The drawback in seeing movies in the Netherlands is the Dutch subtitles you have yo put up with. But that was really the only thing I didn't like about Dr Strange ...

The special effects are something else. You are definitely not in Kansas (or a farm in Iowa)! The acting is uniformly superb, although of course people will say that Cumberbatch is just being Cumberbatch -- he is damn good at being that though! Tilda Swinton is appropriately elfin/ephemeral/eerie as the Ancient One. That white washing thing is irksome, but if it gives an iconic male role (which I understand was somewhat racially stereotyped in any event) to a woman, I don't really mind all that much, frankly. (Plus they do not pretend she's Asian - she is "Celtic".)

It's too late at night to do any meta. Just ... go see it.

My favourite easter eggs?
(1) The sight of Avengers Tower on the skyline of New York. (2) The address of the New York "sanctum": 177A Bleecker Street. Hello, Sherlock ... (3) The younger (live) brother of the skull from Knowhere, (4) INFINITY STONE. (5) A visual reference to the Hulk-smashes-Loki scene (you'll know it when it comes by); (6) Loki is coming back to New York!?!?!?

ETA: There is a review in today's WaPo that I pretty much agree with. It notes that the script is somewhat flimsy and predictable, but that weakness is more than made up by the film's visuals. You will see things you haven't before - and that's a promise.

Edited 2016-11-04 06:07 pm (UTC)

I have watched Doctor Strange! Had a geeky friends trip on Friday. My sister has now seen it twice because her favourite character Thor is in the first after credits scene lol.

The special effects are amazing and I think the thing that everyone's going to be talking about - and I saw it in 2D. They've really gone to town on it. I look forward to seeing the fanart playing with some of the visual styles, with the mirroring, cogs, fractures etc. The acting is as good as you would expect from the names involved. However it is, for the most part, a bog standard character introduction film, so story-wise there's nothing hugely outstanding. I can see why some people compare it to Guardians because it does feel like they've gone for a solid, standalone entry with humour, but it's just not as funny, even if there amusing times. The special effects mostly makes up for it and I do like it as a film, although it's not one of my favourites.

I had a good chat with friends about the angle they've taken with Strange's character, Tilda Swinton has some amusing moments - I especially liked the 'not again' reaction to her packing a student off to Everest and leaving a potential student on the doorstep for five hours - but I think my favourites were Christine and Wong. On a diversity note: Swinton's character is pointedly Celtic, there's a mix of different races going on, we have only a few women but two are Ancient One Swinton and Saves People Christine... We could do with more ladies. I'm not in a position to be able to properly comment on race, other than I think this is a bit better in some ways, but more diversity is always good, let's do that please. We do get a disabied sorcerer, other than Strange, and who's not white, that's a plus, although we also get a 'magical healing' subplot for another disabled characters that's...problematic *sigh*, which really the whole idea of searching out mystical healing is anyway, but with the added you either use magic to heal yourself or do 'something more' with it? You can heal yourself with 'belief'? *side eyes film*. Unfortunately like with IM3 I don't know what Marvel is trying to say about disability but it's problematic. I do like the moment near the start when someone's pitching potential patients to Strange and one of them sounds like Rhodes. I have hopes for Rhodes being the kickass disabied hero represents!

The ending: I like it. We had a chat about Marvel and how they deal with collateral damange in comparison to other films and franchises, and once again Marvel go with the angle that preventing harm to others is the goal. That all people matter. And the time reversal with all the dead and injured, and the destruction, rolling back is a damn good visual statement. I also liked the trickery of the end solution, almost Peter Quill-ish in execution but less dance of ridiculous and more stubborn got you by the short and curlies. (As the expression goes.) Plus TIME STONE, HELLO. One more to go!

Overview verdict: good film, I enjoyed it, and I look forward to seeing the impact on the rest of the MCU (especially after the first after credit scene). Not the best Marvel film, but a solid entry. Would watch again. But not repeatedly at the cinema as I have done with some ;)

Edited 2016-11-08 09:50 pm (UTC)