WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
I’m probably going to say this over and over again but that would be because growing up I was always more of DC fan than Marvel, but I never had much of an idea who Doctor Strange was. However, I don’t think I could imagine someone else playing him other than Benedict Cumberbatch (I will probably say that a lot too) but that might be because of certain other characters he’s played in the past.
12 Years a Slave
This film, in my opinion, holds as a reminder that not only were there free black people due to the north and south divide but also that not all slave owners were bad. That’s not me advocating for the slave trade but more the fact that there were places where they weren’t treated so badly. Benedict Cumberbatch’s character of William Lord is that reminder. He’s sympathetic as well as listening to the ideas of his slaves. In addition to this, when we first meet his character – the emotion he shows when he is the one to separate Eliza when from her children is so human and I guess what some would see as uncharacteristic of a slave owner. Truthfully, you don’t totally respect how sympathetic his character is until you meet Michael Fassbender’s character of Edwin Epps, who is just a downright arsehole and fulfils the stereotype.
Imitation Game
I wonder if the posthumous diagnosis of Alan Turing as being ‘autistic’ is why they chose to write his character in this way. I don’t want to say that suddenly making this diagnosis, with who knows what proof, belittles the man’s intelligence because that would probably be deemed as offensive. There are parts of the way Cumberbatch plays Turing that reminds me of the way he plays Sherlock Holmes. The one thing I will say is, at least they got it right Turing was gay. You could say that Cumberbatch looks like Turing but a slender version. However, I think the choice of the actor playing a young Alan Turing is a great match for Cumberbatch.
Black Mass
Now, you all must know by now that I love a film based on a true story and this film is no exception. However, it’s not as good and Cumberbatch’s role isn’t as big as I remembered. May be because I thought he was playing an FBI agent instead of being the senator brother of the lead character, James ‘Whitey’ Bulger. This however, doesn’t make his role any less important as if it wasn’t for Senator Bulger, Whitey may not have got away with as much as he did or for so long.
Honorary Mentions
I cannot talk about Benedict Cumberbatch without mentioning Sherlock. If you haven’t watch it yet, I highly recommend it because I think he has possibly made the best adaptation of Sherlock Holmes for our generation (as a main character I mean, I can’t comment on Henry Cavill without seeing Enola Holmes). He has even stepped into two amazing franchises by leading his voice to that of Smaug the dragon in The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug and taking on the role of Khan in Star Trek: Into Darkness.
