Doctor Strange

Image Credit: MARVEL

Based on the same-named superhero from Marvel Comics, "Doctor Strange" is a 2016 superhero movie. Scott Derrickson is the director, and Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Tilda Swinton all appear in the film.

The plot of the film centres on Dr. Stephen Strange, a talented but conceited neurosurgeon who is involved in a fatal vehicle accident. His hands suffer severe injuries as a result of the tragedy, virtually ending his medical career. After attempting and failing to regain use of his hands through traditional methods, he travels to a mystical location in Nepal called Kamar-Taj in search of a cure.

Strange meets the Ancient One, a formidable sorcerer who instructs him in the arts of magic and mysticism, when he first arrives in Kamar-Taj. Strange is initially dubious, but as he learns more about the actual nature of the cosmos and the potency of the magical arts, he gradually comes to accept the Ancient One's teachings.

As Strange's training goes on, he encounters Kaecilius, a former pupil of the Ancient One who has fallen to the dark side and is seeking to call forth the Dormammu, a potent entity from another dimension. Kaecilius thinks he can achieve an immortal life free from pain by doing so, but Strange is aware that such a strategy would lead to the end of the universe.

With the aid of Christine Palmer, a friend and former coworker, and a fellow sorcerer named Mordo, Strange uses his newly acquired skills to battle Kaecilius and his goons. They fight to prevent the annihilation of the world together.

Finally, Strange is successful in taking down Kaecilius and preventing the summoning of the Dormammu. He understands that his trip is far from finished, though, as he now has to deal with fresh dangers from the mysterious regions. With his new knowledge and powers, Strange pledges to protect the world from any threat that may come its way.

Full Synopsis

In an antique, presumably gothic library, a sorcerer, eventually identified as Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), removes some pages from a chained book. The librarian/guardian is restrained by energy bands used by his subordinates. With the aid of numerous followers, Kaecilius decapitates the man with two heavy knives before making his getaway. The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who is the book's owner, pursues them. Kaecilius bends, folds, and reshapes the city's streets and structures as he departs (like Inception (2010) but in a more kaleidoscopic way). The Ancient One, while being a great magical combatant, is unable to contain Kaecilius, and he flees.

Famous surgeon Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is performing a complex brain operation at Metro-General Hospital in New York City while remaining calm and confident. Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), his ex-girlfriend, rushes in as he is finishing up to show him an x-ray of a patient with a gunshot in his head. The patient is unconscious because his medulla oblongata has been poisoned by trace components in the bullet, which the doctor initially dismisses as hopeless. However, with repeated pushing from Christine, the doctor comes to this realisation.

In the ER procedure, Strange promptly performs a manual extraction with forceps, showcasing his amazing hand control, after realising he can save the man's life. The initial diagnosis' physician, Nicodemus West (Michael Stuhlbarg), is humiliated by Strange's colossal ego. Later, Christine and Strange make light of their on-again, off-again romance. She declines his invitation to go out with him that night.

In his lavish condo, Strange gets ready for the night while pausing to pick from a drawer full of pricey timepieces. Strange leaves his condo quickly and drives north in his Lamborghini Huracán. He makes a call to his assistant to discuss his next patients; despite his great demand, he only wants challenging or intriguing situations. He crashes and the automobile flies into the river because he was distracted and driving carelessly. His hands crash into the dashboard as his automobile is totaled.

Christine is waiting for him when he wakes up in his hospital after being transported back there. His repaired hands are now immobilised in a framework made of pins and wires. His hands continue to be stiff and tremble, slowly improving after additional procedures; he is no longer able to practise neurosurgery. Strange breaks up with Christine out of self-pity. He learns about Jonathan Pangborn (Benjamin Bratt), a man who mysteriously overcame a partial disability. When Strange discovers Pangborn playing basketball, the man tells Strange that Kamar-Taj is where he discovered the cure.

Strange visits Nepal and walks through Kathmandu's streets. He is seen and pursued. He is saved from thieves by another sorcerer, Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who then drives him to Kamar-Taj where he encounters the Ancient One.

The Ancient One is fully aware of Strange and brings him to a parallel realm where it is possible to use several hidden universes and dimensions for strength and mystical instruction. He starts his training and gradually gains the ability to unlock gates so he can jump throughout the globe. He discovers that the temple is a member of a covert organisation defending the planet from adversaries in other dimensions and worlds.

Mordo demonstrates a magic stick to Strange during training and informs him that relics must be utilised by a specific person. He reveals that there is concern that Kaecilius, a former pupil of the Ancient One, may comprehend the magic and summon Dormammu from the Dark Dimension to conquer the planet. Kaecilius stole a spell from a book and fled with three fanatics. Angered, Strange claims he has merely come to treat his hands and has no intention of joining their gang.

