View Poll Results: Doctor Strange (Scott Derrickson)

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    16 69.57%
  • Nay

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Thread: Doctor Strange (Scott Derrickson)

  1. #1
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    Doctor Strange (Scott Derrickson)

    Midnight Run (1988) - 9
    The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
    The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
    Sisters (1973) - 6.5
    Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5

  2. #2
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    Assorted thoughts:

    - Really middling origin story, which seems like it boringly rushes way fast past Strange's story nuance and characterization to get to the training montages (which are goofy in a good way, almost manga-like) and trippy, amazing visuals. At least those images force the action to be more focused, so the fight scenes are both eye-poppingly thrilling and dazzingly disorienting. I could almost come back for the visuals alone.

    - Tilda Swinton is so awesome. Her smile or sereneness rarely wavers, but for 90% of her screentime with Strange you can almost hear "I'm ancient, fuck you and your petty shit" going on in there. Her fixed expression, while impatiently rolling things in her hands, at waiting from Strange to finish one job has me laughing real hard.

    - Yeah, the conception of his character maybe forces Mads to be too typically villain stoic, although that does plays off really well with the Doctor's fluster in a few scenes.

    - Even if Rachel McAdams isn't utilized that much, I appreciate how her character's absence is integrated into the story. She has her own separate life saving people to be much concerned with Strange becoming a superhero (I loved the way she pauses before just dismissing magical stuff out of hand a couple of times, like "I'm too busy to be agape"), so she doesn't need to be a damsel in distress (and even subverts the trope one time).

    - As for the credit scenes, I will wait for you guys to see it, because they confused me in two different ways; the middle one has me wondering about the timeline of it in relation to[] story. And the last one confuses me if it's [] or some comic stuff I don't get.
    Midnight Run (1988) - 9
    The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
    The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
    Sisters (1973) - 6.5
    Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5

  3. #3
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    The usual ranking time!

    Captain America: Civil War (2016) - 8.5/10
    The Avengers (2012) - 8.5/10
    Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) - 8/10
    Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) - 8/10
    Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) - 7.5/10
    Thor (2011) - 7.5/10
    Iron Man 3 (2013) - 7.5/10
    Iron Man (2008) - 7.5/10
    Doctor Strange (2016) - 7/10
    Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - 7/10
    Iron Man 2 (2010) - 6.5/10
    Ant-Man (2015) - 6/10
    The Incredible Hulk (2008) - 6/10
    Thor: The Dark World (2013) - 5.5/10

    Hesitating a bit on whether to put Captain or Strange first. CA1's wonderful first half is better than Doctor Strange, but it ends so meh for me that, for now at least, I prefer the escalation of Strange's visuals throughout the film.
    Midnight Run (1988) - 9
    The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
    The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
    Sisters (1973) - 6.5
    Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5

  4. #4
    Moderator TGM's Avatar
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    So I thought this was just sort of okay. Very middle of the road Marvel fare, hitting all the usual tropes, and honestly playing it far safer than I was hoping it would, as it felt like we were walking on all too familiar ground with this movie. The movie also feels quite rushed, where as I would have loved to have spent more time really diving into all of the logistics of these powers and multiple universes and what have you.

    The action sequences also underwhelmed, as the movie never gets any more visually imaginative than what's shown in the trailers, and there's far too much sparks flashing at the screen, so much so that I can only imagine this movie being a nauseating experience to see in 3D.

    I would say that I really enjoyed the music here, particularly during the ending credits. And it was worth it just to see Benedict Cumberbatch's spot-on impersonation of House throughout.

    (And on a particularly nerdy note, I did enjoy how Doctor Strange went all Itachi during the last act. If any of you follow Naruto at all, you'll know what I mean. )

    Ranking the films...

