Doctor Strange

2016, Walt Disney Studios

Although it was perhaps better than it had a right to be, Doctor Strange almost felt like an afterthought, its claim to fame being Benedict Cumberbatch slumming it as a superhero. Pretty standard fare as an origin story, the film's biggest reward is the 60s drug-trip climactic battle, which conjures strong memories of Christopher Nolan's Inception. Tilda Swinton playing Ancient One resulted in much gnashing of teeth among critics; honestly, while it does smack of Hollywood whitewashing, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the film, simply because I have no investment in—let alone awareness of—its fidelity to the source material.

DKS 12/17/17

GRUMPY OLD FART-O-METER® Rating:

Almost Nice

 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

2022, Walt Disney Studios

Benedict Cumberbatch returns as the Doctor in a far, far stranger place than he's ever been. For CGI junkies, this is a tour de force of mind-bending spectacle, living up to the hype with some jaw-dropping visuals. However... behind any decent film there must be a decent story and, sadly, Doctor Strange in the Multiplex of Madness has very little in the way of story. Mostly the film is one giant excuse to have a parade of "wouldn't it be cool if" set pieces, loosely connected by virtue of the same lead characters appearing in them. And even then, the characters morph so wildly along the way that there's no emotional payoff. Ever. This might be excused as a kind of meta-element—that we really can't be sure about anyone, anywhere—but that assumes the writing was extraordinarily clever. But I seriously doubt that's the case here; sloppy and lazy writing, however, I can entirely buy. As for the whole multiverse concept, this latest film fad is quickly wearing thin, to the point that Madness almost feels like an also-ran. I can only hope we move on to the next fad—quickly.

A little aside for soundtrack junkies: the film's score was composed by Danny Elfman (very good, but also very predictable—a Danny Elfman score sounds like a Danny Elfman score). However, as good as the soundtrack is, it's not as memorable as the music used for the film's trailers, oddly enough. I slogged through 126 minutes of movie waiting for those awesome bent chords in the trailer, but alas they were not to be found. I realize that studios are under no obligation to use music from the film's actual score in their trailers (indeed, often the score isn't even finished when trailers are cut), but this disconnect can be a bit frustrating for some of us with an eye for music.

DKS 8/14/22

GRUMPY OLD FART-O-METER® Rating:

Tolerable

 

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