The trippiest Marvel movie yet, "Doctor Strange" (opening Friday) is visually stunning, and you should make every effort to see it in 3D, on the biggest screen possible, to get its full effect.
The story follows Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who tries to get his old life back after a horrific car accident by seeking out Eastern medicine. Instead, he finds enlightenment in the form of the mystical arts. And gets pretty good at it, too.
With a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a projected $65 million-$70 million opening weekend, the movie looks to be the next big hit for Disney/Marvel.
But if you need more convincing, here are some of the things the top critics love about it:
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It's really, really cool to just sit and stare at.
The biggest highlight for critics has been the stunning visual work on "Doctor Strange." From Strange pinballing through different dimensions to city buildings folding up "Inception"-style, the movie is a thrill for the eyeballs.
ScreenCrush calls it "easily the studio’s most exciting spectacle to date," referring to Marvel.
You might feel like you're on drugs, if you aren't actually on them.
"'Doctor Strange' is also, notably, much more mature than its predecessors, and the first blockbuster of the modern superhero era ideally viewed on a magic mushroom trip — all the better to process the stunningly trippy and surprisingly spiritual kaleidoscopic jaunts Strange takes into the astral plane, pulling us along into the rabbit hole,"The Daily Beast wrote.
There's a strong origin story, even though you've seen it before.
The smart aleck who's knocked down and becomes humbled while dusting himself off has been done before by Marvel with "Iron Man." But Marvel has the formula down so well for cinematic origin stories that though the plot of "Doctor Strange" is nothing new, it gets the job done.
"True, 'Doctor Strange' is an origin story, and occasionally hemmed in by the genre’s narrative requirements," The Wrap wrote, "but it’s smart enough to bring in great British actors to make the predictable paces and life lessons feel fresh and fascinating."
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