    Guardians of the Galaxy
    Captain America: Civil War
    Iron Man 3
    The Avengers
    Captain America: The First Avenger
    Thor: The Dark World
    Iron Man
    Doctor Strange
    The Incredible Hulk
    Thor
    Avengers: Age of Ultron
    Captain America: The Winter Soldier
    Ant-Man
    Iron Man 2

  5. #5
    Moderator TGM's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Peng (view post)
    - As for the credit scenes, I will wait for you guys to see it, because they confused me in two different ways; the middle one has me wondering about the timeline of it in relation to[] story. And the last one confuses me if it's [] or some comic stuff I don't get.
    [
    ]

  6. #6
    In the belly of a whale Henry Gale's Avatar
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    A lot of the usual Marvel routine (Strange's arc is basically a hybrid of Thor's and Stark's ones from their first movies), but when it strays, it really strays in sublime and spectacular ways.

    I'm just gonna say there are some massive images in this that are among the most stunning I've ever seen from a film of this visual magnitude, and in its own class of ambition. I love just how much they kept out of the trailers. [
    ] No matter what you think of 3D, if you're seeing this, I think it should be compulsory to see this in the format. The imagery will look just fine in 2D, but the added depth pushes things into eternal plains and surreal, spiralling, dizzying dimensionality that I've never seen employed so consistently in a 3D movie before. At least one sequence is pure psychedelic bliss.

    Another thing is the humour feels almost a bit overplayed and sometimes awkwardly position, even if the material mostly fine in an of itself. I know it was rumoured that Dan Harmon was involved in some of the re-shoots for this, and I felt like from that description I can tell exactly which scenes those were, and it doesn't quite make sense as to why they felt they needed them.

    Bottom line: Liked it a bunch! Just as with Peng and TGM, it likely lands safely in the middle third of my MCU ranking.

    Credit tag thoughts: [
    ]
    Last 11 things I really enjoyed:

    Speed Racer (Wachowski/Wachowski, 2008)
    Safe (Haynes, 1995)
    South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Parker, 1999)
    Beastie Boys Story (Jonze, 2020)
    Bad Trip (Sakurai, 2020)
    What's Up Doc? (Bogdanovich, 1972)
    Diva (Beineix, 1981)
    Delicatessen (Caro/Jeunet, 1991)
    The Hunger (Scott, 1983)
    Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
    Chungking Express (Wong, 1994)

  7. #7
    Good. Cumberbatch is great.

  8. #8
    Replacing Luck Since 1984 Dukefrukem's Avatar
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    Cumberbatch was great. I can see why Marvel was courting him for so long. He is to Dr Strange as RDJ is to Stark in my eyes.

    I also felt like this was a really safe movie on the lines of Ant-Man. Safely setting up an origin story while showing some of the mystical arts. And super disappointing was the presence of Dormammu, almost as if they didn't know what to do with him. The biggest miss of all was basically just using the template of the Matrix and Harry Potter. I was expecting some kind of sparing session like we saw between Neo and Morpheus. There's a little bit of that, but it does feel a bit rushed.

    Middle Credits scene takes place after Thor 2 after Doctor Strange and before Thor 3. Very simple, at the end of Thor 2 Odin is missing, so they're looking for him.

    And I don't know what was so confusing about the last after credit scene. Mordo is historically Dr Strange's arch rival. So it was setting up Mordo turning into a baddie.

    There was a nice Easter egg alluding to Rhode's accident from Civil War. Anyone catch it?

    Exiting the theater, my father told me this was his favorite MCU movie, and yes, I've brought him to all of them. I turned the MCU movie releases into a family event.

    My rankings:

    1. Captain America: Civil War 9/10
    2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier 9/10
    3. The Avengers 9/10
    4. Guardians of the Galaxy 9/10
    5. Doctor Strange 8/10
    6. Ant-Man 8/10
    7. Avengers: Age of Ultron 8/10
    8. Iron Man 7/10
    9. Iron Man 3 7/10
    10. Captain America: The First Avenger 7/10
    11. Thor 6/10
    12. Iron Man 2 5/10
    13. The Incredible Hulk 5/10
    14. Thor: The Dark World 4/10
    Last edited by Dukefrukem; 11-04-2016 at 01:19 PM.
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    Quote Quoting D_Davis (view post)
    Uwe Boll movies > all Marvel U movies
    Quote Quoting TGM (view post)
    I work in grocery. I have not gotten sick. My fellow employees have not gotten sick. If the virus were even remotely as contagious as its being presented as, why haven’t entire store staffs who come into contact with hundreds of people per day, thousands per week, all falling ill in mass nationwide?

