Caught a Thursday night showing of Doctor Strange, the latest entry in Marvel Studio’s ever-expanding cinematic universe.  It was a great experience, hitting all of the right notes with storytelling and visual cues.

Doctor Strange tells the story of a pompous surgeon brought to a point of existential desperation after a car accident leaves his hands beyond repair.  He finds a world full of possibilities when he travels to Kathmandu to seek out healing from the ancient one.

The movie is beautifully shot and wonderfully acted.  It moves quickly through the early origin story of the character while also making a couple of nice nods to the broader cinematic universe.  The humor is spot-on, even while the plot takes a number of somber turns.

But it’s the philosophical conversations underlining the story that made the movie for me.  In class, we talk about the nature of the world and the nature of people and the deeper point of things.  This can be particularly daunting when you encounter a strange brew of belief and skepticism.  Consider this clip:

While the language might be frustrating to some, it was nice to hear a movie character of some weight talking convincingly about the nature of humanity and the potential of “spirit.”  A bridge builder, for sure.

There are a number of good, smart moments like this that reinforce the stakes in having a fuller understanding of ourselves and the universe in which we live, even if those stakes are drawn on a comic book canvas.

I can’t help but highly recommend the movie.  Doctor Strange is easily up there with The Avengers, Winter Soldier, and Ant-Man.  I’m looking forward to a second viewing.