Movie Review : " Dr. Strange"

My wife will tell you how I have been talking about this movie for the past three years. Dr. Strange stands along side the Hulk and Thor as my favorite Marvel characters. Until Spider-man was announced I was pretty adamant that this was going to be one of the last great Marvel films. Once you see this movie you will begin to question just how great were those other Marvel films. I still feel pretty strongly about the first Captain America and Iron-man, but I would say Dr. Strange is better than those. Perhaps it is because of the freedom the movie has to throw the suspension of disbelief out the window. Magick is not explained away as science like it is in the Thor movies.

My only slight concern with this is magick is not given limits or shown as taxing them in any way once it is mastered. In the original comics this was how it was presented, and there are some Greatest American Hero moments with the Cloak of Levitation. I suppose we also see what happens when you use the dark dimension to supplement your powers. The cast didn't have any weakness either from Strange to Mordo the cast could do no Wong. I do think Wong's role should shift once Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme. I did not catch what they said in the London Sanctum to the character defending it if he was Jericho Drumm or not...Brother Voodoo. I think at wink toward's Clea would have been nice and if I was making a fan boy wish list one of the Acolytes could have been Damien Hellstorm.
Yes, Rachel McAdams is the same character as Rosario Dawson in the Net Flix shows. So that is awkward. See I did not complain about Tilda Swinton's Ancient one cause she is great so take that social justice Ghost Busters.

The effects were the best of any Marvel movie to date, though it looks like they are stepping it up on the trailer to the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer so the bar is high. Were there elements that bring to mind the Matrix and Inception. Yes, but it was not a deal breaker for me, Swinton could have almost asked him to pick the red pill or the blue pill at one point. The action was well paced. The fight scenes were martial arts based, but creative enough though a common theme was lets keep running as we fight. The fight in the astral plane was pretty awesome and one of the movie's high points along with the showdown with the big bad who if you do not know is in the movie I will not utter his name here, but could have used a little more flame on his head, but closer to the comics than Galactus was in Fantastic Four, or Dr. Doom if we are talking about the last movie. No major issues, laughed more than I thought I would it was endearing and you can go into this movie knowing less about the character than you did for Ant-man. Would see it again in theaters if I was bored. I saw it in 3d, which was expensive, but effective.

This Week In Marvel 4/27/16

Marvel got blasted for "white-washing” in the casting of Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One and came out and said they did so because they did not want to offend China. The international movie dollar must make the decisions rather than casting some one who is best for the role. Offended that Tilda is in the role can share in the disdain the rest of us feel when Marvel makes poor casting choices for Heimdall or Sam Wilson taking on the mantle of Captain America which was a move done to market product much like this casting of Swinton. But enough of that lets get onto the comics. More this week can be called into question than praised. While its showing improvement the book remains not a tightly written as it could be Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur stomps on with a plot in it's 6th issue that feels like it could have been a more action packed story told in half the time. I am a little unsure about the 6th issue of Daredevil that brings in Elektra. Her motives seem skewed. She is also missing her booty and too think like the Netflix show. I'm glad Angela Queen of Hel came to an end, just when I was beginning to like that character some writer had to go muck things up by forcing in their lesbian agenda. Speaking of lesbians all the women heroes in Hell Cat continue to be drawn to look like lesbians. The series 5th issue finds itself floundering with Patsy doing very little and She-Hulk doing most of the work. It is not as big of a mess as the 6th issue of the Ultimates that finds Galactus punching cosmic beings and meeting with the Molecule Man, but the team the book is named after is no where to be found. The art is excellent and deserves a much better story to support.

There is a little hope in Amazing Spider man as arduous battle with Zodiac comes to an end in 11th issue. 11 issues guys really that could have been done in four at the most. Even this issue was clunky in its narrative. It looks like Dr. Octopus might be making a comeback as well. Starlord's 6th issue is just plain silly. IT depicts both he and Kitty as being about as mature as teenagers.  The 6th issue of the Squadron Supreme shows the book turning the team’s sights on the In-humans. It is not the most compelling beginning looking at how problems between Dr. Spectrum and Black Bolt began. It really depends on what In-humans are going to be in the throw down, I think Black Bolt, Medusa, Triton, Karnak and Crystal don't have as good of a chance without Gorgon and perhaps Lash. Ms. Marvel gets better in it's 6th issue, but is poorly pace and leaves the major plot points hanging when the wedding could have been a page and everything tied up in a bow. They do begin to show the tension with Danvers and Stark.  Old Man Logan seems like the beginning of a Clint Eastwood movie I have already seen so the 5th issue is exposition with little action.

The wrap up of the Stand off on Pleasant Hill wraps things up by prepping you for the title to arise during civil and the birth of a new Quasar, whom it seems weird that she has an Earth based origin since she should be like Captain Marvel a less grounded character. Dr. Strange continues to kick ass and take names even if the good Dr. who is our protagonist is on the run and the first half of the book was back-story on the new Villain. Spidey's 5th issue re-tells stories we already know, it's a shame they have to go back to this era and can't just make Amazing Spider-man this good.