DOCTOR STRANGE

Before I begin I must tell you that if you're going to see this movie you MUST see it in IMAX 3D. Tonight I just saw it in a standard theater, but that's changing tomorrow. Even if I had seen it on the IMAX I'm still seeing it tomorrow. Yes, it's going to be one of those posts/reviews!

DOCTOR STRANGE is my favorite comic book movie of 2016! It's debatable the movie might be my favorite comic book movie of all time! Now, I don't wanna get carried away so I'll give the film some days if not weeks to brew in my head before I make a statement like that legit. But there is a sequence toward the end of the film that is the best live action comic book I have ever seen. Ever!

My knowledge of the Doctor Strange character is very limited but I know enough that the film seemed very faithful to the source material. To be fair this is Marvel Studios we're talking about, they know how to do it right! To prepare for the movie I had been reading the new series for about a year (12 issues and a couple one-shots), and I was surprised at how much I picked up on. If I was able to notice a few easter eggs, then fans shouldn't have a problem finding tons more I'd imagine!

The only thing I dreaded about seeing DOCTOR STRANGE was the chore of sitting through another origin story. Can I just wait and see DOCTOR STRANGE 2? But like it or not origin films are necessary. I really believe Steven Strange is going to play a vital role in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR. And for us the audience to buy into what he can do with his powers, they need to start at the beginning. Showing up to save the day in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR without a proper introduction can't cut it these days.

Doctor Steven Strange is one of the best Neurosurgeons in the country, maybe the world. After a horrific car accident leaving his hands practically useless, Steven searches for a miracle procedure, but no surgeon on Earth will take the risk. One day a physical therapist tells him about a patient far worse than him who got better because he didn't give up hope.

Steven meets the patient who then tells him he must go to Nepal if he wants to be healed. Reluctant at first, Steven goes anyway. There he meets the Ancient One, who tells Steven about healing and his greater purpose if he so desires to choose it. After an astral out-of-body experience and trips to several multiverses, Steven Strange wants to know more. All of it in fact. And thus Doctor Strange is born.

Good thing Steven is a fast learner because as soon as he learns some of the mystic arts, he's reluctantly defending one of the three Sanctum Sanctorum's from Kaecilius, a evil Sorcerer Supreme hell bent on destorying Earth.

DOCTOR STRANGE is your standard origin comic book film. But there are enough interesting distractions that make you forget it is a standard origin movie. I actually found myself wanting more scenes of Strange learning the mystic arts. It's so good! My favorite is a shot of him sleeping while his astral body is hovering bedside reading a book.

I still have lots and lots to say, but I wanna give people a chance to see it. And I want to see it a few more times as well! I'll try my best and share more thoughts at the end of the year.

In conclusion, I highly recommend DOCTOR STRANGE. It's my favorite comic book movie of 2016 I have no doubt. And in all seriousness I can't believe we even got a Doctor Strange film to begin with? What will they give us next? Thank you Marvel Studios! If they keep making them I'll keep saying “Make mine Marvel”!