A fun movie that benefits from strong actors and amazing visuals, but is hurt by a pacing issues and supporting characters that aren’t fleshed-out enough. While the overall plot is the standard superhero origin story, the subject matter is quite different than most of what we’ve seen before. Some of the pacing feels off early in the film, especially with the somewhat rushed transition of novice magician to master sorcerer. The finale benefits from taking a unique route, and doesn’t quite go in the way you would expect. Benedict Cumberbatch is the heart of this movie. Strong acting invests you in his arrogant character’s plight. He sells the despair, confusion and eventual heroic nature of Dr. Strange. While the rest of the cast is strong, they aren’t as fleshed-out as characters as they could be. They fill their roles in the story, but do little else to get you interested in them. This applies to Mads Mikkelson’s Kaecillius most of all. While the logic behind his evil plan is solid and possibly noble, the lack of backstory robs him of any opportunity to make him sympathetic. The visuals and special effects are great, and look even better in 3D. While there is the obvious influence of “Inception,” this film has some clever moments with all the world-bending action. There is a mid-credit and a post-credit scene, with the mid-credit being the more entertaining of the two.
*** out of *****