It's official. Benedict Cumberbatch is Strange. The Doctor.

[red snow]

1 hour ago, BigFatCoward said:

7.5, right in the middle of the pack of MCU.  

Terrible american accent to my ears, special effects were pretty f'ing awesome, but story seemed utterly nonsensical 'we have 3 sites around the globe that are critical to save the world' 'how many guards should we put at each?' 'not many should do the trick'.

Are said 3 sites conveniently located in territories important to ticket sales outside the USA?

[mormont]

3 minutes ago, red snow said:

Are said 3 sites conveniently located in territories important to ticket sales outside the USA?

No, because one of them's in the USA. The others are London and Hong Kong, so... yes.

[Maltaran]

 

2 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

7.5, right in the middle of the pack of MCU. 

Middle of the pack would be my assessment too, it was enjoyable entertainment (and one of the few Marvel films where the effects are worth the extra cost of watching in 3D), but not one of their greats.

Spoiler-tagging some thoughts since the Americans don't get it till next week

Marvel are still having problems creating memorable villains who aren't named Loki. Mikkelsen put in a good performance with what he was given, but he's still a generic evil wizard.

The ending was very similar to that Doctor Who episode last year (although given the production time for a film like this I assume both writers came up with it independently).

Mordo seems to me like a Lawful Good D&D character who gets upset by the methods of his Chaotic Good teammates and starts focusing more on the Lawful part of his alignment.

And in the mid-credits scene, Chris Hemsworth's face when the beer glass refills is hilarious.

[red snow]

2 hours ago, mormont said:

No, because one of them's in the USA. The others are London and Hong Kong, so... yes.

of course - I should have realised one of them had to be in the US. Pretty marketable locations those mystic hot spots happen to be in.

[RumHam]

I liked it more than I expected to.

The sentient cloak was a little much I thought. Was the potential patient who got a spinal injury in some kinda mechanical suit supposed to be James Rhodes? I wasn't sure. Also is the male doctor played by Micheal Stuhlbarg a comic character? he's a great actor I'd love for him to show up in any sequels in a larger role. I'm glad to know Strange will be in Thor, and it's interesting that Thor and Loki seem to be working together and on Earth. I wonder if Banner is with them or if this all happens before the Planet Hulk inspired stuff.

I do think they should have set the origin story years back, due to his mention as a threat to Hydra in Winter Soldier. It really makes no sense why they would fear an especially gifted surgeon. Plus then he'd have trained for years instead of just months before rising to such a prominent position in the cult. 

[polishgenius]

9 hours ago, red snow said:

of course - I should have realised one of them had to be in the US. Pretty marketable locations those mystic hot spots happen to be in.

To be fair the New York one is part of the Strange canon (not as part of a shield network, but the Sanctum Sanctorum).

I wish sometimes that Stan Lee had had more imagination about where he based his heroes.

[red snow]

1 hour ago, polishgenius said:

To be fair the New York one is part of the Strange canon (not as part of a shield network, but the Sanctum Sanctorum).

I wish sometimes that Stan Lee had had more imagination about where he based his heroes.

I guess at the time he maybe thought he was making NY comics for NY readers mainly? I suppose it's easier to fact check on the city you live in pre-internet too. It's true comic creators at the time tended to create cities/countries if they weren't New York.

[Liffguard]

6 hours ago, RumHam said:

I liked it more than I expected to.

 

  Hide contents

Was the potential patient who got a spinal injury in some kinda mechanical suit supposed to be James Rhodes? I wasn't sure.

 

 

Spoiler

I think it was supposed to be the guy in the Hammer suit who got twisted in half in Iron Man 2.

 

 

[The Anti-Targ]

On 30/10/2016 at 7:26 AM, BigFatCoward said:

7.5, right in the middle of the pack of MCU.  

Terrible american accent to my ears, special effects were pretty f'ing awesome, but story seemed utterly nonsensical 'we have 3 sites around the globe that are critical to save the world' 'how many guards should we put at each?' 'not many should do the trick'.

I concur, though crappy American accent gets a pass from me as my ears are not so finely attuned for US accent quality. Still, I think they could have let benny stick to his native accent, though maybe the downside to that would be people thinking of Sherlock Holmes every time he spoke.

