Sci-Fi News and Reviews

Impressions: "Doctor Strange" DVD

The kids and I were looking for a DVD to watch this weekend - and I, being the Dad, selected Marvel's "Doctor Strange" for our viewing pleasure. The kids were stoked, as I told them there would be magic and swords.

I was right...for the most part. The story chronicles Dr. Stephen Strange's transformation from brillant neurosurgeon to Sorcerer Supreme. The pacing of the story was very relaxed; the storytellers took their time to let the story unfold. He develops his skills slowly, in a very believable manner. And, eventually, he makes a sword out of the air (helping Dad keep his promise!).

Some reviewers, like this one, give the DVD an "Average" rating and said:

For their next trick, the people who brought us the other Marvel animated movies like Ultimate Avengers and Invincible Iron Man will take Dr. Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme of the Marvel universe, and make most everything entertaining about his adventures… disappear!

I can't agree with that statement. "Doctor Strange" is an origin story. The character development is necessary for the action to work. The reviewer wanted to see more action and sorcery - but, you can't jump into that until the good Doctor becomes what he should be - the Sorcerer Supreme. I thought the fight scenes featuring the other sorcerers were interleaved effectively within the story, giving the viewer breaks from Stephen Strange's personal journey.

I do agree with the reviewer that the final fight with the dread Dormammu could have been better. But, over all, I'd give the DVD an "Above Average" review. Basically, if you liked "Iron Man" or "Ultimate Avengers", this should be a good pick for you.

If you do end up renting this, you need to watch the "Avengers Reborn" featurette. Naturally, I watched it, as it was about the "Avengers"!

At first, I was horrified. They showed concept art of the superpowered children of the "Avengers" - and it didn't look that great to my eye. Then, the creators started to describe their concept, which was to appeal to a younger audience. I didn't like how this was going...

Then, my opinion changed. The story will be about the children of the Avengers, all under the care of Tony Stark (Iron Man, to you layfolk). Evidently, a supervillain wiped out the entire Avengers team, ophaning all of the children. Tony was able to save the children and now raises them all. The remainder of the story is about the kids realizing their powers and banding together to defeat the supervillain that killed their parents.

Now that sounds interesting! I'll be picking that DVD up when it debuts in mid-2008.

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Posted by Fred on August 27, 2007 4:57 PM
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