  9. #9
    Replacing Luck Since 1984 Dukefrukem's Avatar
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    This is guy Marvel hired to do all the spell choreography.


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    Quote Quoting D_Davis (view post)
    Uwe Boll movies > all Marvel U movies
    Quote Quoting TGM (view post)
    I work in grocery. I have not gotten sick. My fellow employees have not gotten sick. If the virus were even remotely as contagious as its being presented as, why haven’t entire store staffs who come into contact with hundreds of people per day, thousands per week, all falling ill in mass nationwide?

  10. #10
    Moderator TGM's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Dukefrukem (view post)
    And I don't know what was so confusing about the last after credit scene. Mordo is historically Dr Strange's arch rival. So it was setting up Mordo turning into a baddie.
    As someone who doesn't follow the Doctor Strange comics, that's precisely what was confusing about it. It was a stark and sudden 180 turn for the character, which felt like it came out of nowhere. Hell, even when he leaves Strange at the end of the movie it feels sudden. I'd say that, like much of the film, his turn was very rushed, as well as very sloppily handled, as I really didn't buy it, given the way the character otherwise acts throughout the entire rest of the film.

  11. #11
    Moderator TGM's Avatar
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    The majority of my audience also left during the credits again last night. I'm honestly thinking at this point that the masses just really don't care about these post-credits scenes anymore.

  12. #12
    In the belly of a whale Henry Gale's Avatar
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    I largely enjoyed Giacchino's score for this (and the new Marvel Studios fanfare he did for them), but man, his triumphant anthem for Strange's character sounds so much like his main Star Trek one that it got distracting every time I heard it. It starts almost identically so I'd be subconsciously humming it and then get thrown when the melody took a left turn before seemingly going right back. (Example: About 4:23 in the piece "Astral Worlds Worst Killer" on the soundtrack. Spotify link.)

    And since it's been a semi-hot topic of online video-essayed discussion lately, I'll just say this is easily one of the most diverse and distinct in the Marvel canon.

    Quote Quoting TGM (view post)
    The majority of my audience also left during the credits again last night. I'm honestly thinking at this point that the masses just really don't care about these post-credits scenes anymore.
    One of my friends had to go to the bathroom right when the credits started and missed the first tag. When he got back he said "Ah ok, I'll just watch it online." and stayed for the other because we were. I feel like that's the general attitude for most audiences. Plus it's already been out in most of the rest of the world for over a week, so it's not a stretch to imagine it's already out there.
    Last edited by Henry Gale; 11-04-2016 at 08:54 PM.
    Last 11 things I really enjoyed:

    Speed Racer (Wachowski/Wachowski, 2008)
    Safe (Haynes, 1995)
    South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Parker, 1999)
    Beastie Boys Story (Jonze, 2020)
    Bad Trip (Sakurai, 2020)
    What's Up Doc? (Bogdanovich, 1972)
    Diva (Beineix, 1981)
    Delicatessen (Caro/Jeunet, 1991)
    The Hunger (Scott, 1983)
    Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
    Chungking Express (Wong, 1994)

  13. #13
    Replacing Luck Since 1984 Dukefrukem's Avatar
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    No one left during my viewing. People loved hanging out and waiting.
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    Quote Quoting D_Davis (view post)
    Uwe Boll movies > all Marvel U movies
    Quote Quoting TGM (view post)
    I work in grocery. I have not gotten sick. My fellow employees have not gotten sick. If the virus were even remotely as contagious as its being presented as, why haven’t entire store staffs who come into contact with hundreds of people per day, thousands per week, all falling ill in mass nationwide?

