I watched Doctor Strange and couldn't help but think how better JA was
Contains SPOILERS for both films:
1) I thought time being the most precious element in the universe and the one that rich (or otherwise) families seek in JA was far more interesting than the "uh, time is bad because it means we'll die, so let's sign up with this evil CGI monster from the Dark Dimension to achieve no more time and thus eternal life.". A human villain like Balem is also infinitely more interesting than a CGI monster like Dormammu. Like.. how can I relate to or even comprehend what Dormammu might or might not want? I can't! If you have evil CGI monsters in your film make sure they are scary (eg Cthulhu-like), because that's the only emotion they can make me feel. Otherwise all I can say about them is "I guess they are evil".
2) Both movies had the whole "there's more to this world than you know" aspect of The Matrix. Doctor Strange much more so. On the other hand JA also had the "humans as a (life) source" element from The Matrix. JA was criticized with "oh, how cute, the Wachowskis just copy The Matrix", while Doctor Strange is seen as "wow, that reminds me of The Matrix and Inception, awesome!" While a "chosen One" plot wasn't in either movie, Doctor Strange has Strange become a super good sorcerer fast and for no good reason. Why is he in the end the one that defends the Sanctums and such, and all the other pupils of the Ancient One are gone? Why is Strange so good exactly? JA had a refreshingly plain protagonist - from start to finish there wasn't a single scene where she presented herself as being an extraordinarily good fighter (as a matter of fact she never made it her goal to train).
3) "Dark Dimension", "Mirror Dimension" and such, weren't any easier to my ears than "bees don't lie", but they went A-OK with other people apparently.
4) I was very surprised to see Giacchino's name in the credits of Doctor Strange. His score was largely unmemorable. The beginning alone of JA (until JUPITER ASCENDING comes on the screen) makes it one of the best scores of 2015.
5) Doctor Strange has great visuals in 3D, but personally I thought the massive planets and spaceships in JA were a better use of the format. That being said both are great.
6) JA's final act/battle very refreshingly does not take place on Earth. I remember from the trailers, when people had decided they really wanted JA to fail and they were commenting: "Wow, another garbage movie by Hollywood where the trailer shows everything that happens in it. Let me guess: Jupiter learns she is the One and she must protect the Earth, and there's a gigantic battle in the skies of Chicago, where half of it is destroyed by alien monsters, but Jupiter saves the day". Well, those people were wrong. The final battle didn't take place on Earth - nor was Earth at immediate danger (the population of Earth would be liquefied.. at some point). Contrast this with the skies opening up in Doctor Strange for CGI destruction of the Earth as commanded by a gigantic CGI monster to creep in. That's like every superhero movie as of late.
Anyway, in my opinion, I think that Doctor Strange is a nice fun movie that somehow got the critics saying "amazing visuals, ok story = what more do you want out of a film like this???", while for JA it was "good visuals, garbage story = one of the worst films ever made / everything wrong there is with Hollywood / this is the reason studios won't greenlit original pictures again" etc. 😑
But that's just my opinion. 😃