Second time proves lucky for ‘Dr Strange’

The annual Comic-Con festival is where Hollywood studio bosses come face-to-face with fanboy culture, and it’s therefore the perfect platform to launch the second trailer for an upcoming tentpole movie based on a comic book that badly needs a boost. The first look at Disney/Marvel’s Doctor Strange was welcomed with as much enthusiasm as a dose of medicine, but things have improved in what is being called the real trailer. Scott Derrickson directs alternative pin-up Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange, a neurosurgeon who protects the world from the forces of evil. The first movie in what appears to be a franchise is an origin tale that reveals how Strange was trained to harness his powers by the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton). The visual effects are on expected lines, but Cumberbatch’s buffed-up body is the surprise here. The cast includes Mads Mikkelsen as the arch-villain and Rachel McAdams as Strange’s Mary Jane Watson/Lois Lane/Rachel Dawes. The movie opens across the world and in India on November 4.