Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness feels like a much crazier and darker film that’s trying to break free from the constraints of the Marvel formula.
This movie is a sequel to the first Doctor Strange movie, simply titled Doctor Strange (2016). This new film promises to put Dr. Steven Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) through an even crazier adventure than last time.
But this time, with the legendary Sam Raimi (famous for the Evil Dead franchise and the first three Spider-Man films) in the director’s chair, it also brings a never before seen horror edge to the Marvel film franchise.
This film is one of the movies that, the less you know going in, the better the film experience. So while I won’t be spoiling anything, it might be best to skip this review if you’re at all curious about seeing this film.
The film’s plot is about Dr. Strange’s efforts to protect a girl named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), who has the ability to open portals to other universes within the multiverse. Together with his best friend and Sorcerer Supreme, Wong (Benedict Wong), and another Marvel mystical superhero Wanda Maximoff (AKA the Scarlet Witch, Elizabeth Olsen), he’ll have to fend off dark creatures, zombies, an evil version of himself, and other such monstrosities.
The film is a bit of a mixed bag, with both strong and weak elements.
The acting all around is superb, no one gives a bad performance, with special mention going to Cumberbatch and Olsen.
Cumberbatch easily brings across the charm of the Dr. Strange, while also getting across that, past the quick wit and headstrong attitude, he is a powerful sorcerer who can think himself out of almost everything.
Elizabeth Olsen is great as the Scarlet Witch. Without spoiling anything, she gets across how unhinged and powerful Wanda is with ease, and can be very intimidating.
Something else that works well in this film’s favor is how imaginative and out-there the visuals are at times, leading to jaw dropping set pieces and backgrounds.
The over the top visuals and fights help this film feel the most like a comic book out of the recent Marvel movies. This makes sense, as the first two Spider-Man films Sam Raimi directed also felt like comic books come to life.
While not as gory as Raimi’s Evil Dead films, this picture can still be pretty creepy. It pushes the boundaries of its PG-13 rating. It wouldn’t be a great idea to bring you young kids to this one.
Finally, the film has a series of cameos, that I won’t spoil here, that almost made me jump out of my chair in the theater.
But along with all the good, the film brings a fair amount of bad.
Obviously this film should not be your first Marvel movie. You will be very confused and will have no idea what is going on.
While Elizabeth Olson does bring a powerhouse performance, the character of Wanda might anger some fans of hers.
Speaking of characters, America feels less like a person and more like a plot device to be dragged around and occasionally say something kind of funny. She doesn’t really change or grow throughout the film.
If she was replaced by a rock that occasionally opened up portals to other universes, not a lot would change in the film’s plot.
While the movie’s dip into horror is well done and can be legitimately creepy, it has a hard time naturally flowing into the usual Marvel jokes and quips. At times it feels like the horror is being held back or dragged down by the Marvel formula.
The plot also has a fair bit of parts where it’s just exposition or someone just explaining information that’s important to the plot, and everytime it happens it brings the film to a complete halt.
There are also points where characters just know things, or just say something works a certain way, and all the audience can say is, “I guess I’ll take your word on it.”
The final point against it is, which I can say without spoiling anything, is that it feels like parts of the plot probably could have been edited out and not a lot would change. For instance the first half is a scavenger hunt that ends up going nowhere, and has almost no bearing on the story.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is like a combination of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead and Spider-Man 1&2, along with the studio meddling of Spider-Man 3.
Patrick will soon be appearing in Dr. Pugh and the Multiverse of Classes.