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Doctor Strange Blu-ray offers decent video and great audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
Dr. Stephen Strange was one of the most gifted surgeons in medicine before his hands were left shattered and useless as a result of a car crash. Spending his fortune in pursuit of a way to fix his fractured body, the dejected doctor believed all was lost until the Ancient One offered him hope and healing in Tibet. Training mind, body and soul with the Ancient One and his pupils, Doctor Strange's scope, power and compassion grows as he steps closer to his mystical fate. But to fully embrace his destiny and protect the worlds of magic and reality, Strange must face betryal, death and the emergence of Dormammu.
For more about Doctor Strange and the Doctor Strange Blu-ray release, see Doctor Strange Blu-ray Review published by Martin Liebman on July 13, 2008 where this Blu-ray release scored 3.0 out of 5.
Love, loss, pain. They are stones in the wall that block your path. See the wall for what it is,
and tear it down.
If memory serves, Doctor Strange was the first Marvel animated superhero movie I've
seen, and I left the experience thoroughly entertained and impressed by the Doctor Strange
character as well as the universe he inhabits. A man whose life was controlled by ambition,
greed, and self-importance, Stephen Strange is a superhero whose powers were hidden within his
being, clouded both by his shortcomings as an individual and his refusal to see the world as it is.
Perhaps the character is so approachable because, at least as his back story is depicted in this
film, he is nothing more than a mere mortal whose inner powers --which we all may
possess -- are brought about as a result of what may be the ultimate dejection, sadness, and loss
of physical strength and ability, some or all of which most of us have experienced in life.
Strange's is a story of greatness derived from the depths of despair, and the moral of the story is
that no matter what your lot in life, what your power or prestige (or lack thereof), perhaps there
is a
glimmer of the unusual, of the supernatural, of the makings of a superhero inside all of us.
You will buy this movie, you will buy this movie.
Dr. Stephen Strange (voiced by Bryce Johnson) is a brilliant yet unapproachable and self-centered
neurosurgeon interested only in medical journals and making money and a name for himself.
Thus, he treats only the wealthy and privileged, never the anonymous individual. This jaded,
unforgiving nature results from the death of his sister by his own hands on the operating table.
When Strange learns of the odd case of a young girl who
slipped into a coma after an unusually frightening dream, he himself begins to see frightening
visions, and as a result crashes
his automobile, severely injuring his hands and rendering his abilities as a surgeon useless.
Despite
his
wealth and prestige, he cannot find a doctor with the ability to heal his wounds, and as he
becomes
more dejected and driven to suicidal thoughts, a mysterious individual approaches him and gives
him a map showing the location of an ancient monastery in Tibet where the doctor's wounds may
be
healed. Strange is mentored by "The Ancient One" (voiced by Michael Yama), but Strange finds
that
the techniques and tasks asked of him are not the kind of healing his body needs. Instead, The
Ancient One insists on healing the doctor's mind and soul, believing that once these aspects of
the doctor's life are fine-tuned and in harmony, the healing of the body will take care of itself.
Reluctantly, Strange continues the training, accepting the ways of the Ancient One and becoming
more
than a mere mortal doctor; he will fulfill his destiny and become the "Sorcerer Supreme" and
assist The Ancient One and the other heroes under his command against a deadly enemy known
as Dormammu.
Doctor Strange is a fine animated movie with more human drama, action, excitement,
and twists and turns than many live action, high dollar films being made today. It is perhaps in
the story's heart that, above all else, sets Doctor Strange apart from other superhero
films,
animated or not. We cannot help but to dislike Doctor Strange at first, but as he finds himself
and his gifts, so to do we find a newfound respect for him as he takes one of the worst blows that
could be dealt to a man of his profession and stature, wallows in his misery to the brink of his
own destruction, but ultimately redefines himself and embraces his true gift in life. Strange
transforms not only his body, but
more
importantly, his mind and soul into a superhero who can perform sorcery and also now serves as
an
inspiration and role model of perseverance and determination, turning a loss into a gain and
reshaping his outlook on life and his place in the world. Unfortunately, Doctor Strange is
an all-too-short origins movie that left me hungry for more than this most basic of introductions
into his world. Be it an animated sequel or a more in-depth live action film, currently rumored to
be in the hands of Guillermo Del Toro, I am eager to see and learn more about this character in
the future.