Strange explores the library that Wong maintains for Kamar-Taj (Benedict Wong). Strange develops into an avid reader, taking out numerous books from the humourless Wong and devouring them all. When he inquires about the book that Kaecilius was seeking, Wong responds that Kaecilius stole pages from it because it is only intended for use by the Sorcerer Supreme. When Strange becomes proficient at building portals, he takes additional library books and discovers astral travel.

Strange learns how to utilise the Eye of Agamotto, a time-shifting pendant, and is able to read the book's missing page one night while Wong seems to be absent from the library. He is told not to utilise time spells by Mordo and Wong because they can create time loops in which the user could get trapped indefinitely and also introduce bad forces into their realm.

Wong reveals that the organisation keeps watch over the world from three Sanctums located in London, New York, and Hong Kong. He also provides further background on Dormammu, revealing that he is a wholly malevolent being hell-bent on destroying all other known worlds, with Earth serving as his long-term goal.

Kaecilius' team attacks the London Sanctum, a plain structure with a logo window, after finally deciphering the stolen magic. Strange enters the New York Sanctum through a door after being thrown there by the London Sanctum's response. He travels the floors looking at various relics while the building is unoccupied. He looks at a burgundy cloak that is moving in a glass cabinet. He discovers three glass doors at the end of a hallway that serve as portals to other locations; the location may be changed by rotating a dial adjacent to each door.

The New York Sanctum is the next target of Kaecilius and his crew. Strange picks up fighting techniques on the spot. Using the gates and the burgundy cloak, a relic that seems to have some intelligence and wraps itself about him, he defeats two zealots. He uses the cloak to subdue the third zealot and place Kaecilius on an old binding rack for restraint. In their discussion of the Ancient One and immortality, Strange and Kaecilius make the argument that the Ancient One obtained her long life by employing forces from the Dark Dimension.

When Strange relaxes his defences, the third zealot comes to life and stabs him. Strange stumbles into a janitor's closet at Christine's hospital after opening a gate. As Christine connects him to a heart monitor and performs an emergency pericardiocentesis to drain extra blood from around his heart, he finds her and just about manages to get on a table. In the meantime, Strange separates his astral body and keeps fighting the fanatic. Christine eventually assists Strange in killing the zealot by shocking him with a defibrillator. Christine can't see the zealot, but she can sense something is happening, and she is quite alarmed. Strange tells Christine he must go back after getting stitched up and then exits via the gate.

Mordo joins Strange in New York after Kaecilius managed to flee. Additionally, the Ancient One appears and urges Strange to rule the New York Sanctum. They are impressed that the Cloak of Levitation, a supernatural cloak, has chosen him. Strange is hesitant to accept the role, though, until they give him further information about Kaecilius and how the Ancient One used evil magic to extend her life.

As the struggle overflows into the street, Kaecilius comes with more zealots, and Strange makes a Mirror Dimension to confine it. As he did in the opening scene when he battled the Ancient One, Kaecilius utilises his abilities to shape-shift the city and confuse Strange. The Ancient One comes back to assist, but she stumbles and sustains fatal injuries. She is taken to Christine's hospital by Strange, but it is already too late. They converse while staring over New York City as Strange follows the Ancient One's spirit in his astral form. She acknowledges that this is the end for her and recommends Strange take over.

Strange and Mordo discover Hong Kong is next on Kaecilius' list once they return to the New York Sanctum. They open the gate, but the city of Hong Kong has been overtaken and is being engulfed by the devastating force. The Sanctum's location is where Dormammu's Dark Dimension is expanding, and Wong, who was defending it, has been killed. Strange attempts to reverse the process with the Eye of Agamotto, but Kaecilius returns and is able to stun Strange, stopping the process in its tracks. Strange has an idea and takes off into the Dark Dimension of the Dormammu.

Here, he meets Dormammu and succeeds in starting an endless time loop where every time Strange is killed, time is always reset to the beginning of the battle. Even though Dormammu is enraged, she eventually consents to let Strange terminate the time loop in exchange for leaving Earth alone. As the Dark Dimension is about to disappear, Strange sends Kaecilius and his team there.

Mordo is angry that Strange violated the law when he used the time pendant and that the Ancient One extended her life using what he believes to be illegal abilities. The Ancient One forewarned Strange before she passed away that Mordo was very particular about obeying the rules, which was both his weakness and his strength, and that flexibility would be crucial when they collaborated. However, Mordo resign from the organisation and leaves after declaring that there must be a reckoning.

The Sanctum of New York is taken over by Strange. When he places the Eye of Agamotto back in its secure location at Kamar-Taj, Wong informs him of one more little-known fact about the Eye: it houses one of the six Infinity Stones.

In a scene during the middle of the credits, Strange makes the decision to assist Thor, who has sent his brother Loki to Earth to look for their father, Odin.

After the credits, Mordo visits Pangborn and takes away the magic that allows him to move. Mordo declares that there are too many sorcerers on Earth as Pangborn collapses in a heap.