Dr. Strange is Marvel Studios’ last comic book movie for 2016.   Many comic book fans are eagerly wondering if the spectacle will live up to Marvel’s standards.   While we do have a full spoiler-free video down below, we can give you a brief written look at what to expect.

Pros

• This movie is one of few that actually impresses in 3-D. While most of the ideas are seemingly ripped from Inception’s playbook, some of the action sequences are truly stunning. In other words: spend the extra money for the 3-D ticket.
• There’s lot of great callbacks to earlier Marvel movies. While you don’t really need to track back to those movies to figure it out, the conversations those Easter eggs will produce are good ones.
• While we’re at it, there’s plenty of comic book shout-outs as well. If you’re familiar with Steve Ditko’s original Dr. Strange art, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the big fight at the end. There’s also reference to the Wand of Watoomb and other mystical Marvel artifacts.
• There was a lot of concern over Tilda Swinton’s and Chiwetel Ejifor’s casting in the movie because they look nothing like their comic book counterparts, but their performances transcended any issues that some may have.
• There’s a bonus “character”–if you can call it that–in Strange’s famous mansion. This character wasn’t exactly advertised, but exhibits tremendous personality in the fight scenes. Let’s just say this bonus character is going to be a cosplayer’s nightmare.

Cons

• The story moves a little too quick at times, taking us right into Strange’s famous car accident within minutes of the film’s opening. There’s more to his story than the car wreck, but it does happen pretty fast, so don’t be late to the movie.
• In some ways, Cumberbatch’s Dr. Strange is too much like RDJ’s Tony Stark. On the surface, they’re both two wealthy white dudes with rapid-fire, sarcastic personalities. It’s fine in separate films, but when Stark and Strange meet in an upcoming film, the writers are going to have to make them distinct.
• The villain Kaecilius, while being made from a combination of villains in the comics, was a little too ‘vanilla’ for this movie. Other than a brief reference to his motivations, there’s just no story to him.
• There were a few obvious plotholes that viewers will have to be willing to live with in order to understand the path of the narrative.

Want to know more about the movie?  Check out the video below for a spoiler-free review.