Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Director: Sam Raimi
Writer: Michael Waldron
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Xochitl Gomez, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, and a lot of people who I can’t reveal who they are even though you can probably imagine who they are
Reason for watching: New MCU release. Gotta keep up with the biggest TV show ever.
Number of times I’ve watched it: First time viewing
***
This right here! This is why I am excited for more Marvel Cinematic Universe entries as we go along. Giving individual writers and directors opportunity to make something their own and mix it up adds to the flare of the MCU. Yes I enjoyed movies from the early 2010s like The Avengers or Captain America: The Winter Soldier. But that does not mean that’s everything I want to watch when an Avengers takes centerstage. We need some variety. Make me afraid. Throw a joke my way. Or in the case of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, take me to new places. Who knows? It could be fun to let someone else drive the car.
The follow-up to Doctor Strange takes place after the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Stephen Strange himself (Benedict Cumberbatch) is no longer the sorcerer supreme but still protecting the earth from supernatural threats. He still pines for the affections of his former flame Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), but she has moved on. Together with fellow sorcerer Wong (Benedict Wong), the two meet a young traveler named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez). After she reveals her abilities to travel between universes, Strange consults fellow Avenger Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) about how to protect this powerful young person. But when Wanda wants to take America’s abilities to be with her children in another universe, the two magical beings come to metaphysical blows (or literal punches in some cases). It becomes clear that Maximoff has become too powerful for strange to stop alone. On the brink of defeat, America helps them escape to another universe. There Strange learns of how he can defeat such a being of power from a group of powerful individuals. However, he also learns just how dangerous he can become as well, and he may need to tap into that side of him to defeat Maximoff.
Unlike usual, I want to get the bad things out of the way first. The setup and first act for this sequel is incredibly cookie cutter for me. There is a powerful child who needs protecting and may save us all in the end. Cough Cough Star Wars called and they want the plot back that they stole from Dune that they copied from the Bible. The standard MCU jokes are still there and occasionally funny, but for how dark this movie gets later in the battles between Strange and Maximoff, those jokes seem very out of place. I am not entire sure either if this movie was initially intended to have the Scarlett Witch (Maximoff’s alias) be the villain. Considering the success of her own show WandaVision and that Spider-Man: No Way Home were both released before this, it seems likely to me that some rewrites were done. Changing a script is not always a bad thing, but the first act does not do a lot to hide it well.
Another issue I take here is just how enormous this story and the MCU, in general, feels now. We are 28 movies into this franchise and have had six TV shows come out on Disney plus. Not to mention there are several other properties that have been tangentially related such Captain Carter and Agents of Shield. It feels like you need a bachelor’s degree in Marvel to really understand everything that is going on. And now that we are delving into the multiverse and bringing in alternate versions of characters and other characters we have not yet seen, it seems like the MCU has put too much on its plate for the casual viewer to understand. I do not mind learning more and having such a vast and delicate universe to learn about, but I think Marvel expanding too much can hurt that product. Nowhere is that more apparent than when Doctor Strange travels to a parallel universe and has a conference meeting with the Illuminati.
Now getting away from the big picture a bit, this movie is incredibly fun after all that setup in the first act is over. Choosing auteur director Sam Raimi (who has a BIG history with Marvel projects) to helm this project was a good decision. Using his horror background and knowledge, he really pulls us into this universe in a big way. It allows us to witness the danger of the magical powers Maximoff and Strange possess. There are a few dream or transportation sequences that particularly show off just how capable these heroes are. What these abilities also bring about are some much more creative and violent action sequences. Usually, with these MCU entries, the violence extends to people punching each other in the face or shooting faceless robots with energy blasts. Here there are some very violent and scary death sequences that unfold. Some characters get ripped apart or blown up from the inside. There are folks who said this movie should have been rated R for the violence, and I do not totally disagree.
Without actually spoiling it, there are some characters that show up in this other universe that are welcome appearances. There were a lot of rumors about different characters showing up. I can confirm there was no Tom Cruise an alternate version of Iron Man/Tony Stark. But I was satisfied with the appearances we got. One, in particular, will hopefully lead to an ongoing entry into this universe. I was afraid that these cameos would be a central point to the story and hijack what is going on between Strange and Maximoff. But their roles were contained and used sparingly.
Overall I am not sure where the MCU is going in general and if they have a strong sense of direction. But this was a fun and unique entry into the fray.
7/10
Until I see another one.