Rent Doctor Strange (2016)
3.5 of 5 from 1074 ratings
1h 50min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- In Marvel's Doctor Strange, a world-famous neurosurgeon seeking a cure finds powerful magic in a mysterious place known as Kamar-Taj - the front line of a battle against unseen dark forces bent on destroying our reality.
- Actors:
- Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins, Zara Phythian, Alaa Safi, Katrina Durden, Topo Wresniwiro, Umit Ulgen, Linda Louise Duan, Mark Brighton, Meera Syal, Amy Landecker, Adam Pelta-Pauls, Sarah Malin
- Directors:
- Scott Derrickson
- Producers:
- Kevin Feige
- Writers:
- Jon Spaihts, Scott Derrickson
- Others:
- Charles Wood, Stephane Ceretti, Jonathan Fawkner, Paul Corbould, John Bush, Richard Bluff, Jeremy Woodhead, Vincent Cirelli
- Aka:
- Marvel's Doctor Strange
- Studio:
- Walt Disney
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Children & Family, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Collections:
- 2017, Action & Adventure, CinemaParadiso.co.uk Through Time, Getting to Know: Tilda Swinton, The Best of Comic Books and Superhero Films, Top 10 Stephen King Films, Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 06/03/2017
- Run Time:
- 115 minutes
- Languages:
- English Audio Description Dolby Digital 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Hindi Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish DTS 5.1
- Subtitles:
- Danish, English Hard of Hearing, Finnish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.39:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- (0) All
- Bonus:
- Play Movie with Intro
- Featurettes: A Strange Transformation, Strange Company, The Fabric of Reality, Across Time and Space, The Score-cerer Supreme
- Marvel Studios Phase 3 Exclusive Look
- Team Thor: Part 2
- Deleted and Extended Scenes
- Gag Reel
- Audio Commentary by Director Scott Derrickson
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 06/03/2017
- Run Time:
- 115 minutes
- Languages:
- English Audio Description Dolby Digital 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Hindi Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish DTS 5.1
- Subtitles:
- Danish, English Hard of Hearing, Finnish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.39:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- (0) All
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 11/11/2019
- Run Time:
- 115 minutes
- Languages:
- Canadian French Dolby Digital 2.0, English Audio Description, English Dolby Atmos, English Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, German Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1, Latin American Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles:
- Canadian French, English Hard of Hearing, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin American Spanish, Norwegian, Swedish
- DVD Regions:
- Region 2
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.40:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
More like Doctor Strange
Reviews (13) of Doctor Strange
A Marvel movie that tries - Doctor Strange review by Alphaville
The problem with superhero origin stories is that you know where they’re going. We know Doctor Strange is going to get his powers but have to spend an hour watching him do so while listening to screeds of psychobabble. ‘We never lose our demons,’ intones The Ancient One, ‘we only learn to live above them.’ Yeah, right. To their credit, the writers seem so embarrassed by what they’re having to write for the fanboy audience that they have Doctor Strange mock it.
At least we get more action in the second half, where our Doctor has to face the Dormammu of the Dark Domain. Unfortunately he turns out to be nothing more than a big face in the sky.
Nevertheless, there are redeeming qualities to be found here. To say it’s better than most Marvel movies is to damn with faint praise, but this one does play with issues of time, immortality, evolution and the multiverse. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Mads Mikkelsen are wasted as Strange’s sidekick and enemy, but Benedict Cumberbatch raises the tone of the piece as the doctor. The architecture-bending, gravity-defying special affects are also noteworthy. A chase through an Escher-like spatially-changing New York is a highlight that should have been reserved for the climax.
The bombastic score, highlighting every beat of the film, is as horrendous as in all Marvel films and there’s a coda that augurs ill for a sequel: the Doctor is going to help Thor and his big hammer. Whatever merits can be gleaned from this film, it’s surely all going south from now on.
2 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Average at best - Doctor Strange review by CP Customer
Just when you thought the MCU was full of winners, this film shows that isn't the case.
Apart from Benedict C's dodgy accent and some equally odd castings (Tilda as The Ancient One is one I still can't fathom) it's an average outing of cliches and non-shocking shocks that quickly fades from memory.
