Marvel’s ‘Doctor Strange’, directed by Scott Derrickson, made its debut on November 4, 2016. This PG-13 action, adventure, and fantasy movie had some minor flaws, but overall the movie was very enjoyable.

The main characters include Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), Wong (Benedict Wong), and Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen).

The story follows Dr. Strange after he gets into a car crash as he searches to heal his hands; instead, he discovers the mystic arts.

The plot is generic because it followed the “superhero saves the world scheme”. The focus of the movie, however, was not on its plot, but CGI (Computer Generated Images) and the characters, especially Dr. Strange.

The antagonist’s motivation was obscure and very basic; he pursued revenge against the world for his family’s death. He had little character development, and it was easy to recognize him just a stepping stone for the next movie of Dr. Strange, which was confirmed in the end credit scene.

The transformation of Dr. Strange from a prideful surgeon to a humble man is quite a sight to watch. This contrast heavily with the minute character development of the movie’s antagonist. Cumberbatch makes Dr. Strange very relatable to viewers. Dr. Strange symbolizes searching for oneself, and how one views oneself in the universe. Dr. Strange himself managed to find his place in the universe by the end of the movie.

The characters had seemingly natural interactions with one another; they felt real. When Dr. Strange first met Wong, he tried to befriend him with humor, but Wong did not find Dr. Strange funny, causing chuckles in response from the audience. Mordo and Strange’s rivalry created interesting dialogue about actions and ideology, making the audience ponder. An example of their dialogue focuses around following natural law no matter what or breaking it to do the right thing.

The CGI in the movie was fantastic and reminded one of the movie ‘Inception’. Both were similar in quality and both used special effects in similar fashions. Unlike other movies that use CGI, ‘Doctor Strange’ heavily relied on it due to magic functioning as the main premise within the movie. The scenes created left audience members in wonder and the suspension of disbelief never broke.

The soundtrack added greatly to the atmosphere of the film, creating moods ranging from exciting to melancholy and somber.

It was not too overpowering yet not too subtle.

The movie had great humor which caused the audience to consistently laugh aloud in the theater. Along with comedic appeal, there was also great action and drama.

The fight scenes were very entertaining due to the fact that it had both CGI and martial arts. A few fight scenes, sadly, had shaky camera movement, making it hard to follow.

‘Doctor Strange’ addresses universal themes such as faith, purpose, humility, and charity. These themes are subtle but bring depth to the movie, making it more enjoyable.

On the movie review website, Rotten Tomatoes, had both critics and audience score it as 90%. ‘Doctor Strange’ is a must see movie on the screen.