"Doctor Strange" follows the formula of success with structural similarity and goofy joy, but some of the same regrettable MCU flaws exist.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 7, 2024

Mindlessly entertaining, but even with Cumberbatch, it's the epitome of the formulaic Marvel machine.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 12, 2023

The names have changed and the powers are different, but it's more or less the same Marvel formula.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 20, 2022

Though Doctor Strange may represent little more than the latest piece in an expansive series, it presents a familiar story in a hallucinatory and playful way.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 9, 2022

If Iron Man kicked us off into the MCU, Doctor Strange kicks us off into the MC-Did-You-See-That?

| Feb 11, 2022

There hasn't been a blockbuster that grapples with faith on this scale since The Matrix.

| Original Score: A- | Aug 28, 2021

Doctor Strange is a lesser-known figure in the Marvel universe and compared to films about the Avengers, Doctor Strange, as a film, comes out lesser, too.

| Aug 26, 2021

Rote storytelling and pesky politics aside, the film does offer its rewards, particularly in Cumberbatch's fine performance, some twisty visuals (many cribbed from Inception), and the occasional dabs of gentle humor.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 18, 2021

I'll leave it to others to make sense of the Marvel-y details in Doctor Strange, like Infinity Stones and other superhero cameos. But, as a stand-alone origin film, it more than fits the bill for blockbuster entertainment.

| Aug 5, 2021

Something different, visually and thematically.

| Jun 24, 2021

It isn't without flaws: some humorous moments feel shoehorned in and MacAdams is wasted in a disappointingly two-dimensional role. But if you're looking for an antidote to comic book movie fatigue, Doctor Strange could be the one.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 9, 2021

Some stunning visual effects and well-choreographed fight scenes add to the fun, and the cast is all served well, though Mads Mikkelsen's villain is somewhat undercooked...

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 26, 2021

The inventiveness tops itself when Doctor Strange brings us one of the best endings in any Marvel film.

| Apr 13, 2021

Perhaps all the storytelling shortcomings and unexplained phenomena could be overlooked more easily with compelling characters and potent emotional exchanges.

| Original Score: 3/10 | Dec 4, 2020

...casting decision was excellent and there is no doubt that Cumberbatch owns the character now...

| Original Score: 8.5/10 | Nov 20, 2020

Doctor Strange is a Marvel home run with a bat flip...

| Nov 10, 2020

There's very little that Swinton can't do and she's absolutely sublime as The Ancient One.

| Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 6, 2020

The problem with Doctor Strange comes down to the narrative. As this is an origin story, it does take a while to get going. It's again a 'paint by the numbers' and formulaic storyline.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 17, 2020

After getting a boatload of superhero stuff for years now, a 'fine movie' doesn't really warrant much of a reaction anymore.

| Original Score: B | Jul 11, 2020

Despite a rote, familiar superhero origin story, Doctor Strange delivers a dazzling mystical blast.

| Original Score: B | Jul 2, 2020