There's some danger of a Dr. S Part II, so this might not actually turn out the worst of bunch. So that's a plus.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
At last, the question is answered: which is the worst MCU movie? - Doctor Strange review by MB
An astonishingly inept entry in Marvel's increasingly bland cinematic universe. The cheap-ass digital effects look like they were drawn in crayon by a rather untalented child who wasn't particularly paying attention to what he was doing. Maybe the M in MCU actually stands for Mediocre.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Critic review
Doctor Strange (aka Marvel's Doctor Strange) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso
The Marvel Cinematic Universe adds sorcerers to its long list of fantasy elements. But this is no mere magic missile show, echoing the likes of Harry Potter. Marvel’s magic is a bit more clever and creative. The sorcerers of Doctor Strange use their abilities to shift gravity, open portals, turn walls into tapestries and skyscrapers into mazes. They’re a little tougher to combat than throwing a shield, blasting some energy or throwing a Hulk fist. A bit more tact is required in dealing with such threats, paving the way for the necessity of Doctor Strange.
The protagonist of Stephen Strange (yes, that’s his real name), played with ease by a smugly intelligent Benedict Cumberbatch, echoes the origins of Iron Man. He’s a cocky neurosurgeon that has become so confident in his life-saving abilities that he’s carved a comfortable lifestyle where he can drive fast cars and be selective of his clients. He’s very similar to Tony Stark, but slightly less smug about his popularity. But he’s forced to rethink his life when a car crash severely damages the nerves in his hand. Spending all his money to cure his hands, he finds himself headed to Nepal for a new solution to regaining the precision of his hands.
Where he seeks medicine, he discovers magic with the sagely Ancient One, portrayed in the MCU as a bald-headed Tilda Swinton. In the comics, the ancient one was a racist stereotype of an Asian sorcerer, so the trade up for a white woman comes across a little progressive than mere whitewashing. Director Scott Derrickson described the casting decision as an unwinnable situation, considering that the mere casting of any Asian would be seen as a controversial move for both the character and the region. A gamble with Tilda, but it pays off greatly with her likable charisma and spirit.
Reluctant to accept her theories on magical dimensions, Strange literally has the knowledge beaten into him when the Ancient One sends him on the ultimate trip, travelling through realities both astral and surreal. That’s all it takes for him to want to sign up for the Ancient One’s school of magic. Even with his hands damaged, Strange takes quite quickly to studying magic with the help of magic student Mordo and librarian Wang, as well as some sink-or-swim exercises. I suppose if he could accomplish brain surgery so easily, magic can’t be that much difficult.
What does end up being difficult is handling the threat of evil sorcerer Kaecilius, played with volcanic mascara by a stone-faced Mad Mikkelson. In what has become a troublesome habit of these Marvel movies, Kaecilius is not exactly a memorable villain, nor is his grand scheme all that unique. He desires eternal life and a god from another dimension can give it to him in exchange for the Earth, via a portal he must assemble. Been there before, seen that before and Doctor Strange offers little new in this arena.
Thankfully, the special effects on display makes Doctor Strange the most visually perfect of the MCU. Every sequence where sorcerers battle each other with magic is a visual feast for the eyes. Cities transform into bizarre displays of shifting perspectives, while cars and people still walk around an M.C. Escher in motion. The columns of buildings turn into meat grinders, buildings turn into tumbling blocks and walls become tapestries of revolving patterns. There’s even an extremely inventive use of magic where the destruction of a city is reversed while still satisfying the requirement for a grand showdown. It was the first time during these Marvel movies where I didn’t mind the abundance of detailed computer graphics as there was originality and creativity behind them.
The only downside is that Doctor Strange has so much cool stuff to show us that it forgets about the characters. They’re all likable enough to enjoy their arcs and their quips, but not nearly developed enough to appreciate the humility learned by Strange, the secretive nature of the Ancient One, the conflict of ethics for Mordo or the frustration of Kaecilius. So many events are skipped over, such as Strange’s training which lasts mere days, to keep the plot on schedule for more magic and more battles. All of their personality falls to the wayside to make way for the gorgeous special effects.
Despite this, I applaud the effort as these special effects do plenty to distract from the rather standard Marvel origins pattern. I’ve seen this story before, but I’ve never SEEN it so beautifully entrancing as Doctor Strange. Magic now exists in the MCU and it’s a most welcomed element that is sure to literally shift the Marvel universe.