9/10
First off, I really enjoyed this movie - the story is pretty tight & the actors all brought their A game. This is a good Sam Raimi movie - he throws in some of his trademark visual elements, but nothing over the top, it’s a lot like Spider-man 2 in that regard. There are some really inventive fight scenes & the visual storytelling does a great job complimenting the actors.
You can go into this film without having seen any of the other films or tv shows after Endgame, but you may miss some of the minor details. The broad strokes of the story are covered pretty organically during dialogue (they don’t feel like exposition).
Benedict Cumberbatch slips comfortably into his role as Stephen Strange, which makes sense because even thought this is his 2nd movie with his as the main character, it’s his 6th in the role. He and Benedict Wong play off each other well. Elizabeth Olsen (whom I adore) is magnetic in her scenes - Dr. Strange’s name may be in the title, but a fair number of times this is really her movie. Xochitl Gomez does a good job as America Chavez & filling the role of audience POV character - if the speculation about the Young Avengers is even half right then we’ll be seeing more of her. Rachel McAdams (Christine Palmer) & Chiwetel Ejiofor (Baron Mordo) are good in their supporting roles. There are a bunch of cameos in act 2 - some that folks have predicted or been given away by the trailers, and a couple that I was not expecting. That was one of the more memorable parts of the film.
There is a mid-credits scene (that sets up future movies) and a post credits scene (that was good fun).