Doctor Strange (2016) *

Directed by:  Scott Derrickson

Starring:  Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tilda Swinton, Mads Mikkelsen, Rachel McAdams, Benjamin Bratt, Benedict Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg

Doctor Strange makes Thor seem charismatic by comparison.    Thor does show up in Doctor Strange as a probable tie-in to the next Thor sequel, but you may want to count me out for that one.    But before I discuss not seeing the next Thor movie, I will discuss the one I saw:   Doctor Strange.    It is, in a word, a mess.    It steps wrong from the opening minutes and never steps right. 

There is a plot in here somewhere and something Doctor Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) and his allies must do to prevent the Earth from being swallowed up.     But, trying to recall it takes monumental effort I'm not willing to give.    Who cares anyway?    Doctor Strange offers nothing to root for or against.    The only thing we care less about than Doctor Strange's evolution to a defender of the psychic world (I think) is the villains plot to usurp it for their leader.   

As the movie opens, Doctor Stephen Strange is a brilliant, arrogant, aloof neurosurgeon who is involved in a horrific car crash which injures his hands and renders him useless as a surgeon.    Desperate to regain the use of his hands for surgery, Strange's journey takes him to Nepal, where he learns not only how to use his hands, but to fight the forces of evil.     Most people would go through a great deal to be able to use their hands again, but this?    The good Doctor is trained by The Ancient One (Swinton), who is bald and dressed in a yellow cloak and Baron Karl Mordo (Ejiofor), who says banal things like, "You were destined for this."

There is a villain named Kaecilius (Mikkelsen), played by the same actor who played Le Chiffre in Casino Royale.    I would have liked him better here if he bled from one eye and played Texas Hold 'Em.     Kaecilius is a villain, I suppose, but I don't know what his function is.    He shows up from time to time only to have his flunkies killed by Strange and to meet his eventual demise.    Could it be that I nodded off twice have something to do with my hazy recollection of the plot points?

Cumberbatch provides the right amount of snark and arrogance as the title character, but there isn't much else but snark and arrogance.    Why should we be invested in Strange's plight?    There are very good actors abound in this movie left to hang around waiting for something to do.     Much has been made of casting British actress Swinton as a character which was Asian in the comic book, but there is so little to The Ancient One that it wouldn't much matter who was cast.   She tries to be interesting, like everyone else does, to no avail.   

Marvel Universe movies are known for big budget sets, CGI, and mayhem.    It is near impossible to follow what goes on in Doctor Strange.    Characters can jump from the natural world to the supernatural one with little rhyme or reason.     If there are no rules governing anything, the movie becomes a jumbled free-for-all.    The visuals are a bit on the cheesy side.    Maybe that is the intent, but it is distracting and there isn't much to distract from.

Doctor Strange is one Marvel comic book character that would have better left on the page and not the big screen.