I saw it in 3D, which I usually notice for about the first 5 or 10 minutes of a movie and then my eyes/mind adjusts and my perception becomes more like 2.25D, and when the big action set pieces roll around the whole 3D nonsense does nothing for me. At least it doesn't give me headaches. So a waste of a few dollars, but it was the only session I could get to for the time we wanted to see it.

Overseas opening weekend (in about 50% of the overseas markets) was $86 million. Looks like we have another winner on our hands. The only question is how close to $1 billion will it get. I think as a largely unknown character it will fall a fair bit short, but it should crack $700 million.

[williamjm]

I thought it was a fun film, not one of the best Marvel films but I think comfortably in the middle of the pack. I think it was maybe one of the weaker films in terms of characterisation, Strange himself is fine (although maybe not the most compelling of characters) and Ejiofor does a good job but the Ancient One is enigmatic and yet again they've wasted a great actor on a dull villain. I liked Cumberbatch in the main role, although he's maybe getting a bit typecast as a misanthropic genius. Aside from the switch of genre the story seemed a fairly standard Marvel Origin story, although I thought the ending was more interesting than the typical hero-and-villain-punching-each-other ending that we often get. I thought they did a good job of portraying the magic and some of the scenes were genuinely spectacular, they even sometimes managed to make the 3D add something to the visuals, which is rare. The usual Marvel humour was present here, it's probably not one of the funniest Marvel films but it had some good moments.

but story seemed utterly nonsensical 'we have 3 sites around the globe that are critical to save the world' 'how many guards should we put at each?' 'not many should do the trick'.

It did seem a bit silly that they only seemed to muster a large group to defend the final site in Hong Kong (not that any of them appeared to do anything useful other than Benedict Wong). New York in particular seemed to be guarded by a single wizard with a magic stick.

[Wrl6199]

Just now, williamjm said:

I thought it was a fun film, not one of the best Marvel films but I think comfortably in the middle of the pack. I think it was maybe one of the weaker films in terms of characterisation, Strange himself is fine (although maybe not the most compelling of characters) and Ejiofor does a good job but the Ancient One is enigmatic and yet again they've wasted a great actor on a dull villain. I liked Cumberbatch in the main role, although he's maybe getting a bit typecast as a misanthropic genius. Aside from the switch of genre the story seemed a fairly standard Marvel Origin story, although I thought the ending was more interesting than the typical hero-and-villain-punching-each-other ending that we often get. I thought they did a good job of portraying the magic and some of the scenes were genuinely spectacular, they even sometimes managed to make the 3D add something to the visuals, which is rare. The usual Marvel humour was present here, it's probably not one of the funniest Marvel films but it had some good moments.

Wait are you saying that you've seen the doctor strange film? dint it only come out in Hong Kong? Or did they release the film in the UK. Anyways I have heard that the film got good reviews. But too be honest I really haven't been reading that much into the movie. In fact I dint really even read doctor strange. But tats a shame that its one of the weaker films within characterisation. I agree that ever sense Sherlock he has been playing the role. Though hes pretty good at it i still think it would be good to see him go out and play some different types of roles. Oh wait I remember that controversy about how originally the ancient one was Asian and guy but instead they decided to cast a white woman. Certainly an interesting decision. But reading about it I might see it later maybe. I dint know about it theaters but you never know. Might rent it on amazon.

[williamjm]

Just now, Wrl6199 said:

Wait are you saying that you've seen the doctor strange film? dint it only come out in Hong Kong? Or did they release the film in the UK.

Yes, this is the film's opening weekend in the UK. There have been a few times recently when we've got Hollywood blockbusters a week or two before the US release.

[Wrl6199]

5 minutes ago, williamjm said:

Yes, this is the film's opening weekend in the UK. There have been a few times recently when we've got Hollywood blockbusters a week or two before the US release.

Oh tats cool.

[RumHam]

14 hours ago, Liffguard said:

 

  Hide contents

I think it was supposed to be the guy in the Hammer suit who got twisted in half in Iron Man 2.

 

 

Oh, I don't even remember that guy. Probably because Iron Man 2 as a whole was so forgettable. But yeah I can't remember the line but something about the wording made me doubt it was Rhodey.

2 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

I concur, though crappy American accent gets a pass from me as my ears are not so finely attuned for US accent quality.

