What I loved so much about Doctor Strange is how beautiful the film is. I don’t know that there was a moment where my mouth wasn’t agape at the beauty I was seeing onscreen. People can shit on CGI all they want (hell, I’m even guilty of that at times) but Doctor Strange is a perfect example of what it can accomplish if done right. The film has these moments that resemble living surrealistic paintings. The best example I can give is that it’s like looking at a M.C. Escher painting through a Kaleidoscope. Now I’m not really a wordsmith so if that example sounds like it would be a horrible time, then I did’t quite nail what this film feels like. Just suffice it to say that Doctor Strange is one of the more beautiful films I have seen in a long time.
This isn’t to uphold the mind-bending visuals as the only, nor even the largest source of comedy. The script is witty enough that our suspension of disbelief can survive numerous silly names (Dormammu, Mordo, etc) and a whole heap of mystical jargon, while Cumberbatch, Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor and co all pick up the Marvel mix of serious and snarky very well. Cumberbatch in particular manages to avoid accusations of overexposure by playing a character that actually gets to emote for once.
Ultimately Doctor Strange is a great introduction to the character, but with a few story issues. Although it may not be the best Marvel film, it certainly is the prettiest.