Ain’t it kind of nuts how we are now FINALLY getting around to making a proper sequel to Doctor Strange, a MCU installment that came out literally five and a half years ago?! After all the time we have spent with this character in other, bigger, more busier Marvel movies such as Infinity War, Endgame, and No Way Home along with his welcome cameo in Thor: Ragnarok and that other welcome cameo with his good buddy Wong in Shang-Chi, we are at long last back to making a feature length entry based on this magical wizard character. Regardless how one felt about the original Doctor Strange (which I found just merely okay), it had set up the potential to be the set of MCU movies to give itself permission to be the most crazy, bizarre, and just plain “out there” kind of Marvel movies. Not just with the concept of the multiverse inevitably becoming much more expanded upon but also one that can make for some truly creative craftsmanship based off a character with whimsical, magical powers that could even out-Harry Potter Harry Potter (Take that J.K. Rowling!) In hindsight, the idea of a Doctor Strange sequel being exactly about that multiverse concept seemed like the most proper and best way to follow up the first one which not just puts the title character to the test than ever before but also the filmmakers as well.
How are the end results! It’s mostly fine. I don’t know if I can say it was as good as I wanted it to be or that it’s true top-tier MCU but it does do the job as creating some truly unique action set pieces, mind blowing visuals and effective imagery, even if it doesn’t quite match the heights of more recent multiverse movies, like say Everything Everywhere All at Once or even Into the Spider-Verse.
Sam Raimi’s style and filmmaking that he most well known for is definitely on display here, it’s definitely the scariest and most gruesome of the MCU movies thus far, and it’s runtime of just little over two hours feels awfully refreshing for this kind of tentpole movies. What holds Multiverse of Madness back quite a bit is how one-note and paper thin the story can be despite a handful of interesting twists and ideas on paper along with the majority of characters being there for expositions and to sell action figures. It’s definitely a movie I would recommend seeing on the biggest and most beautiful screen possible for it’s set pieces and visuals but I can’t say it’s quite as emotionally engaging as some of the other, better Marvel movies are.
Premise: Taking place after the events of Wandavision and No Way Home, we see Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) suffering from bad dreams involving an alternate version of himself and a young girl named America Chavez (Xochiti Gomez) as he perhaps for a wedding involving his former colleague, Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), a woman who Stephen loves but his duty as Doctor Strange kept him in the way of being with her. During the wedding, Stephen encounters a big octopus-like creature that is trying to kill America and is able to stop it with the help of his sidekick, Wong (Benedict Wong). Stephen meets America and realizes that those dreams he had were not actually dreams but was him in another universe where he inevitably died. America explains to strange that demons like that octopus-like creature are hunting after her because of her ability to be able to travel through the multiverse. Needing more help and guidance to the multiverse, Stephen goes to Wanda Maximoff, A.K.A. the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) to consult her about this alternate universe matters but realizes that she may know a thing or two about those demons and may be even responsible for sending those demons after America. The chase is then on with Stephen and Wong needing to protect America before the monsters can get to her and Wanda hopes to unlock the power of the multiverse to insert herself into a suppose timeline where she is living happily with her possibly imaginary kids.
Most of this synopsis doesn’t go past the first third of the movie which is impressive despite the film’s shorter length than one might expect with a big movie like this. The big question that everyone is wondering is if you need to have watch Wandavision to understand what’s going on here? The answer is both yes and no! Yes, you are likely to be more engaged and traumatized with Wanda’s journey throughout the picture along with being able to keep track of the amount of progression to her tragic character. However, as long as you know that she once lived in her own fantasy where she is living the life of a simple mother and made some dire actions to make that fantasy her own reality, you should be good to go as long as you have seen Infinity War and Endgame. Just read a quick plot summary or a recap video just to be safe.
The weird thing is though is despite all of the talk and speculations about the story turns, bold choices, and the amount of easter eggs/cameos/fan services/etc., going into Multiverse of Madness, there really isn’t much to the overall plot of the movie. There’s a girl with a special power that others wants and Doctor Strange and crew need to protect her from the enemies. It really doesn’t amount to much more than that. Which is a shame because there’s a chance to expand the multiverse in many ways in not just through a filmmaking sense but also as a character study. Unfortunately, with the exception of Wanda, the movie doesn’t seem really interested in exploring that. Sure, there have been plenty of MCU movies that have had simplistic plots but they are at least usually carried by the amount of character work and progression in their development. That something that Multiverse of Madness tends to lack more so than most of the MCU installments.
Stephen Strange does face plenty of challenges throughout the picture and even sees deadlier version of himself which is supposed to resembled his darker side but there’s hardly much time focused on how exactly that affects him from a psychological point of view and himself as a hero. Instead, most of it is spend on trying to protect America from the bad people and being grumpy over his former lover/partner Christine moving on to someone else. Which is quite a problem considering we have never actually seen the two as a proper couple in either one of these movies but are just simply told they were once in love with one another. With the exception of one flashback scene in the middle of the movie, I would never have guessed that Stephen had such strong feelings from Christine and that he actually viewed her more than just a colleague from work. He still gets plenty of awesome scenes to himself and his powers but not much more than just some awesome spectacle.
Another issue with characterization lies with America Chavez herself. She has a likable presence but there isn’t much depth to her character and comes across more as a plot device than an actual character. We’re not giving much reason as to why we should care for her aside from the fact that she has a special power that the villains want and want to kill her because of it. Whenever she is giving a chance to show off her special abilities, it’s cool to see but lacks much emotional payoff to it because we aren’t giving a compelling reason to root for her. At times, she does represent the closest that Stephen has had to his own student and even daughter but there’s not much focus on those particular aspects to make that the case.