  14. #14
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    I think this has my favorite tie-in to other MCU films, in term of being seamless and nonintrusive, which is that one of the multiverse Strange falls into on his first trip is the same as Antman's climatic one.
    Midnight Run (1988) - 9
    The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
    The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
    Sisters (1973) - 6.5
    Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5

  15. #15
    I enjoyed the hell out of this. I thought the trailers for this looked super silly and wasn't in a rush to see it but that opening scene really snagged me. I'm sure I'm over-generalizing but I feel like this is the first time that the big budget special effects for these super hero movies were actually worthwhile since they were used for some truly inventive imagery and action sequences. It felt genuinely different from the Avengers line of Marvel output even if it recycled the same formula. And thank god it had a sense of humor.

    I admit to also being a bit baffled by the final after credit sequence. I had to have it explained to me why such a character turn would occur based on the source material.

    And I don't know how Strange goes from being a trainee to being a master based primarily on one battle sequence in which a cape does half his fighting for him. But even if that middle part was rushed I was glad it spent longer in the beginning establishing Strange's commitment to his neurosurgical life such that giving it up would feel genuinely like character growth.

  16. #16
    Moderator Dead & Messed Up's Avatar
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    Welp... it was Marvel.

    I'd be inclined to boost this one a leetle more than others, due to the trippy psychedelics and nods toward fatalism (characters commenting on indifferent universes that will suffer heat death), and the strong work from Tilda Swinton and Benedict Wong. Cumberbatch is fine but never really surprised me, and it felt a lot like watching the first Iron Man at times. Part of the issue is that the flick has to cover so much ground, and crucial story like Strange developing his powers is abbreviated with the explanation that he was "born for this," which completely goes against the point of the movie (that Strange needs to realize he's not the most special person in the room). Mikkelson and McAdams and Bratt deserved so much more attention.

    There's also a really weird thing here, and this is certainly nitpicky in the scope of things and won't bother most, and I wonder if this is common to all Marvel films, but I noticed that so much of the coverage shot for this film was unimaginative, with shallow depth of field, shoulder-mounted mediums, and basic lighting. When the film decides to pull back, Derrickson and co. manage to stage some impressive visual moments (my favorite are the Ditko-loving vistas of the Underverse or whatever it was called), but even a lot of the hand-to-hand-action (and at least one crucial chase scene through a twisting New York) also feature that sort of anonymous shooting style. It's weird coming from Derrickson, who showed reasonable command of his visuals in movies like The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Sinister.

    The best thing about the movie is how it uses that sense of fatalism and psychedelia during its final confrontation with [
    ]

    So, yeah, Marvel. And I can never seem to write about Marvel without some backhanded bullshit, so I'll close as uncynically as I can by saying that this is a fun film that you are likely to enjoy.

  17. #17
    In the belly of a whale Henry Gale's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Peng (view post)
    I think this has my favorite tie-in to other MCU films, in term of being seamless and nonintrusive, which is that one of the multiverse Strange falls into on his first trip is the same as Antman's climatic one.
    Liked this a lot, but also loved this whole sequence. There was also some definite Thor realm hopping pieces on display in there.

    EDIT: I also don't disagree with anything either of you said, amber and DaMU. I think it's completely awesome while somehow failing to be essential. It's not without its thin, transparent structural support beams (with Marvel Studios' name embossed as the manufacturer), but it's almost impressive how far Feige & co. are able to stack a tower this formula and lively entertain with ease rather than grimly bludgeon with redundancy.

    Obviously credit to the screenwriters and Derrickson's direction (all the way back to the self-produced portfolio presentation he described that used to lobby for the job) for being variables in here as any creative team might be between projects, but the core recipe is there and it works. Change the ingredients and type of cuisine here and there (Today our special is a political thriller. Or maybe you would prefer the psychedelic sorcerer story?), but the feel of the stories and the reputation of the name remain. I'm totally fine with them doing what we might broadly expect, because at this point it's hard to deny its effectiveness despite itself.
    Last edited by Henry Gale; 11-05-2016 at 07:20 AM.
    Last 11 things I really enjoyed:

    Speed Racer (Wachowski/Wachowski, 2008)
    Safe (Haynes, 1995)
    South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Parker, 1999)
    Beastie Boys Story (Jonze, 2020)
    Bad Trip (Sakurai, 2020)
    What's Up Doc? (Bogdanovich, 1972)
    Diva (Beineix, 1981)
    Delicatessen (Caro/Jeunet, 1991)
    The Hunger (Scott, 1983)
    Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
    Chungking Express (Wong, 1994)

  18. #18
    Second star to the right [ETM]'s Avatar
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    I loved how the final confrontation was basically what another Doctor does on a regular basis. It was so Whovian that it gave me a huge grin all the way.

