"Doctor Strange" - SPOILER ALERT

"Doctor Strange" was quite the departure from previous Marvel movies. Unlike "Guardians of the Galaxy", for me, "Doctor Strange", although not my favorite in the MCU, was a pleasant departure.

I was not surprised to learn that it won the Hollywood Visual Effects Award at the Hollywood Film Awards in 2016. It was like eye candy. The visual effects were my favorite aspect of the movie. I watched it on my television at home (three times!) and felt fully immersed in another world when things like buildings, or an entire city even, folded and beings passed seamlessly through different dimensions. These visual effects took otherwise ordinary scenes and made them extraordinary. How many battle scenes have we seen in the MCU?  A lot! But how many have we seen as unique as those in "Doctor Strange"? To my recollection, none, until now.

Some scenes were very M.C. Escher-like (who was, in fact, an inspiration for the visual effects). M.C. Escher is one of my favorite artists. I remember showing works of his art to my third graders when I taught elementary school.

But I digress.

I was pleased to see another favorite represented in this movie - Rachel McAdams as Christine. As far as I can remember, I have seen her in only one movie before this one, "The Notebook". "The Notebook" movie (and the book) left a lasting impression on me and I immediately recognized her in "Doctor Strange". My only gripe is that, like most love interests in the MCU, she got the short end of the stick as her leading man gave her up for a superhero life. I would actually go as far as to say she's the hero in this movie. She did, after all, save his life.

I liked Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange. His transformation from a successful doctor with an ego to selfless superhero on a mission to save the world was believable. It thought it was interesting that his ego was, in a way, what led to his accident. He was so caught up in his successful career that he wasn't paying attention to the road while he was driving. His journey grabbed my attention from the beginning and held it until the end (or shall we call it the beginning?). The twist on a different kind of (mystical) enemy than the ones the Avengers battle was a clever idea. The MCU always finds ways to make it unique and entertaining...and still tie it all together (as they did mention the Avengers in this movie).

It was not lost on me that the theme of being disabled and feeling the need to be fixed came up again in this movie. That was one major aspect of "Iron Man 3" that I did not like. However, unlike "Iron Man 3", "Doctor Strange" approached it from a different angle. His journey transformed him into someone who overcame the fact that his hands were so badly injured to the point where he now uses his hands to get things done in a monumental way.

I enjoyed the signature Marvel humor in this movie. Was I the only one laughing out loud during the "attack of the Cloak of Levitation" scene or when it was brushing Doctor Strange's face and he said, "Stop"? I also found Christine's reactions to his astro body coming to life quite amusing. The humor went right on through to the end of the movie. I was in stitches laughing at the time loop in the final scenes of the movie!

If you've read my previous Marvel reviews, you probably know by now how much I love Thor, so it should come as no surprise to you how much I loved the mid credits scene with Doctor Strange and Thor. This made me super excited to see Thor in future movies!!!

No disrespect to "Doctor Strange", though. It was a good kind of different that I enjoyed. I thought the pacing was good. The plot was intriguing, but for me, the visual effects were what truly made the movie a success. For that reason alone, I recommend it. The rest is icing on the cake. A very delicious flavor of icing at that!