Doctor Strange: Sorceror Supreme
Every Little Thing He Does is Magic...
It was definitely an experience to view the Marvel animated feature, "Doctor Strange" at the San Deigo
Comic-con last week. While the film itself was entertaining, the real experience portion was
seeing it in a conference hall packed with sweaty fanboys who would whoop and holler at
every fight scene. Imagine a live-action Mystery Science Theater 3000... only it wasn't funny... and it was loud and
there were no Mads...and okay, so it wasn't quite like that. It was probably closer to
the last day before Christams Break in grade school-- when all the kids would assemble in
the gymnasium so they could show us stuff like "Herbie the Lovebug" and old "Our Gang" shorts.
Oddly enough, I actually found out about the screening while I was tying my shoes. I was wandering the main
hall of the convention and pulled away from the crowds to tie up the laces. On the ground was a big shiny postcard,
telling me I should show up at 7pm tonight for the "World Premiere" of the new Doctor Strange cartoon. My tenative plans for the night
had been "wait in line for a t-shirt" or "leave early and hit Jack-In-The-Box", so I adjusted my busy
schedule to accomdate the flick. I had a bag of Walgreens trail mix in my bag, so I already
had my movie snacks, in hand!
The movie started promptly, with very little introduction. "Doctor Strange" is the latest entry in Marvel's direct-to-DVD animated
features, which thus far have included two "Ultimates" movies and an Iron Man flick. But "Strange" is a small
divergence from the previous films. Mainly, it feels more like a video game cartoon-- like "Mortal Kombat" or something--
instead of the typical superhero cartoon. As the story begins, we're introduced to Dr. Stephen Strange, a
cold and seeminngly un-caring surgeon, who is called in to examine a child stuck in a mysterious coma. On his way
home from examining the kid, Strange witnesses a mystic shoot-out between giant "shadow hounds" (or they might've
been "Shatter Hounds") and a group of sorcerors. The members of the troop all look
like the cast of the video game "Dynasty Warriors 2", or characters from 90's indy comics. Strange is freaked out, but
tries to go about his business the next day.
The next half hour or so is spent on building up Strange and his back-story. Through a series of
flashbacks, we see how he became so emotionally detached. There's also his contemporary,
a female doctor named Maria Atwater. It's hinted that the two may have had some sort of romantic
connection in the past. During this time, if you're a Marvel geek, pay attention to one of the pages
over the hospital's intercom. It's a little crossover and nod towards another long-running
Marvel hero. In fact, it sent a good portion of the audience into premature ejaculation.
After a car crash, Strange loses the ability to properly use his hands. This leads him to both financial and
emotional ruin as he desparately searches around the globe for a cure. Eventually, he ends up in Tibet,
where he enters the mountain city of the Ancient One. The Ancient One is
a walking talking Yoda and even resembles Pai Mei from "Kill Bill". Strange also meets those crappy indy comic characters
he glimpsed that night, all of whom have been training under the Ancient One and
protecting the world from mystcial menaces. Wong (with hair) is a prominent participant.
Oh yeah, another member of the crew is grumpy headstrong guy named Mordo.
Strange undergoes a training ritual that appears physical, but is actually more mental. The movie kicks
into its final act as Strange overcomes his handicap and joins the Ancient One's group, right
as a certain flamey-headed monster begins to reveal himself. The big Climactic Battle Scene takes place
and Strange ascends to the title of "Sorceror Supreme".
The plot flows quite well and ties up nicely. I may have missed something, but it appeared that the movie
was intended to take place in San Francisco, not the usual Marvel sandbox of New York. The final
battle scene is well done and that flamey-headed monster has a great, uprgraded re-design. Strange's
actual costume, with its green hues, seems more similar to his "1602" outfit rather than his
modern blue n' red garb. Strange also doesn't have the gray temples, rather he has gray bangs. But overall,
the character is still recognizable. Mordo, although he doesn't have the title of "Baron", is also recognizable
with his trademark black n' green color scheme. Yet Mordo was given a video game makeover, as he
appears more buff, taller, and younger than his printed identity.
Also along the lines of character design-- this movie didn't seem to have any Steve Ditko influence. It
may upset some hardcore fans that one of Strange's distinctive comic book artists has essentially ignored...
but I'm not a big Ditko fan, so I didn't seem to mind.
My only real problems wth the plot were with the unnamed flunkies of the Ancient One's "Super Mystical Strike Team Alpha".
They all seemed to have one power, lots of tattoos and very little dialogue. I was racking
my brain to figure out if they were based on anybody significant from the Dr. Strange mythos and I came up
with nothing. Didn't matter, as they were all eventually weeded out of the story.
Not to give too much away, but the ending had a peculiar conclusion that ruined Doc's romantic subplot
with Maria Atwater. One of the final scenes has Strange meeting her at an outdoor picnic.
At that point, it seems that the couple has a rosy future. But the very next scene has Strange and Wong
discussing the build-up of their own "Super Mystical Strike Team". Wong mentions a
certain name that is very familiar to any Dr. Strange fan....and this mention wipes out any chance of
Dr. Atwater ever getting some Strange-Sausage in a sequel. I know the name mention was one of those
little "geek continuity" things that we seem to like, but it weakened the story's conclusion.
Why'd You Tape This?
Well, I didn't...but I fully intend to pick up the DVD when it's released later this month. "Doctor Strange"
was satisfying as a standalone feature. It's open-ended enough that you don't have to be a comic geek to
enough it-- something that wasn't possible in the "Ultimates" DVD's. They breathe a little
humanity into the usually abrasive Strange and for the most part, it works. It has more action than I expected
and I actually give it a good recommendation. By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth, see it!
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