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

[Corvinus85]

Is this one worth seeing in 3D? I don't usually care for 3D, but given the visuals I'm debating.

[RumHam]

10 hours ago, Bastard of Boston said:

Yeah, I think this is nitpicking...

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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.

Yeah none of the things I mentioned detracted from my enjoyment of the movie at all. I'm almost certain Thor had been to earth before. Hence him being worshiped as a god here. Plus in the first Thor someone says going to the frost giant world is not like an easy trip to Earth. I forget the exact wording but it makes it seem like a quick trip to Earth is nothing. 

[Winterfell is Burning]

The story is the same of Iron Man or Thor, but it's well done, and, oh my, it's a visual treat like Marvel never did before.

 

6 hours ago, Corvinus said:

Is this one worth seeing in 3D? I don't usually care for 3D, but given the visuals I'm debating.

 

It's the one Marvel movie when it's a good idea (and no, I didn't see it in 3d, but I should)

 

[Argonath Diver]

Just saw a matinee. (ps, screw New York City, 19.50 for a damned matinee is disgusting. It's why I only go to about 3 movies a year, as my projection at home is simply a better experience anyway). I definitely enjoyed it. His weird accent definitely made me think of Hugh Laurie's thing in House, MD. I certainly could never pull off any foreign accent while spouting off medical terms, so I guess I give him credit, but it was awkward in many scenes. Totally minor gripe. The visual experience was compelling enough to overcome any little complaints I could come up with.

Definitely see this in 3D. There are some terrific mind-bender scenes when the 3D really shines. I'm a huge 3D fanboy, so I'm biased, but this movie is made for it.

[williamjm]

11 hours ago, Corvinus said:

Is this one worth seeing in 3D? I don't usually care for 3D, but given the visuals I'm debating.

I rarely think 3D adds much to a film, but I think it had more benefit here than in most other 3D films I've seen.

[Ramsay B.]

39 minutes ago, williamjm said:

I rarely think 3D adds much to a film, but I think it had more benefit here than in most other 3D films I've seen.

Same.

I wouldn't say it was great but it was very good. Obviously visually stunning with some pretty memorable action scenes.  I wish we got more from Mads and his character, but it's Marvel and wasn't really expecting it. Was there only the one after credits scene? I left after the initial one.

[Argonath Diver]

There was a second, 

Spoiler

Morlu. Mordu? I forget. The Ancient One's protege that gave up the fight at the end. You see him kill Benjamin Bratt and say "TOO MANY SORCERERS!". So he will definitely be a bad guy goin' forward.

 

[Martini Sigil]

1 hour ago, williamjm said:

I rarely think 3D adds much to a film, but I think it had more benefit here than in most other 3D films I've seen.

I hear ya.... I did not see it in 3D, but after watching it, I think it might have added to the film... especially if I'd done a few bong hits beforehand.

[Corvinus85]

Yeah, I ended up seeing it in 2D because the 3D show was too late. But it would be interesting to see it in 3D. 

I liked the movie. I would say it falls somewhere in the first half of the pack, maybe just above Antman.

[Rhom]

So are we treating this as a spoiler thread?  Because several of the posts have been spoilerific.

I really enjoyed the movie.  I think middleish pack of the movies is probably fine.  That sounds bad, but then you realize just how many MCU movies are out there now and you realize it still ranks over quite a few movies.  I think comparing it to Ant-man or First Avenger is fair.  Ant-man in that it is introducing a fairly obscure character and First Avenger in that it is setting up an entirely new concept in the MCU.
 

Spoiler

 

Regarding the question of whether the injury was Rhodey or not, I initially thought it might be as well; but the wording did sound off.  I think the part that got me was "35 year old Air Force Colonel."  I don't know how old Rhodey is supposed to be, but 35 seems way too young... 

I do tend to agree that they missed an opportunity by not setting the first part of the film in the early part of the MCU.  I think you could have even done it organically without a "10 years ago" thing on the screen.  The MCU has been said to mirror our own timeline.  ie Ironman in 2008, Ironman 3 in 2013, etc.  You could have easily had Strange watch a news clip of Tony's press conference where he swears off weapons in the early part of the movie.  Maybe its on the TV as he's getting ready for the neuroscience conference.  As he's studying and using WiFi (great line there btw) have him see news clips of other events.   Maybe even have him go and ask the Ancient One why they weren't intervening when Thor is fighting space elves in the middle of London.  Finally the attacks on the Sanctums come and he is out in the world.

I did like the conclusion to the movie.  The reverse time sequence followed by the time loop prison was fantastic.

I had to google how many end credit sequences there were while I was still in the theater because I wasn't sure if I should stay or not.  Liked both of them.

 

I am with the others upthread regarding 3D.  I saw this one in 2D.  For the most part, I don't watch 3D movies.  I've never seen one where I thought it added to the movie... but this is one where if I go see it again, I'll go 3D.  The effects in this movie were truly stunning.

[Pliskin]

Spoiler

But I thought precisely that the film spans a large chunk of the MCU timeline. Mainly because his training takes a certain time... Maybe a few years? And I'm not even sure that the last part takes place in the present either. It could very well be before Winter Soldier. Is there something in the film that points to it being in the present?

EDIT:

Spoiler

Ok, I just saw that his accident takes place apparently during Civil War... Weird.

 

[Dragon in the North]

I thought it was ok. It wasn't my favorite Marvel movie, but it wasn't my least favorite either.

However, I didn't like the post-credits scene with Thor. I felt like they were doing what Agents of Shield and the Netflix Marvel shows have been doing: providing Avenger references just to add legitimacy.

.

[Pliskin]

1 minute ago, Dragon in the North said:

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However, I didn't like the post-credits scene with Thor. I felt like they were doing what Agents of Shield and the Netflix Marvel shows have been doing: providing Avenger references just to add legitimacy.

It isn't just a reference, it's setting the stage for Thor: Ragnarok.

[polishgenius]

I'm pretty sure it's just

 

a scene lifted from Thor: Ragnarok, the same way the Ant-Man one was from Civil War.

Not sure I like that, in this case. In Ant-Man it worked because it carried on from a joke and plotline that had actually been in this movie, plus the universe had been building to CW for some time, but here it mostly comes out of nowhere and rather spoils what I presume is just going to be a cameo from Strange in the Thor film, since we've already seen a fair bit of it...

[Dragon in the North]

10 minutes ago, Pliskin said:

It isn't just a reference, it's setting the stage for Thor: Ragnarok.

I was under the impression they put the scene in as a joke, much like how Bruce Banner appeared at the end of Iron Man 3. The scene didn't tell us anything we didn't already know, after having watched Thor: The Dark World.

[Pliskin]

8 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

Spoiler

a scene lifted from Thor: Ragnarok, the same way the Ant-Man one was from Civil War.

Yes, I thought the same. But I think he'll have more than a cameo, given what we know of the casting.

[Corvinus85]

6 hours ago, Pliskin said:

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But I thought precisely that the film spans a large chunk of the MCU timeline. Mainly because his training takes a certain time... Maybe a few years? And I'm not even sure that the last part takes place in the present either. It could very well be before Winter Soldier. Is there something in the film that points to it being in the present?

EDIT:

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Ok, I just saw that his accident takes place apparently during Civil War... Weird.

 

So then what's up with Hydra knowing about him even before Winter Soldier? Are they just shrugging that off to continuity error?

[Slurktan]

So I just got back from seeing it.  Cumberbatch was ok, I laughed a bit at the cloak, the inception stuff was neat to look at, and the resolution to act 3 was somewhat different in that for once in a superhero movie it didn't come down to punching; but otherwise it continues the streak of Disney just putting out the bland.  Just the same thing over and over.  It was great in Ironman, it's not so great what... 10-15 movies later?

As to Tilda Swinton, she's a fine actor and I like her in a lot of other films but in this she's just..... kind of there.  I don't and haven't read the Dr Strange comics, was the ancient one a white woman in them?  If not this was a pretty egregious whitewashing. If so they should have changed it to make it seem like it wasn't a whitewashing.

Also ancient sorcerer thousands of years ago decides to make 3 important sanctums in empty land that will become London, New York, and Hong Kong?  Give me a fucking break. So fucking stupid.

EDIT:

So it was said in the film that Dormamu (or however you spell it) reuired the 3 sanctums to be destroyed in order to take over the earth, and he seems to be doing that after the Hong Kong one is destroyed.  Except.... didn't Strange save the New York one, twice?  Are they then going with the Mortal Kombat: Annhiliation route of "We set up these rules earlier, now we can ignore them.  Because."

[Pliskin]

7 hours ago, Corvinus said:

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So then what's up with Hydra knowing about him even before Winter Soldier? Are they just shrugging that off to continuity error?

 

Spoiler

They're saying it's the highly influential doctor that Hydra is referencing, and not the sorcerer... Yeah, not convincing.

I thought the whole point of having one guy (Feige) overseeing all the films was precisely to keep everything consistent and avoid those silly errors. But I guess he just stopped working because the money just keeps coming without doing anything.

[dog-days]

8 hours ago, Slurktan said:

So I just got back from seeing it.  Cumberbatch was ok, I laughed a bit at the cloak, the inception stuff was neat to look at, and the resolution to act 3 was somewhat different in that for once in a superhero movie it didn't come down to punching; but otherwise it continues the streak of Disney just putting out the bland.  Just the same thing over and over.  It was great in Ironman, it's not so great what... 10-15 movies later?

As to Tilda Swinton, she's a fine actor and I like her in a lot of other films but in this she's just..... kind of there.  I don't and haven't read the Dr Strange comics, was the ancient one a white woman in them?  If not this was a pretty egregious whitewashing. If so they should have changed it to make it seem like it wasn't a whitewashing.

Also ancient sorcerer thousands of years ago decides to make 3 important sanctums in empty land that will become London, New York, and Hong Kong?  Give me a fucking break. So fucking stupid.

EDIT:

  Hide contents

So it was said in the film that Dormamu (or however you spell it) reuired the 3 sanctums to be destroyed in order to take over the earth, and he seems to be doing that after the Hong Kong one is destroyed.  Except.... didn't Strange save the New York one, twice?  Are they then going with the Mortal Kombat: Annhiliation route of "We set up these rules earlier, now we can ignore them.  Because."

 

Pretty much agree entirely. The thing with the three sanctums made me think of dozens of video games - plus Order of the Stick. I was just waiting for Xykon to pop up. 

I did quite like Tilda Swinton in a lukewarm sort of way - I'm not sure that any actor of any sex or background would have done notably better. No so bothered by the ethnic shift because - going on the little that I've heard - the Ancient One seems to be a bit of a Western orientalist cliche. 

I did enjoy the humour. I kind of wish they'd just gone full on burlesque.