    And agreed on 3D - I can't imagine seeing this for the first time in 2D.

  19. #19
    It's another Marvel movie, lumpen (the humor for example feels like it is randomly injected at certain points, rather than organically arising from the situation) and buffed clean of anything really ambitious or challenging. And holy monologue city. Meh. Better than Iron Man 2, Thor, Avengers 2, and The Incredible Hulk, not much else. Only the action scene at the end makes much of an impression, and it is all to do with the concept rather than anything to do with the camerawork or staging.
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  20. #20
    Second star to the right [ETM]'s Avatar
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    Wow, that reads like an endorsement coming from you, trans.

  21. #21
    Since 1929 Morris Schæffer's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting [ETM] (view post)
    I loved how the final confrontation was basically what another Doctor does on a regular basis. It was so Whovian that it gave me a huge grin all the way.

    And agreed on 3D - I can't imagine seeing this for the first time in 2D.
    That's good to know. Got my 3D ticket for tonight.
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  22. #22
    Piss off, ghost! number8's Avatar
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    I cant believe I didn't consider this before seeing this, but I think this might be Marvel's first bit of stunt casting. I realized that Strange's jump from skeptic to believer is really effective despite the rushed arc, because we're familiar with Cumberbatch as someone who's typecast as intensely logical men of science. Watching Strange's conversion to me parallels watching Cumbsy break out of that mold.
    Quote Quoting Donald Glover
    I was actually just reading about Matt Damon and he’s like, ‘There’s a culture of outrage.’ I’m like, ‘Well, they have a reason to be outraged.’ I think it’s a lot of dudes just being scared. They’re like, ‘What if I did something and I didn’t realize it?’ I’m like, ‘Deal with it.’
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  23. #23
    Piss off, ghost! number8's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Henry Gale (view post)
    I largely enjoyed Giacchino's score for this (and the new Marvel Studios fanfare he did for them), but man, his triumphant anthem for Strange's character sounds so much like his main Star Trek one that it got distracting every time I heard it. It starts almost identically so I'd be subconsciously humming it and then get thrown when the melody took a left turn before seemingly going right back. (Example: About 4:23 in the piece "Astral Worlds Worst Killer" on the soundtrack. Spotify link.)

    And since it's been a semi-hot topic of online video-essayed discussion lately, I'll just say this is easily one of the most diverse and distinct in the Marvel canon.
    Glad someone else noticed this. It was driving me nuts for most of the movie because it was so familiar but I couldn't remember what. I was on my way to lunch after the movie when I suddenly just blurted out "Star Trek!" in the middle of crossing the street.

    I like the 60s rock version in the end credits a lot though.
    Quote Quoting Donald Glover
    I was actually just reading about Matt Damon and he’s like, ‘There’s a culture of outrage.’ I’m like, ‘Well, they have a reason to be outraged.’ I think it’s a lot of dudes just being scared. They’re like, ‘What if I did something and I didn’t realize it?’ I’m like, ‘Deal with it.’
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  24. #24
    Piss off, ghost! number8's Avatar
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    Oh and I don't know how intentional this is, but it's hilarious that the climactic fight in this movie is [
    ]
    Quote Quoting Donald Glover
    I was actually just reading about Matt Damon and he’s like, ‘There’s a culture of outrage.’ I’m like, ‘Well, they have a reason to be outraged.’ I think it’s a lot of dudes just being scared. They’re like, ‘What if I did something and I didn’t realize it?’ I’m like, ‘Deal with it.’
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  25. #25
    Moderator Dead & Messed Up's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting number8 (view post)
    Oh and I don't know how intentional this is, but it's hilarious that the climactic fight in this movie is [
    ]
    Word of God is that it's very intentional.

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