The best character in the movie and the one that gets the most development is Wanda Maximoff herself, played wonderfully by Elizabeth Olsen, as she fully commits to be the version of herself that is the Scarlet Witch. In some respects, this movie kinda feels like the full culmination and payoff to her character that begun in 2015 with Age of Ultron. We have seen Wanda define herself as a hero, villain, along with being a pure anti-hero. Whether it’s her time with her brother and Hydra, the Avengers, Vision, and in Westview, we gett to see Wanda’s full story come full circler her. With Wandavision and now this movie, we now see her in her final form as Scarlet Witch. While the idea of a woman trying to delude herself into thinking she’s an actual mother and turning herself into a Terminator can comes across as unintentional funny and even misogynist, it’s executed in a way that makes it blend well with the horror-like tone the movie is going for and a study on a character who has lost everything but is still trying to do everything in her power to get it all back. Wanda is arguably the best, interesting, and most compelling female character in the entire MCU and her arc is one of the most fascinating and heartbreaking that any characters has had to face. Despite a pretty rushed resolution to the way her story concludes at the end of the movie along with feeling more as a sequel to Infinity War and Endgame as oppose to Wandavision, her character was definitely the best one to follow in the whole movie and is the one that is actually given a proper arc. I don’t know what exactly the future holds for this character but she will undeniably go down as an absolute fan favorite when all is said and done.
However, for those that are not looking strictly for an emotional experience or a new take on the concept of the multiverse should be satisfied with the amount of exhilarating sequences and eye candy the film constantly throws at you. This is Sam Raimi’s first time in the director’s chair in nearly a decade and man is it good to have him back. While it sets itself up as being a typical Marvel movie made by community in the first half hour, once things start to get going, we truly see Raimi’s filmmaking right on the big screen. A nice mix between the horror elements from the likes of The Evil Dead, Army of Darkeness, and even Drag Me to Hell along with the camp value of his original Spider-Man movies make Raimi feel completely at home.
Despite the amount of CGI being quite obvious, most of it is at least used to creative some of the most insane imagery in the history of the MCU and makes this feel perfectly like a multiverse kind of movie. The action, while not the best I’ve seen with Marvel or for a multiverse movie, still gets the job done with the standout scenes being the ones take takes place in Kamar-Taj, with the Illumanti, and one which Doctor Strange is fighting an alternate version of himself.
As for the rest of the production design, it’s definitely put to good use. The cinematography by John Mathieson is a standout, the editing by Bob Murawski and Tia Nolan does fit properly with Raimi’s skillset, and Danny Elfman’s score is one that feels both odd yet fitting at the same time. It’s also quite nuts to see a Marvel movie with amount of blood, carnage, and massacre for what is suppose to be a movie done by the Walt Disney company. It’s hardly R-rated stuff don’t get me wrong but the people behind the makeup and costume design deserve major props.
As for the cast, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Rachael McAdams all contribute to her roles as admirably as before despite some of the lacking the material that they are given to work with. Xochiti Gomez is fun and filled with energy as America Chavez which definitely makes for someone that film buffs will likely want to follow throughout the coming years. Unsurprisingly, it’s Elizabeth Olsen is one that is the big stand out. She is clearly 100% committed to the role and absolutely chews all the scenery each chance that she gets. When watching her performance in the movie, I kinda got the sense that this is a version of the character that Olsen has been waiting to play for years and she is able to deliver her finest importance yet as this character.
Also, for all the talks about the cameos in this movie, there are definitely some notable ones but they are not as reliant on them as one might expect. Some of the rumors surrounding the cameos and the casting are true, others are not. I don’t exactly know what your expectations might be for those suppose cameos but just know that it’s not necessarily the point of the actual movie. If anything, my favorite cameo in the movie was the one with Bruce Campbell (And no! That’s not a spoiler! It’s not a Sam Raimi movie without a cameo of Bruce Campbell in some way, shape, or form. That would be like saying that Stan Lee made a cameo in one of the movies of the Infinity Saga.)
In the end, I’m not sure how exactly the fans and audiences are going to react to this one compare to other Marvel movies. It’s lacks in the characterization department and as more of an expansion of the multiverse compare to other movies out there. Plus, I don’t think certain people are gonna react so kindly to certain decisions made by certain characters. However, the set pieces, visuals, and Elizabeth Olsen’s show stealing performance is just enough to make this one worthwhile. It may have not been the Doctor Strange sequel I wanted but it’s perhaps the one that I needed. Or at least, the one that I needed to see Sam Raimi back to working his magic.
In that case, it’s good to see you again, old friend!
Other comments:
- There are two post credit scenes, one in the middle and one at the very end. Personally, I like the one at the end more than the one in the middle but it’s great to see for the middle one, that Marvel was finally able to get that actor/actress into the MCU. Part of me, still does kind of wish they could have took the role of another certain big character.
- This is probably the first MCU movie where I’m not sure I can say it’s suited for kids. There wasn’t any really young children in my screening but this is a bit more scary, bloody, and gruesome than most of the other Marvel movies. It’s still strictly PG-13 but just a little warning to the parents that are wanting to take their kids this weekend to see this movie.
- I can’t be the only one that caught that 2003 Detroit Tigers reference, right? Ironic since there hasn’t been discussions recently about that team among baseball fans after the Cincinnati Reds horrendous 3-22 start to the season. I’m pretty sure I was the only one in the theater that understood that reference.
Adam's Blog 