To me he sounds very similar to Hugh Laurie doing an american accent, and I don't think I've ever actually heard an american sound quite like that. Laurie's never bothered me, but I always thought it was very distinctive.

I liked Mads as the villain, but then I just really like him as an actor in general. I like that he wasn't really all that evil, just misguided. I think he had an interesting motivation and just wasn't given enough screentime. 

They really need to mix things up a bit and do a movie from the villain's perspective and just have whatever hero show up a few times to thwart him. 

 

[The Anti-Targ]

11 minutes ago, RumHam said:

Oh, I don't even remember that guy. Probably because Iron Man 2 as a whole was so forgettable. But yeah I can't remember the line but something about the wording made me doubt it was Rhodey.

To me he sounds very similar to Hugh Laurie doing an american accent, and I don't think I've ever actually heard an american sound quite like that. Laurie's never bothered me, but I always thought it was very distinctive.

I liked Mads as the villain, but then I just really like him as an actor in general. I like that he wasn't really all that evil, just misguided. I think he had an interesting motivation and just wasn't given enough screentime. 

They really need to mix things up a bit and do a movie from the villain's perspective and just have whatever hero show up a few times to thwart him. 

 

Dunno about from the Villain's perspective, but certainly some more backstory for the Villain in Act 1, rather than Mads' character just starting out as the Villain, how about we see 5-7 minutes of Mads going from star pupil to disillusioned rebel? It is quite telling that in the course of the movie we see 2 people who were highly regarded int he ranks of the Ancient One reject the Ancient One and turn against her.

Best villain establishment in contemporary super hero movies is Green Goblin in Toby Maguire Spidey 1? Willem Dafoe was in the move for quite a bit of time as not-the Green Goblin.

Did they fail in the set up for the Villain by diverting from the original story where Mordo helps train Strange and then goes bad, and went for the pre-baked Villain instead, giving us Mordo for a sequel? This was a significant departure from the animated Dr Strange movie, and perhaps the pre-baked villain was partly motivated by wanting to differentiate from the animated version, since they both tell largely the same tale.

[Wrl6199]

19 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

Dunno about from the Villain's perspective, but certainly some more backstory for the Villain in Act 1, rather than Mads' character just starting out as the Villain, how about we see 5-7 minutes of Mads going from star pupil to disillusioned rebel? It is quite telling that in the course of the movie we see 2 people who were highly regarded int he ranks of the Ancient One reject the Ancient One and turn against her.

Best villain establishment in contemporary super hero movies is Green Goblin in Toby Maguire Spidey 1? Willem Dafoe was in the move for quite a bit of time as not-the Green Goblin.

Did they fail in the set up for the Villain by diverting from the original story where Mordo helps train Strange and then goes bad, and went for the pre-baked Villain instead, giving us Mordo for a sequel? This was a significant departure from the animated Dr Strange movie, and perhaps the pre-baked villain was partly motivated by wanting to differentiate from the animated version, since they both tell largely the same tale.

Wait there was a animated doctor strange movie? Huh. Are you referring to 

Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme. I like how on this website when you copy something it changes your entire format.

[The Anti-Targ]

6 hours ago, Wrl6199 said:

Wait there was a animated doctor strange movie? Huh. Are you referring to 

Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme. I like how on this website when you copy something it changes your entire format.

No it's just called 'Dr Strange' I watched it on Netflix a couple of weeks ago.

[felice]

On 30/10/2016 at 7:26 AM, BigFatCoward said:

'we have 3 sites around the globe that are critical to save the world' 'how many guards should we put at each?' 'not many should do the trick'.

I assume there just aren't that many of them, and they have other things to do on top of sitting around guarding the sites. Non-sorcerer guards would probably be useless against anything capable of challenging a sorcerer, and a surprise attack by a whole team of rogue sorcerers with extra dark dimension powers on top of regular sorcery would be a threat beyond what they are capable of maintaining constant readiness for. Once they have reason to expect an attack on a specific target (Hong Kong), they put their full strength into preparing a defence.

[RumHam]

If we're nitpicking 

The movie seemed to suggest that the Ancient one / Sorcerer supreme has lead the defense against threats from other dimensions for untold years. Also, they have a sanctum in New York. So ok, they didn't interfere during the events of

The Avengers or in any of the previous movie plots because those were threats from within this universe, right?. But then Loki is on Strange's list of threats (I forget the exact wording.)

