deprecation he performs here is just really fun to watch, especially when he interacts with Tilda Swinton or Benedict Wong. As Kaecilius, Mads Mikkelsen is one of the best villains from MARVELLS cinematic universe in recent times. This is not only due to Mikkelsen's acting, but also due to the fact that Kaecilius' motives are laid out quite clearly and openly, making them understandable to the audience (which was not the case with Ultron from the second Avengers movie, for example).

Director Scott Derrickson (Sinister) has done a very good job of literally adding a new dimension to the familiar MARVEl world. In doing so, he provides a bit of a breath of fresh air in the superhero universe. It may be that the film has its weaknesses or small lengths. But all in all, this is a first-class fantasy adventure with high visual values, great action and a good portion of humor. Not the best film in the MARVEL universe, but a damn good one. And so the announcement in the end credits that Doctor Strange will return (supposedly as early as the next Avengers movie) definitely provides some anticipation. After all, there is for this successful debut a very clear: Absolutely worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp