Here’s What Critics Have to Say About Doctor Strange

Reviews have been steadily coming in for Doctor Strange, the latest film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ahead of its Nov. 4 theatrical release. Departing from the MCU’s recent emphasis on sequels and returning characters like Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Doctor Strange plays like a stand-alone origin film, introducing audiences to a brilliant, infuriating new hero played by Benedict Cumberbatch. And critics appear to be (mostly) on board with the direction: By mixing familiar MCU elements with some fresh cinematography and technical flourishes, it’s being heralded as one of the most innovative comic book movies to date.

Here’s a roundup of what critics had to say about Doctor Strange.

This is probably one of Marvel’s better movies.

James Dyer, Empire:

What could have been the studio’s first serious mis-step is a confident stride into new territory that reinvigorates a tired formula while expanding the shared universe.

Peter Bradshaw, the Guardian:

It’s a tremendously engaging and likeable superhero ride, in which the classiest of casts show they know exactly where to take it seriously—and where to inject the fun.

David Ehrlich, Indiewire:

As with all of the best installments of the MCU, the film’s unique strengths have a perverse way of highlighting the franchise’s shared weaknesses. But Doctor Strange deserves credit for treating several of the ailments that have been infecting the series, and for diagnosing several more.

And visually, it might be Marvel’s best to date.

Alonso Duralde, the Wrap:

The effects shots here aren’t just visually impressive; they actually let the narrative go to places it couldn’t without this level of, you’ll pardon the expression, wizardry.

Tim Grierson, Screen Daily:

… The film boasts a slightly darker and more mystical air than its peers, accentuated by some of the most arresting set pieces in the MCU canon.

Tim Robey, the Telegraph:

With its sombre colour palette, whispery Eastern mysticism and dry stabs of comedy, Scott Derrickson’s blockbuster stands apart…

Jen Yamato, the Daily Beast:

[The] visual delights are worth the ticket price alone: Dynamically shifting M.C. Escher-meets-Inception cityscapes, mirror dimensions that mere mortals can’t see, and the ghostly space between where souls can temporarily depart their mortal coils to chill out in their astral forms—or fistfight with other disembodied spirits, as warrior-magicians are wont to do.

From Benedict Cumberbatch to Tilda Swinton, the cast delivers.

James Mottram, Total Film:

Cumberbatch fits Doctor Strange like a pair of snap-tight surgical gloves, in yet another MCU triumph.

Todd McCarthy, the Hollywood Reporter:

[The cast] unquestionably class[es] up the joint by injecting wit, elocution, faces with character and commanding presence into material that needs all the elevation it can get to not seem entirely juvenile.

Brian Truitt, USA Today:

Derrickson has rounded up a deep cast of tried-and-true thespians. Ejiofor gives Mordo, a warrior who saves the rookie magic man, an earnest quality but also some gravitas for future adventures. As the Ancient One, Swinton adds sass, emotional depth and a little frailty to the wise-warrior archetype … And with Cumberbatch as a fellow who’s perfectly Strange, this Doctor is down to leave you spellbound.

Gregory Ellwood, the Playlist:

… When you put any of these actors in a scene together they operate on a wavelength that, at times, is a joy to behold.

… but the film could still use better characters and plot.

Matt Singer, Screencrush:

Typically Marvel movies have terrific characters and so-so visuals and action. Strange is the opposite; it’s glorious to look at (and the rare blockbuster where the 3D genuinely adds something to the experience) but the people are kind of dull.

Tom Huddleston, Time Out London:

[Derrickson] promised Doctor Strange would be “weird and wild,” and so it is, at least within the context of a major Hollywood blockbuster. If only he’d found a way to contain these giddy surrealist elements within a compelling, compassionate storyline.

Scott Mendelson, Forbes:

There are brief moments of exposition and character interaction … but the emphasis on magical mayhem (along with the abbreviated running time) leaves us with a surprisingly flat story.

Eric Goldman, IGN:

It feels like some of the supporting characters are just sort of there—especially after dialogue indicated they’d play a more significant role.

And its representation of Asian culture doesn’t always come off so great.

Matt Singer, Screencrush:

Doctor Strange has faced some controversy over its casting of Swinton as the Ancient One, an Asian character in the original source material. In practice, she delivers a very strong performance, and it’s hard to envision anyone else so convincingly portraying an ageless androgynous warrior magician who’s both graceful and witty. On the other hand, it is a little disconcerting that a movie set almost entirely in Nepal, with characters dressed in Asian-inflected costumes, features so few Asian actors.

Jen Yamato, the Daily Beast:

Anyone looking for an answer to Doctor Strange’s streak of Orientalism won’t walk away satisfied, even if the film’s last act takes place in Asia and features a beefed-up arc for Wong’s staunch warrior-librarian beyond playing the straight man to Cumberbatch’s relentlessly wisecracking Strange.

Still, the ending sequence is refreshingly comic.

Peter Debruge, Variety:

While it’s frustrating that each of these movies must build to a generic showdown between our superhero and some all-powerful, earth-endangering supervillain, Doctor Strange takes that tedious inevitability and spins it off into an alternate Dark Dimension, where wit (both humor and intellect) prevails.

Jack Shepherd, the Independent:

Doctor Strange finishes with a fantastically funny segment that features Cumberbatch at his best. It feels both fresh [and] recognizably Marvel.