Doctor Strange Trailer: A Promising Beginning?

The first trailer for Doctor Strange, the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe installment starring Benedict Cumberbatch, debuted on Tuesday night, and it's already generated enthusiastic fan response. But does the trailer really instill much hope that this superhero origin story will take full advantage of its charismatic star?

The trailer, which clocks in at right around two minutes, is very informative, at least as far as laying the groundwork for the title character's roots. Through imagery and voice-overs, we are told that Steven Strange is a wealthy, successful surgeon who survives a horrific car accident but loses his career because of his injuries. He then travels to a remote land, where a mystical teacher, played by Tilda Swinton, gives him access to alternate dimensions and magical superpowers.

Beyond that, there's not much to see. Cumberbatch's performance in the trailer is reduced to a series of shots in which he reacts to something with open-mouthed amazement. Much of the rest of the trailer looks derivative; the dimension-bending visual effects look as if they were lifted straight from Inception, and the entire premise of the scruffy hero-to-be being trained by a martial arts master in a remote Himalayan enclave unmistakeably recalls Batman Begins.

Doctor Strange may have some very special secrets up its sleeve, but this first-look trailer gives little hint to what they may be.