How sad is this?

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The setup: A crippled and embittered doctor travels to a hidden community in Tibet where he learns of his true destiny as the Sorcerer Supreme of his world.The verdict: I finished this film, thinking, "There are people out there suffering and I can do something to help them!" It is essentially a mystery with political overtones. It's fun watching it. Its complexity begins within its characters. A little too slow-paced for a film. The urge to just walk away almost got me a couple of times. But, in the end, this is okay. All the characters struggle against a system that has perpetuated falsehoods. Against this backdrop, our heroes must fight.

Marvel Animated's fourth film has improved over their previous efforts to bring us the origin tale of Doctor Stephen Strange and how he became the Sorceror Supreme. Since I have not followed the Dr. Strange comic series, I can't vouch for how well the studio followed the actual comic stories but the movie was entertaining regardless. Stephen Strange is a neurosurgeon who is haunted by a moment in his past and, as a result, has become an uncaring, self-centered individual. A car accident robs him the use of his hands, robbing him of his career, and he embarks on a mission to Tibet where he meets the Ancient One, who trains him in the art of sorcery. Strange soon learns where his fate is leading him as he is called upon to stop the evil entity Dormammu from entering our realm.As far as the story goes, I felt this was the best yet from Marvel's Animated series. It still has a watered-down feel to it but it manages to go into detailed history of Strange's training with Wong and the Ancient One (since it spends the majority of the movie focusing on it). Since the training is the center-point of the film, we are only given a short time to witness Dr. Strange after reaching his full potential and his battle with Dormammu's forces. The are a few other battles with Dormammu's forces scattered throughout to keep the story flowing, as well as introduce the Baron Mordo's disillusionment with the Ancient One. While I had wished they had given us more time post-training to enjoy, the film was still more enjoyable than the Iron Man origin (which bored me).The movie continues to show some of the same flaws as the first three from Marvel Animated. Though battle scenes look incredible (for the most part), any scene that is more subdued or dialogue-driven feels sort of shoddy with voice/visual inconsistencies. I have to admit, the animators have gotten better at showing emotion through the character's facial features (another complaint I've had of the first three films) and they seem more fluid. As has been the case in the past, the pros outweigh the cons and this is a major improvement over Iron Man's animated run. As long as Marvel Animated continues to improve with each effort as they have here, I think they can put out some quality films in the future.

This is by far the best animated movie Marvel has produced so far. It takes a lot from Batman Begins as we watch Stephen Strange go on a similar journey. We have a man who is a cold-hearted surgeon (and as we find out later, has good reason to be) yet he is tasked with helping people on a daily basis. This makes for some great drama when we see how people react to Stephen Strange knowing this to be his personality. It is only when Dr. Strange becomes broken does he learn how to truly heal and it is that kind of spiritual journey that makes this story so interesting. As with most origin stories there is a slow build as the character learns about himself and what he must become in order to overcome his current situation. There is also influence from 'The Matrix' here as Dr. Strange is introduced to a world which is invisible to most but is all around us. This is where the action comes in as we see The Ancient One's warriors take on creatures from another world that are at the command of one of Dr. Strange's classic nemesis, Dormammu! It all leads up to a climactic battle that will not disappoint. Marvel is definitely learning how to improve with each new animated film and I hope this trend continues.

I was lucky enough to see this movie at a friends house, I was amazed that an animation like this could kick so much butt, by "butt" I mean the rest of the high budget live action Marvel movies. I really enjoyed this film, the movie drives you from the beginning to end and gives you such excitement.Dr. Strange is a likable character from bad to good you know he's special. I wish there was a series after this movie, I would definitely watch the series like an 8 year old. I was really surprised and I think you would be too, if you've read the comic books maybe you would pick and match, it would probably ruin the feel of the movie but if you haven't then you should just enjoy the experience.10/10