Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” came out today, and I was able to catch an opening show last night.  This is your standard warning that this does include spoilers, so if you want to avoid that, stop reading now!

Let’s start with the special effects.  The visuals are stunning.  If you’ve seen the previews, that should be no surprise.  The best way I heard it was “Inception” on LSD.  The nice thing is that no matter how much is going on, it’s done in a way that you can still follow what is going on.

As for the story, although it’s a bit slow to get going (it is an origin story, after all), I really enjoyed it once things got going.  I found the good Doctor to be pretty obnoxious at the beginning, but I get that they had to build the character as an egotistical genius before his accident.  There were some pretty big jumps in time that you just had to accept, but overall I think this was handled well.

The biggest part I’ve been struggling with was toward the end.  In order to defeat his enemies, Strange goes to the Dark Dimension to bargain with Dormammu.  He essentially blackmails Dormammu into taking his enemies away.  After giving it some thought, I really enjoyed this.  Dr. Strange battles lots of enemies far more powerful than any human, and he has to use his intellect to find a way to beat them.  I think a lot of viewers who are used to the other Marvel Cinematic Universe films will be expecting a giant fight.  But Dr. Strange is no Thor, Iron Man or Captain America.  Which is a good thing.

I’m super glad that Marvel has brought Dr. Strange into the movie realm.  He will play a key role in the Avengers’ battle with Thanos, and I can’t wait.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie, and look forward to seeing more of him!

What did you think of “Doctor Strange”?  Leave your thoughts in the comments below.