Nov 7, 2016

Doctor Strange

Derivative Supreme.
According to Dictionary.Com, an archetype is the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype. 2. (in Jungian psychology) a collectively inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., universally present in individual psyches. In this day and age, Science Fiction films, namely superhero films, are yesterday news. Anyone trying to find a groundbreaking new comic book movie, will have an easier time breathing underwater. 

Doctor Strange is the 14th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the second film from what is called "Phase 3" (Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Spider-Man Homecoming, Thor Ragnarok, Avengers Infinity War, Black Panther & Captain Marvel are the remaining films from it) Loosely based upon the creation of Steve Ditko, this movie delivers yet another couple of hours of derivative nonsense already seen before here and there, and not even the CGI effects make it a refreshing new take on the genre.   

I do things with my hands.
Look, I'm doing more things with my hands.
I had "standard" fun watching this movie the first 45 minutes and then set my mind into something else, still being able to catch up with ease with the weak plot. The focus of the film is clearly centered on the massive set of CGI scenes Doctor Strange features, while screenplay and plot are nowhere to be seen. Benedict Cumberbatch is a great actor, and the tiresome overall feel of the movie has nothing to do with him. On the contrary, he adds the human touch the film requires in order to make believe the audience. 

The movie follows the same basic formula as all of the other MCU movies. There's quips, there's jokes, there's a McGuffin, there's a 1-dimensional villain.

I don't know you but I'll teach you all my secrets.
Did you know sorcerers dance?
Movie's sole purpose is another lead-up to the next Avengers. The mystical artifact Strange uses turns out to be an Infinity Stone. "Shocking". If I had a dollar for every time Marvel did something that took me by surprise, I'd be flat broke, because you can see this stuff coming from a mile away.

I swear, I almost walked out when I heard the wifi password joke.

Marvel Movies have a tendency to love to have the hero getting betrayed by someone they thought an ally. Baron Mordo is a friend of Strange and his group in the movie. He's a villain in the comics. Anyone knows what is coming from a mile away. He doesn't go full bad guy in this one, but expect him to be full on evil in the sequel.

Another thing nearly every single MCU movie does is the fake-out death. A character will die and then in the next movie or even just in the post-credit scene of the movie they died in they'll pop up alive and well. Seriously, go back and look. Wong dies in this movie and Strange just reverses time and brings him back. The only character I think has stayed dead is Quicksilver. And there were rumors he was going to pop up alive and well somehow in the New Avengers scene at the end of Age of Ultron.

In the cover of a magazine!
Reading is magical.
The warped city stuff isn't as revolutionary is people claim. Considering Inception did it 6 years ago and that horrible Devil May Cry reboot did something similar as well.

Movie is getting stellar reviews, which doesn't mean much. At this point Marvel Studios could just release a 2 hour movie that is just the main character sipping a glass of tea while sniffing a dog turd and it would still get critical acclaim.

You know why it's so freaking hard to enjoy Marvel movies these days? When everyone is on the bandwagon and everyone attacks you if you have a different opinion, and when the movies are praised for being "amazing" when in reality they're just actually "just okay" or only "halfway decent", it makes them movies feel worse to me because when they don't live up to what critics and the fanboys say it is.

Like Civil War this year. Everyone called it a "Masterpiece." Then I saw it and the whole movie only functioned because of the gaping plot holes. But if you point out said plot holes you get vilified.

Pornography. Not even once.
We're the bad guys nobody will care about.
I think this movie might be the last MCU movie I bother seeing. They all feel the same, follow the same formula, and the fanboys make going to see them insufferable. Maybe Spider-man: Homecoming could be good, but since they have Vulture, Shocker, and Tinkerer (3 1- dimensional villains) as the villains of the film, it looks like the movie is already setting up to be the same movie with different characters we've seen about 15 times now. Just watch, I bet that the plot ends up being Vulture trying to steal a priceless artifact and Spidey has to keep it from him, and then in the post-credit scene it's revealed to be an Infinity Stone so they can do another "Look, look, shared universe,everything tied together" moment that are tired at this point.

Why do I rate it 1 out of 10? I'd have given it a five, but the over-hyped nonsense from critics and the Marvel fanboys just makes these movies feel worse than they actually are to me. A mediocre movie ends up feeling like complete trash when everyone is calling it one of the best movies ever and then you see it and it's just "kind of sort of okay" Especially when the only thing I thought was good in the movie was the special effects. I also enjoyed the special effects in the Transformers series, but as we all know, those movies suck, and no amount of great special effects will save a crap movie.

Movie also shows the problems the MCU will be facing soon. Dr. Strange is a D-list character at best. After they lose Iron Man, Cap, Hulk, Widow, Thor, Nick Fury, and the other characters that the MCU was built on, they'll only have Spider-man and a bunch of C and D-listers holding their shared universe together. 

Overall, a derivative and very expensive turd that fad cocksuckers are already praising as the ultimate masterpiece. If you still want to watch a good movie, choose the original 1978 Doctor Strange TV movie, because it features what this one lacks: a plot & decent storytelling.

Here's the movie trailer:


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