"Doctor Strange" Teaser Trailer Review

Marvel's latest origin story hits theatres this November, and we have finally been given our first trailer. This has actually been quite a week for trailers. Within the span of a week, we received trailers for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Suicide Squad, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and now Doctor Strange. Does this newest teaser keep up the quality the other three have delivered? Time to find out.

The trailer begins with a shot of a car underwater, then cutting to Stephen Strange in the car with a nice upside down shot. Then we get the Marvel logo that beautifully fades into the next scene. Already, we know that the film will be following Strange comic book origin rather closely as he gets into an accident that damages his hands. We are then treated to two shots of Strange in a foreign location. We see him run his hand across some rotating panels, with his hand being bandaged from the accident.

The film uses very clever editing to its advantage, emphasizing how the accident changed his life. We see a close-up of his face, that immediately cuts to him with an air mask and plenty of cuts and bruises. We see Strange dressed in a tuxedo looking clean and formal walking towards a window, which then cuts to him in less formal clothing and more ragged, having approached the same window. Finally, we see him as a surgeon with his gloves on and his hands motionless. Then the trailer cuts to Strange in the same position but instead, in a cage, his hands shaking. This furthers the point that the accident has trapped him in a life that he cannot escape. There is a lot of symbolism in the trailer.

This culminates in a shot that clearly illustrates that his hands have been severely damaged. We also get a quick glimpse at Rachel McAdams' character, who many believe to be Clea from the comics. After a few more shots of a foreign country, presumably where the Ancient One can be found, we are presented something that I have yet to hear; Benedict Cumberbatch's American accent. Cumberbatch has such a deep, resonating voice that is absolutely hypnotizing when heard. Hearing him do an American accent threw me off for a second, but he pulls it off well and it is a bit hard to recognize it as Cumberbatch. Strange is saying how he does not believe in chakra or energy or anything of the sort. (We all know how that is going to turn out.)

It is here where we are introduced to the Ancient One, played by Tilda Swinton. This is a gender swap from the comics, but I do not believe it will affect the film very much. Tilda Swinton looks pretty good in the role and I look forward to what she brings to the character. We get some wonderful shots of her temple, which gets across an ancient Asian vibe. We then get one of the coolest shots in the trailer; the Ancient One punches Strange into the astral plane. This looks so well-done and will surely have fans of the comics losing their minds. And it is here where the trailer gets pretty crazy.

The next thing we get is a sneak peek at the villain, who is still unnamed as far as I know. We see him alter a room, as it begins to turn and weave, creating interesting, mesmerizing patterns. The effect resembles that of a kaleidoscope and really follows up the "open your mind" tagline rather well. We then hear the Ancient One tell Strange that there are other ways to save lives. We also get a better look at Chiwetel Ejiofor's character, Karl Mordo. Normally, Mordo would the villain of the story, but the New York pictures released earlier seem to contradict this. Perhaps they are saving that for a future sequel.

But then you see it; you see this magnificent shot. The Ancient One touches Strange on the forehead and he is cast into some distorted reality, which is followed by the above shot. There is really nothing I can say about it. It speaks for itself. This is a marvelous shot that defines the "change your reality" tagline. You can see Strange falling between the multiple planes. I particularly like the one on the right because it has boat floating on the water but it remains motionless. This is such a great moment. Inception, eat your heart out. The trailer seemingly ends with Strange begging the Ancient One to teach him. She seems to see some potential in Strange and I am curious to see how the dynamic between these two characters is handled. But what if I told you the above photo is only the second best shot in the trailer? It may sound crazy, but I believe the best moment of the trailer is actually the very last shot of Strange ascending the steps of his Sanctum Sanctorum. We see that he is wearing the Cloak of Levitation and the architecture is inspired. Certainly a more quiet shot, but a prominent one nonetheless.

Those are my thoughts on the Doctor Strange teaser trailer. Personally, I am very excited to this film. We have already seen what happened when Marvel took a chance on a relatively unknown property. Guardians of the Galaxy was a major success and is one of Marvel's strongest films. Doctor Strange has the opportunity to be one of the most unique comic book films we have ever seen. The magical elements lend themselves to originality and endless limitations. Benedict Cumberbatch is perfectly cast as the Sorcerer Supreme and looks identical to the illustrations seen in the comics. Speaking of which, I do not believe Strange will become the Sorcerer Supreme by the end of the film. I think Marvel will give him a steady progression throughout the franchise. This did a great job of teasing the film without giving away anything we did not already know. November cannot get here fast enough.