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In Doctor Strange, Kaecilius goes in person to Kamar-Taj to steal pages from the book that contained a ritual.

Why didn't he simply use the teleport spell to teleport directly inside the library and get all the books he wanted?

He could have done it while the library protector was asleep. He could have avoided being caught and circumvented an unnecessary chase between him and the ancient one.

Also, later in the movie, Strange himself does that to get some books while Wong is distracted.

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  • Wong wasn't the Librarian then but one assumes there were safeguards against it...of some magical kind.
    – Paulie_D
    Feb 2 '17 at 20:53
  • Or Kaecilius may not have been able to use the spell as precisely as Strange.
    – miltonaut
    Feb 21 '17 at 14:18
  • Most likely a plot hole resulting from a funny gag/sequence.
    – Tablemaker
    Feb 22 '17 at 19:18
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    The problem with sci-fi films is that sometimes the directors, screen-play writers etc are too involved in creating dramatic effects like thrills, chase-sequences that they completely miss out on profound details and basic logic. This is what I believe happened with Doctor Strange. The video below poses the same question you asked and many more. youtube.com/watch?v=9e5epVDd9h0
    – Rippy
    Feb 24 '17 at 5:29
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+25

Kaecilius isn't as powerful as Strange

Keep in mind that Stephen Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme, meaning he is the "practitioner of the mystic or magic arts who has greater skills than all others or commands a greater portion of the ambient magical energies than any other organism on a given world or dimension". Although he had just began learning at the time, it is safe to assume that even as a novice he possess a higher level of skill than Kaecilius. Kaecilius most likely isn't skillful enough to teleport in undetected, whereas Strange was able to do so with ease.

Kamar-Taj is protected

Being the haven of spell casting and learning for sorcerers, Kamar-Taj could very well be protected from outside spells such as teleportation. Akin to Hogwarts in the Harry Potter universe, the Ancient One could have put up defenses for Kamar-Taj, making it difficult to penetrate via teleportation. Kaecilius didn't have a choice but to infiltrate the library by force.

A show of power

Kaecilius is trying to make a point. He believes himself to be in the right and the Ancient One in the wrong. What better way to drive his point than to display his power, specifically by making a spectacle of stealing the book. Kaecilius waltz's in to to Kamar-Taj library with his posse and immediately beheads the librarian. Seems like he wanted to send a message.

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    A point of disagreement - at this point Strange is in training and is not the Sorcerer Supreme until the end of the movie.
    – Tablemaker
    Feb 24 '17 at 16:22
  • That's a good point. I was under the impression that the Sorcerer Supreme isn't necessarily a title that you earn, but a title that one would be destined to receive. Strange possesses more "innate" magical ability, meaning that it was always in his path to become the Sorcerer Supreme.
    – Zip Zap J
    Feb 24 '17 at 16:36
  • I agree he has a lot of intelligence and potential and clearly can (and will) become the sorcerer supreme. However, my memory of the movie is fuzzy and I thought they played fast and loose with the general time-frame of his training.
    – Tablemaker
    Feb 24 '17 at 16:38
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    I remember something about at least a year had passed.
    – Tablemaker
    Feb 24 '17 at 16:42
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    An added bullet point for you here: Strange stole a book that was unbound. Kae stole a book that was chained (or did he? Main I can't wait until Tuesday to rewatch).
    – user23604
    Feb 25 '17 at 18:21

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