George Oscar Bluth II
Banned
Spoiler Warning: Hollywood Reporter review over-describes the post credits sequences and that basically gives away what happens in them if you've paid attention to the rumors around the film.
Peter Debruge, VarietyDoctor Strange is Marvels most satisfying entry since Spider-Man 2, and a throwback to M. Night Shyamalans soul-searching identity-crisis epic Unbreakable, which remains the gold standard for thinking peoples superhero movies.
Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood ReporterDoctor Strange is an engaging, smartly cast and sporadically eye-popping addition to the studio's bulging portfolio. Determined, among other things, to top Christopher Nolan at his own game when it comes to folding, bending and upending famous cityscapes to eye-popping effect, this action movie ostensibly rooted in the mind-expanding tenets of Eastern mysticism is different enough to establish a solid niche alongside the blockbuster combine's established money machines.
Alonso Duralde, The WrapIn a year where bloated, empty spectacles have induced a crushing level of CG fatigue Now Showing: Alice Through the Warcraft Suicide Apocalypse Justice this funny, freaky adventure reminds us of how effective VFX can be when theyve got some imagination behind them.
Davkd Ehrlich, IndieWireFilms like Guardians of the Galaxy only feel like such risky high-wire acts because the safety nets have been so cleverly hidden just out of sight. That holds true for much of Doctor Strange as well. And yet, its one thing to take a new world and make it feel familiar, and quite another to take a familiar word and show us new ways of looking at it. This is the first chapter of the MCU that accomplishes that second, more difficult, more thrilling task, and that bodes well for a better, stranger tomorrow for the MCU.
Brian Truitt, USA TodayA kaleidoscope of weirdness and innovative visual effects successfully introduce the newest Marvel superhero in director/co-writer Scott Derricksons brilliantly bizarre Doctor Strange. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Stephen Strange with enchanting spirit and a clever wit, giving comic-book movies another goateed icon who can hang alongside Robert Downey Jr.s Tony Stark.
Jen Yamato, The Daily BeastSwinton is effortlessly excellent in her roleone that was gender-flipped, in a progressive move for strong female representation in the genre, at leastand her arc, too, focuses instead on more simple universal binaries: Life vs. death, shadows vs. light, good vs. evil, the kind of yin and yang terrain that dials right into the major currents of Stranges origin tale. As a contained standalone this is the most inventive Marvel has allowed its movies to get so far, which is a positive indication for new freshness as Phase 3 rolls out.
Matt Singer, Screen CrushDoctor Strange is easily the studios most exciting spectacle to date. Its hero, a former surgeon turned butt-kicking wizard, spends a fair amount of time exploring the multiverse, in sequences rendered with loads of bizarre, lysergic imagery. Thats the good news. The bad news is the studios most innovative visuals are wedded to one of its most formulaic origin stories. In some scenes, Doctor Strange is Marvels most exciting movie yet. In others, it might be its most boring movie since Iron Man 2.
Rotten Tomatoes: Currently 90% with a 7.3 average rating at 222 reviews
Critics Consensus: Doctor Strange artfully balances its outré source material against the blockbuster constraints of the MCU, delivering a thoroughly entertaining superhero origin story in the bargain.
Thanks to Cuburt for rounding these up in the OT.