Lionsgate presents Doctor Strange on Blu-ray in 1080p high definition and framed in the
film's original 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Much of the film has a dull look to it, and colors are sometimes
uninteresting and drab as a result. They do seem true, and there are times when colors are
eye-popping and vibrant, especially various gold, red, and purple hues seen throughout the movie.
The image also lacks ultimate sharpness and clarity in many places, and softness abounds
throughout. Jagged edges are visible on occasion, generally on solid, straight lines like door frames
(check out the flashback scene to Strange's younger days when he teases his sister for wearing
lipstick). Doctor Strange on Blu-ray is notorious for its color banding issues, and the film's
numerous foggy scenes are the biggest culprit on the whole, although a shot of a wall/window at
the 51:13 mark may be the most egregious single example in the movie. What is odd about
Doctor Strange is that it is a rare (at least of the ones I have seen) animated feature on
Blu-ray that doesn't look fantastic, be it Pixar-style computer animation or hand-drawn style
animation. While the various issues don't make the image a bad one per se, this is definitely the
least-impressive animated film I've screened on this format, but the strength of the film and the
generally solid audio presentation make up for what is a mediocre video presentation.
Doctor Strange materializes on Blu-ray with a fine DTS-HD MA 7.1 lossless surround
sound audio track. The film's opening action sequence is one of wonder and excitement. It
begins in a tight sewer, and there is a fine echoing sensation created throughout the entire
soundstage. The film's exciting opening battle puts your sound system through its paces with
deep, powerful lows and a nonstop surround sound presence. Dialogue is perfectly crisp and
precise from the first word to the last. Ambience and effects don't always hold up with the
astounding and natural rear channel presence heard at the beginning of the movie. A nice
sounding thunderstorm is heard in chapter four, but there is little in the way of back channel
presence to create a palpable, spacial realism and sense of envelopment that comes with the best
audio tracks. However, a subsequent shot of an airplane traveling from front to back does use
the back channels perfectly. The track seems inconsistent at best in its surround sound use.
Some places that scream out for a well-balanced, all-encompassing sound field are far too front
heavy, while at other times the rear channels pick up the slack and make for some high-quality
sonic moments in the film. Still, when this one gets going, like the battle scene in chapter six
and the final showdown at the end of the film, the track offers one of those "blow you out of your
chair" experiences. With the extra two channels in the back utilized and the subwoofer working
hard
to rattle and reverberate your bones and senses, Lionsgate has another quality yet slightly
inconsistent lossless audio experience that adds another layer of excitement to the Doctor
Strange experience.
Doctor Strange brings a bit of sorcery to Blu-ray with a handful of decent supplemental
features. The Origin of Doctor Strange (1080i, 14:02) is an excellent piece that examines
Doctor Strange's history in comics with the original writers and creators of the character, including
Stan Lee. A First Look At Avengers Reborn (1080i, 5:45) examines the new characters
about to be brought to the screen for the next installment of the Marvel/Lionsgate animated
superhero collaboration. Doctor Strange Concept Art (1080i, 2:18) is a series of
hand-drawn conceptual ideas that showcase several major scenes from the film in their earliest
stages, accompanied by voice-overs and sound effects. Marvel Video Game Cinematics
(1080p) allows fans to see some cut scenes from various video games, including X-Men Legends
2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Finally, trailers for The Invincible Iron Man
and Ultimate Avengers 2
conclude the supplemental package.
Doctor Strange is a solid animated outing that serves as a fabulous introduction to a comic
book character who has perhaps flown a bit under the radar beneath the avalanche of popular
culture
exposure of such legendary comic book superheroes come to life like Batman, Spider-Man, The X-Men, and others.
Lionsgate brings this character to life on Blu-ray in a fairly standard package that offers up a decent
supplemental section and fairly good audio, but the disc does lack in video quality. However, the
movie itself is good enough to make up for any shortcomings to be found on the disc, and is one
worth checking out on Blu-ray one way or another as an entertaining animated adventure or for
anyone curious about this under-appreciated comic book character.
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