By Tyler Chavez – News Editor

The bullet train that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe has shown no signs of slowing down for the past eight years. As it enters Phase 3, the movie giant introduces a new character in “Doctor Strange”. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch (“Sherlock”, “The Imitation Game”, “Star Trek Into Darkness”) Rachel McAdams (“True Detective”, “Sherlock”, “Mean Girls”) and Tilda Swinton (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, and “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”), the movie tells the story of Doctor Stephen Strange who goes to Tibet for special healing after a car accident destroys his medical career. Does “Doctor Strange” keep the Marvel momentum strong, or is it Marvel’s first bump in the road?

Doctor Strange has always been an interesting comic book character because of his surrealness. The comics have always featured weird, cosmic magic with powers such as bending time, space, and reality itself. Director Scott Derrickson brings this to the big screen by utilizing amazing special effects and fun camera tricks. Many of fans of “Inception” will remember the fight scene in the twisted hallway. “Doctor Strange” brings this back and uses it in multiple fight scenes. It never feels gimmicky or a cheap way to advertise 3D movies; it works and is fun to watch. It’s great to see how the characters utilize their environment to their advantage, especially at the end of the film when the heroes are fighting in a city where time is literally moving backwards. The choreography of fighting while also avoiding a series of disasters going backwards is an eye-joy. The mirror dimension is another great example of the effects in this movie. Here, characters warp the whole dimension to their will, twisting entire buildings to their advantage. The movie knows that it’s in a magical world and properly utilizes it. It has fun with magic and makes the film more engaging to watch.

That said, special effects are nothing if there are no interesting characters running through them, and luckily “Doctor Strange” has that…to an extent. While the antagonist, played by “Hannibal” actor Mads Mikkelsen, is nothing to write home about, the cast of protagonists is well balanced and good enough to grasp the audience’s interest. For example, Tilda Swinton plays The Ancient One, a sorceress of great power but who is also surrounded in mystery. The relationship between her and Doctor Strange is not a straightforward master-pupil relationship; Strange continuously questions her and goes outside the lines to advance his magic learning. This is all capped of by a moral conflict with Mordo, another pupil of The Ancient One played by Chiwetel Ejiofor of “Twelve Years a Slave”. Mordo, in contrast, does not question The Ancient One and instead ridicules Strange for not properly being a sorcerer. But he is not a blind follower who is in the wrong. He has his own morals and reasons for doing what he does. He easily has the most interesting character arc which will be great to see in the sequel.

Unfortunately, the antagonist in the film is very weak. He follows a simple “I want more power but my teacher won’t let me” arc that is weak and does not make him interesting in the slightest. The most he adds is by summoning a more cosmic antagonist, Dormammu, who, while also not very interesting, is fun to watch being fought in a clever way and who may pop back up in future Marvel films. An action movie is only as good as its antagonists, but “Doctor Strange” lacks in this department. While having a cosmic antagonist like Dormammu is not a bad idea, the way he is set up by a boring, uninteresting pupil gone power-hungry is weak. The truth is, “Doctor Strange” doesn’t need a villain like Mikkelsen’s. The movie could focus on world building and exploring magic while also presenting the threat of Dormammu.

While the movie may look pretty and the characters are decently interesting, “Doctor Strange” falls victim to a case of horrible pacing. The movie rushes through the first act so much that viewers can’t tell if Stephen Strange is supposed to be a suave, charismatic jerk like Tony Stark, or just a vain jerk. Since the first act rushes so much, it comes off as the latter. Within 10 minutes, Strange is involved in an accident on his way to some vague dinner, but but viewers will likely not feel bad for Strange. This pacing causes Strange’s relationship with McAdams’ character, Christine, to be rushed and handled poorly. In fact, McAdams essentially gets pushed aside for most of the film. This continues into the later acts.

Here’s the thing: “Doctor Strange” does not need to be an action movie. What makes Doctor Strange great as a character is that his world is filled with such wonder and amazing magic, but the film does not take much time to appreciate this. The sanctuary where Strange studies magic is filled with students from all over the world and with amazing artifacts, but the movie never takes time to explore this world and instead focuses on this lazy villain who, honestly, just sort of disappears for the second act, which just so happens to be the best one. There can still be amazing action and fighting scenes as Strange explores the mirror dimension and the extent of his powers, but the movie doesn’t need a rushed villain who viewers will probably never see again. The world of “Doctor Strange” is like Marvel’s little own Hogwarts, and its strongest parts is when the movie goes through this world, but it rushes through things like a bad museum tour guide.

In general, “Doctor Strange” feels very similar to Marvel films like “Iron Man” and “Thor.” Its main purpose is to introduce a character and his world, but it really doesn’t have to be like this. Doctor Strange has always been a different character from the other superheroes, so it’s disappointing that his film doesn’t follow suit. It will be very exciting to see Strange bring his cosmic, almost god-like powers to fight alongside the rest of the Avengers, but his first appearance on screen leaves something to be desired. Marvel could have spent the film setting up Strange’s background and world without the use of an uninteresting villain.

The best way to describe “Doctor Strange” is as eye-candy. It’s fun to watch the magical special effects and it’s fun to watch the characters run through the world. But this magical world is weighed down by horrible pacing to get to weak villain. It’s not a bad movie, but when the only enjoyable parts of a movie is when viewers are distracted by cool effects and camera angles, there’s something missing from the film. There can be amazing special effects and magic without the fights; it’s just that the fights we are given are the only times we can appreciate the magic. Fans will look forward to seeing Doctor Strange bring his magic touch to future Marvel movies, but they will hope that the next time they see Strange in a standalone film, it will be a stronger movie.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars