You can get in a full round of cultural archaeology with this movie if you’re willing to take the time. It reflects interesting (if outdated) thoughts on crime and criminals, and the role of law enforcement.
The problems with the movie are again, multifaceted. Many of them are based in the movie’s failure to expand its scope beyond one-on-one dustups between mirror images.
Today we'll be looking at the film that turned around Marvel's cinematic fortunes, brought Hong Kong-style action (back) into the mainstream in a big way, and kept Stephen Dorff off the streets for another few months.
Given the expense and the subject matter, I don't think a Doctor Strange straight from the comics page would have clicked. Of course, this version didn't either.
The plot is pretty frail, borrowing heavily from Mad Max. But the real purpose of this movie is to serve as a "greatest hits" for the series, showcasing fight scene after artery-busting fight scene.
Let me see if I can make sense of what I just said there: the tension-building aspects work so well because Dougherty establishes early on that his cast can bite it at any time (even little kids).
