Factual error: In the first scene where Dr Strange is preparing for surgery he uses improper surgical gowning technique breaking aseptic protocols. Strange puts on a mask after washing his hands, contaminating his clean hands by bringing them in proximity to the non-sterile environment of his face. Surgical masks must be worn before the full washing of hands. Another error is that he inserted his hands all the way through his gown to don gloves. Hands must never leave the sleeves and gloves must be put on with the sleeves still covering.
Doctor Strange (2016)
Directed by: Scott Derrickson
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mads Mikkelsen
Continuity mistake: Strange is at home, looking for help on a video chat. His friend says no, and in his rage he sweeps almost everything off the table including the Microsoft Surface laptop. Christine enters with food, we cut back, and the area of the table to his left, which was totally clear a second ago, now has several pieces of paper on it and the laptop with a closed lid. A few moments and cuts later, the laptop is in perfect condition on the table with lid open.
Visible crew/equipment: After Doctor Strange experiments with the magical doorway in the Sanctum Sanctorum, he leaves it on a desert view and we cut to a shot panning across all the artifacts. At the very start of the shot on the right hand side of the screen is a crewmember standing in the shadows looking bored. Really blatant if you turn up the brightness, but easy enough to spot if you know what you're looking at. (00:56:00)
Trivia: The sorcerors' WiFi password, Shamballa, is a reference to the 1986 Doctor Strange graphic novel "Into Shamballa."
Trivia: Mid credits scene: Thor pays a visit to Strange to help with Loki and find Odin. This scene takes place in the upcoming 2017 Marvel film Thor: Ragnarok.
Trivia: The envelope opened by Strange has the same year of birth as the release of Doctor Strange Vol. 2 #1 in 1974.
Kaecilius: How long have you been at Kamar-Taj, Mister..?
Dr. Stephen Strange: Doctor.
Kaecilius: Mister Doctor?
Dr. Stephen Strange: It's Strange.
Kaecilius: Maybe. Who am I to judge?
The Ancient One: We never lose our demons, we only learn to live above them.
Dr. Stephen Strange: This doesn't make any sense.
The Ancient One: Not everything does. Not everything has to.
Question: When Dr. Strange gets into the accident near the beginning of the film, why didn't his car's airbag deploy? Wouldn't such an expensive car have all kinds of standard safety features?
Question: Why didn't Strange heal his hands and continue being a surgeon?
Answer: Medically, he could not heal his hands. He spent his entire fortune trying to return to being a surgeon through experimental procedures. Once he completed his training to become a sorcerer, he realised there was more to the world than he realised. The Ancient One correctly stated that he was a surgeon for his own ego; he wanted to prove he was the best and helped people for that reason only. By joining the sorcerers he was given a greater purpose and chose this over returning to his former life.
His hands were healing, just not quickly enough for his needs. This was showing his egotistical attitudes.
Answer: For now, he is still in the midst of studying the mystical arts that he has not yet mastered and may not be able or interested in returning to his former profession at this time. He has also assumed the role as caretaker of the New York Sanctum, and is dedicated to helping protect Earth (along with the London and Hong Kong Sanctums) from threats by the other dimensions.
Question: When Strange is surgically removing the bullet from the patient's brain, why did he ask the one doctor to cover his wristwatch?
Answer: I took it to mean Dr. Strange could hear the watch ticking, and he wanted complete silence.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Chosen answer: The airbag did deploy. However, the deployment occurred when the car first crashed and we see the accident from the outside, so we can't see it. Once we get a shot of the interior, you can see the airbag is sticking out from the steering wheel, but (unlike what some movies would show you) airbags deflate very rapidly after a crash, so you may have missed it.
But if the airbags did deploy, then why did he have such major injuries? Wouldn't the airbags have made what happened to his hands less severe?
I don't think so. I watched it again recently and I think I saw the car's speedometer crush his hands while they were still on the steering wheel, while the airbag deploys from the centre of the steering wheel, nowhere near his hands.
Often in real life, when air bags deploy from the steering wheel, they force the hands off the steering wheel resulting in the hands hitting the windshield. Damage to hands, wrists, and lower arms are common.