Movie Review: ‘Doctor Strange’: Newest Marvel Movie Unlocks True Origins of Avenger Superpowers

Mark Jackson
Mark Jackson
Film Critic
|Updated:

PG-13  |   |  Action, Adventure, Fantasy  |  4 November 2016 (USA)

A man gets sick. Medicine can’t cure him. So he goes searching in the East. He finds a spiritual teacher (or guru, sensei, lama, shifu, rebbe) and learns to cure himself through ancient practices.

This is typically how a path to spiritual enlightenment starts. And this is precisely the path depicted in “Doctor Strange,” the first Marvel movie to finally start telling the reality-based version of where Marvel comic book superpowers come from.

Scratch all that pseudo-science involving radioactive mishaps that begat Hulk, the Webslinger, and a whole mess of superheroes. That silliness got started during the Cold War when Americans were still planning on hiding under desks to (very effectively!) counter the coming A-bomb mushroom cloud.

But hard science has been taking the study of human supernormal abilities very seriously for a while now—like telekinesis, levitation, clairvoyance, precognition, and so on.

When I saw the strange strangeness Dr. Strange was up to in the very captivating “Doctor Strange,” I thought, “Aha! Now you’re talkin'!”

And So It Begins

(L–R) Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) and Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). (Jay Maidment/Marvel)
(L–R) Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) and Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). Jay Maidment/Marvel
Mark Jackson
Mark Jackson
Film Critic
Mark Jackson is the chief film critic for The Epoch Times. He earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Williams College, followed by a classical theater conservatory training, and 20 years' experience as a New York professional actor. He narrated The Epoch Times audiobook "How the Specter of Communism is Ruling Our World," available on iTunes, Audible, and YouTube. Mark is listed in the book "How to be a Film Critic in Five Easy Lessons" by Christopher K. Brooks. In addition to film, he enjoys Harley-Davidsons, martial arts, rock-climbing, qigong, and human rights activism. Mark is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
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