Add to that the fact that Thor is surprised that "Earth has wizards now." The film suggests that earth has had wizards for a long time. Also there's a mention of Steven Strange in Winter Soldier that makes no sense. I just feel like they could have done a better job integrating this one into the larger universe.

As I suggested earlier, they could have set the first 1/3 of the movie like ten years earlier. This would fix the Winter Soldier error, and remove the "Hero was there for less than a years and is now their savior" thing. Plus that would give a chance for more Kaellecus development, as his time at the sanctum(s) would overlap with Strange's. There are lots of ways that relationship could be written. 

In the meantime there's no reason they couldn't include scenes of the orders's response to Loki's attack or the events of Thor 2 in London. I'd suggest that the Ancient One's response was "we don't get involved" and then Strange changed that. 

But if they did get involved, a quick montage of The Ancient One, Strange, Mordo, Wong and/or Kaellecus defending the sanctum from Chituari would have been neat. 

[Bastard of Boston]

On 11/2/2016 at 8:02 PM, RumHam said:

If we're nitpicking 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

The movie seemed to suggest that the Ancient one / Sorcerer supreme has lead the defense against threats from other dimensions for untold years. Also, they have a sanctum in New York. So ok, they didn't interfere during the events of

The Avengers or in any of the previous movie plots because those were threats from within this universe, right?. But then Loki is on Strange's list of threats (I forget the exact wording.)

Add to that the fact that Thor is surprised that "Earth has wizards now." The film suggests that earth has had wizards for a long time. Also there's a mention of Steven Strange in Winter Soldier that makes no sense. I just feel like they could have done a better job integrating this one into the larger universe.

As I suggested earlier, they could have set the first 1/3 of the movie like ten years earlier. This would fix the Winter Soldier error, and remove the "Hero was there for less than a years and is now their savior" thing. Plus that would give a chance for more Kaellecus development, as his time at the sanctum(s) would overlap with Strange's. There are lots of ways that relationship could be written. 

In the meantime there's no reason they couldn't include scenes of the orders's response to Loki's attack or the events of Thor 2 in London. I'd suggest that the Ancient One's response was "we don't get involved" and then Strange changed that. 

But if they did get involved, a quick montage of The Ancient One, Strange, Mordo, Wong and/or Kaellecus defending the sanctum from Chituari would have been neat. 

 

 

Yeah, I think this is nitpicking...

Spoiler

The events of the Avengers films, you can argue, were not universal threats. Those threats did not affect the fabric of the space/time continuum. It was ultimately Loki attempting to take over Earth. Moreover, the Ancient One can see the future...she saw her own demise. You can easily argue she knew the Avengers would win and it was not prudent for her to reveal herself or her Order.

Loki was on Strange's list probably because it was his list. Strange did not take over the mantle of Ancient One. He is still, for all intents and purposes, a free agent. He can develop his own mission statement. Moreover, he doesn't have the Ancient One's ability to see/know all.

In addition, why would Thor know Earth had wizards? He didn't visit Earth until the first Thor film, and he's not the brightest bulb. As far as Thor knew, Earth was home to primitives and their mundane sciences. He's not an authority.

Strange appearing on the list in Winter Soldier doesn't mean he was magical Doctor Strange at that point. That list was a list of highly influential/powerful people, or people who would become powerful and influential. Strange was a world-class surgeon. No reason why he wouldn't have been deemed a threat, even before becoming magical Dr. Strange.

I absolutely loved the movie -- it's easily in my top 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The cast was brilliant and the movie itself was beautiful to look at. Can't wait to see it again, as I'd like to hone in on the magic stuff more.

Back to the cast, what truly impressed me is that -- because the movie was pretty abbreviated by today's standards -- the actors did not get a ton of screen time. Regardless, they made it count. Even though people like Rachel McAdams were barely in the movie, their scenes were so impactful that it was barely noticeable.

I would've liked to have seen more development for Kaecilius, but we see this with every Marvel film. Regardless of the lack of backstory, he acted the shit out of his brief captivity scene...it almost made up for the fact that he was criminally underused. Mordo could've used more screen time, too, but they have plans for him...I love where they're heading with the character. I also love that he got the opportunity to be introduced here, so that the seed will already be there for the next film...it'll help avoid the issue with Kaecilius.