'Doctor Strange' enters the inner sanctum of classic stoner movies
LOS ANGELES -- Welcome to the pantheon of drug culture classics, Doctor Strange. You may take your place over there, between Fantasia and The Big Lebowski, on the shelf just below The Wizard of Oz (set to Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon").
Yes, Doctor Strange is that trippy, that pyschedelics-friendly. And like all altered-state faves, it's infinitely watchable and re-watchable -- whether you're on something or not.
Simply put, if you're not preposterously high when you see Doctor Strange, you're going to feel like it. And if you are -- not that we're advocating anything here, kids -- the good news is that unlike some overcomplicated Marvel movies that require clear-eyed focus, this one's pretty easy to follow along.
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That's largely because we've seen this story before.
The 14th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been widely compared to the first, that being 2008's Iron Man. Swap out Robert Downey Jr. as brilliant weapons engineer Tony Stark for Benedict Cumberbatch as brilliant surgeon Stephen Strange -- complete with arrogant air, hipster goatee and life-altering trauma to kick things off -- and it's downright déjà vu.
But the hallucinogenic visual style and tone of Doctor Strange is so wildly different from any Marvel movie -- heck, any movie, really -- that it hardly matters.
No one's been able to describe this film without mentioning Christopher Nolan's city-warping scenes from Inception and the tessellating graphics of M.C. Escher (and now I've done it, too). But while these were undeniably inspirations, Doctor Strange owes a far greater debt to its comic book source material, created in the mid-'60s by Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko.
Alternate realms, conjured energy fields, extra-dimensional foes and distorted cosmic landscapes: it's all right there in the comics, now come to life onscreen, and it is truly something to behold. Director Scott Derrickson's horror background is inflected here -- let's face it, psychedelia can be uncomfortable and downright spooky -- and a few sequences will definitely get under your skin. (The 3D is essential to get it all working as intended, don't make the mistake of skipping it).
As with any vision quest, you'll need a guide. That would be The Ancient One, played to dazzling and delicious perfection by Tilda Swinton.
All those decades ago, Lee and Ditko tied an exquisite Gordian knot for future Marvel executives with this character, making him a stereotypically benevolent elderly Asian man of mystic wisdom. That trope was safe enough for 1960s American comic books, but is fairly radioactive for the hypersensitivities of a global audience in 2016. Any way you cast it, someone's going to complain.
Your perspective on their choice of Swinton -- an ageless, vaguely sexual and much-beloved British actress -- will vary. But this much can be said: Swinton is awesome in this role. She digs in with relish; her character is sharply drawn, powerful and thought-provoking; and her arc might be more satisfying than any other character's in Doctor Strange.
As for Cumberbatch, he's ... just fine. An actor of his gravity and experience would have a hard time screwing this one up, especially with the sizzling script from Derrickson, Jon Spaihts and C. Robert Cargill. Cumberbatch's Stephen Strange is perhaps more abrasive and disillusioned than he needs to be at first, but once he gets the hang of things and the bolts of magic start flying, he's his own comic relief, much as Downey Jr. was -- and still is, for now. (All indications are that as Marvel sunsets its older characters for the new, Strange will supplant Stark as the Alpha Avenger with Attitude.)
But enough about the (very capable) actors and story. This movie is about those acid-trip visuals, which are the biggest risk Marvel took here and the calling-card of Doctor Strange. And if you don't believe me that this movie was purpose-built for the abundantly blazed, pay close attention to what Stan Lee (very mild spoiler alert) is reading in his blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo.
So smoke 'em if you got 'em (and you're of age, and you live in a state where that kind of thing is legal). Doctor Strange has got the goods to be a must-watch-while-high movie for decades to come.
Now it's just a matter of finding a Pink Floyd album that may or may not sync up.
Josh Dickey is Mashable's Entertainment Editor, leading Mashable's TV, music, gaming and sports reporters as well as writing movie features and reviews.Josh has been the Film Editor at Variety, Entertainment Editor at The Associated Press and Managing Editor at TheWrap.com.A finalist for the Los Angeles Press Club's Best Entertainment Feature in 2015 for "Everyone is Altered: The Secret Hollywood Procedure that Fooled Us for Years," Josh received his BA in Journalism from The University of Minnesota.In between screenings, he can be found skating longboards, shredding guitar and wandering the streets of his beloved downtown Los Angeles.
