Doctor Strange (SPOILERS-- Seen it? Discuss it here)
David_D
Posts: 3,884
As per usual practice, we'll have this spoiler thread for those that have seen it, and eventually this will get combined with the news and discussion one once it has been out awhile.
So... have at it!
So... have at it!
Comments
Doctor Strange artfully balances its outré source material against the blockbuster constraints of the MCU, delivering a thoroughly entertaining superhero origin story in the bargain.
Great use of "outré."
Far more action-packed than I expected, but love how non-fighty the actual victory was.
The Cloak of Levitation was my favorite character.
Have to agree with WetRats on the Cloak of Levitation. That and Wong were my 2 favorite characters. The part where Strange kept referring to Wong by different 1 named celebs ("Beyonce?") was an "LOL" moment for the whole theater.
"Dormammu, I have come to bargain!"
Special effects, as many reviews alluded, were like a cross between The Matrix and Inception. Fantastic.
The Dark Dimension reminded me of something you'd see under an electron microscope. Had previously seen speculation that Dr. Strange may play a role in rescuing Janet Van Dyne in Ant-Man 2. Thought this lent that theory a little credence.
Mordo's heel turn didn't come off as believable to me. I know he felt betrayed by The Ancient One and all, but I thought that could have been handled better.
The mid-credits scene with Thor may have been their best one ever.
"ACTING"
I was surprised about the action and the martial arts. After seeing this I not am surprised Feigie cooled on doing an Iron Fist movie. If you take out the similar origin stories it still leaves them with trying to make the action sequences as cool as these.
The 3D was spectacular. I don't normally spring for the extra $ to see in 3D, but having seen a couple of the clips, including on Fallon last night, I knew that this one had to be experienced in that way and I was completely satisfied.
I did spend a little time wondering if the big bad would have been Doom if Marvel held the license. Could have been cool, but at the same time somewhat relieved given the finality of resolution for so many of their villains.
I like the juxtaposition of Strange and Mordru. However, the after after credits scene took Mordru took a really dark place much to soon. I would have liked for their enmity to be a bit more complex than the average Marvel Movie.
Why did Dormammu have to be a big face? That wasn't nearly as bad as the Galactus cloud, but I would have liked for Dormammu to have been a little closer to the comic version. Especially something like the Bachalo version in the last couple issues of Dr. Strange.
The after credit scene with Thor was really good!
Glad that Strange will remain a bit of an ass.
I want a cloak of Levitation.
I would give the movie a B-/B
Here are my thoughts on the film.
(Spoilers).
The SFX were top notch.
When Strange was first falling through all the different "worlds" I was hoping that we'd see at least a glimpse of Eternity.
Wong had the Wand of Watoomb!
They mentioned The Living Tribunal!
I was hoping for at least one, "By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth!" ...oh well.
Dormammu's look was..interesting. It certainly was trippy and otherworldly but I could of used some burning flames around that head of his!
The first end credit scene was really good.
Although I too was wanting more of a flaming head version of Dormammu, I liked the rippling line effect that was a nice interpretation of the comic.
Did you notice when Dormammu pulled in his evil "agents" at the end of the film, they transformed into something that looked very much like Mindless Ones!?!
I squealed when Wong was holding the Wand of Watoomb! I also noticed in the scene where the sorcerers were defending the Hong Kong Sanctum, there was a female character that was holding a staff that very much looked like Nico Minoru's Staff of One.
Overall, the film was far better than I was expecting. I wasn't crazy about Tilda Swinton's version of the Ancient One (I prefer the aged, feeble, smart-ass version better), but that is a minor quibble. I was kind of dreading having to tread through the "origin" of the character, but the adjustments made to get it on screen and fit within the Marvel Cinematic universe made it very enjoyable without losing the essence of what makes Doctor Strange one of my favourite Marvel characters. I was confident that this was going to be Marvel's first real cinematic stumble (more than Iron Man 2). Glad I was wrong. So many awesome things about this movie, can't wait to see it again.
I also liked that my daughter picked out the line at the end of the credits asking that viewers drive responsibly. nice touch.
And... I was pleased to see Doc wearing the orange gloves during the end credit scene with Thor. nice.
"Mordor" and "Mordru". Both geeky names anyway :p
However, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Sitwell mentions Stephen Strange in a list of other MCU characters. " A TV anchor in Cairo, the Under Secretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa City, Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who's a threat to HYDRA. Now, or in the future. " Which places this movie BEFORE Winter Soldier. Why else would Hydra be concerned about Strange BEFORE he becomes a Sorcerer? So, here's what I'm thinking...This movie is AFTER Avengers but BEFORE Winter Soldier. You see Avengers Tower in the background which leads you to think it's after Age of Ultron (because that's the first time we saw the completed Avengers Tower). But when we see it in Age of Ultron ISN'T the first time they've used it. So after Avengers but before Winter Soldier. And the end credits scene with a Thor...THAT part of the movie is real time.
Which means, in my personal head canon, the reference to Rhodey COULDN'T have been specifically about Rhodey. Again, none of this will matter to the average movie goer, but it jumped out to me.
"...evaluates people's past to predict their future."
This movie can still fall right after/around Civil War & the prior reference still makes sense.
M
I wish this forum would let me upload photos from my phone, because I have the screenshot from Scott's Reddit AMA.
But it's not like I'm calling BS on the entire Marvel cinematic universe and am going to rage quit as a result. Just something I noticed.