At this point it feels almost moot to say that any doubt in Marvel’s ability to deliver is undeserved. Not only did they put together a typically well-oiled machine of a film, they also managed to produce one which gets some distance away from the homogeneity that has afflicted the studio’s recent offerings – and not just because this one isn’t peppered with gratuitous guest stars. Director Scott Derrickson comes from a tradition of horror, and perhaps that’s why Doctor Strange seems to walk the line between unsettling and awe-inspiring. The visuals are dizzying, and most viewers will forgive the film a lot just because it’s delivering something they haven’t seen before. At times the aggressively kaleidoscopic effects almost hurt things – they occasionally seem to happen just because they can, rather than to serve a story purpose – but the weirdness is also endlessly inviting. Accompanied by Michael Giacchino’s superb lite-prog score, it’s a truly cinematic experience. See it in IMAX. See it in 3D. Plug it directly into your eyes if they’ll let you. The only valid comparison points for the physics-bending action scenes come from anime and computer games, which until now have been light years beyond blockbuster cinema in terms of their visual imagination. Grounded is not a word you’d use to describe a single fight in this movie. Each one mostly combines the graceful choreography of Hong Kong cinema with intricate, high-resolution CGI. They just beg you to stay completely rapt. Cumberbatch also doesn’t quite inhabit the character in the way some previous Marvel actors have taken to their roles. He’s hardly adrift playing Strange, an arrogant genius in the Sherlock Holmes mould – but just as often it feels like he’s playing Young House MD. Where Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are synonymous with their actors, it’s relatively easy to imagine someone else taking on Stephen Strange and doing a good job with it.  The rest of the cast fare better. Chiwetel Ejiofor is great as the loyal student of the Ancient One, Mordo. Benedict Wong’s Wong is an instant comic foil stand-out. Mikkelsen puts in an effective showing as Kaecilius, aka Stock Marvel Villain #4 (see also: Ronan, Malekith). Even accounting for its flaws, perhaps the best way you can praise Doctor Strange is by saying there are parts when it doesn’t feel like a Marvel movie at all. Sure, it’s got the mandated corporate tie-ins, it’s got the somewhat arch tone (spot the ADR jokes, process nerds!) and it’s got the self-mythologising down pat – but it owes surprisingly little to its MCU forbearers. Even the climactic battle is original, both in execution and structure. In the end, what holds the film back is that the boundless imagination it applies to its visuals doesn’t quite extend to its story as well. But there’s still a lot to enjoy here.