Here’s our review for “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” which hits theaters everywhere on Friday…
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
It’s obviously to any avid Marvel fan that the studio is investing a lot into lesser known characters in this next phase of the cinematic universe following the exodus of so many major stars — particularly after saying goodbye to Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Chris Evans as Captain America and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow.
Now that’s not to say there aren’t still plenty of Avengers kicking around but after defeating Thanos but Marvel had to start digging a little deeper for new heroes to introduce while leaning on a few fan favorites still sticking around in this new post “Avengers: Endgame” world.
One of those was Dr. Stephen Strange, who played a major role in the final stages of the last phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially after he met Tony Stark for the first time and used his time stone to figure out the one-in-a-billion way that the Avengers would be able to defeat the Mad Titan hellbent on wiping out half of life in the universe.
Now Strange is back in a new film — “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” — which actually went through numerous changes before landing in theaters on Friday.
Initially, Scott Derrickson was set to return to direct the sequel after he previously helmed the original “Doctor Strange” film but the classic “creative differences” led to his exit from the project. That’s when Marvel pulled off a pretty ingenious switch by hiring genre favorite Sam Raimi to take over.
Raimi maintains a cult following amongst cinephiles, not only for his past work on classic horror films such as “Evil Dead” and “Evil Dead 2” but he helped usher in the modern superhero blockbuster with his work on the “Spider-Man” films starring Tobey Maguire. Of course, Raimi got drummed out of the comic book union after making “Spider-Man 3” but thankfully time and distance helped him get some perspective before returning to put his own personal touch on the new “Doctor Strange” sequel.
Truth be told, the original “Doctor Strange” film was perfectly fine — but it was also a rather vanilla origin story that ultimately came up short in one regard that has haunted several past Marvel films as well — a totally forgettable villain (or in that case villains). Now that has been completely remedied in the sequel with “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” introducing arguably the best villain alongside Thanos in the history of the MCU.
Add to that, Raimi pulled out some of his best work with dazzling special effects, a fantastic score composed by Danny Elfman and some truly star making performances from his cast led by Benedict Cumberbatch. At the heart of it all, Raimi also told a completely unique if not heartbreaking story at the center of “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” even if the lead character somehow becomes a supporting cast member by the end. More on that later.
With that said, let’s get to our full review for “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”…
PLOT
Following the events of “Loki” where the multiverse was essentially created again following the destruction of the sacred timeline and what unfolded in “Spider-Man: No Way Home” where Doctor Strange accidentally tore open holes in the multiverse, that’s essentially where this story picks up when the movie begins.
Doctor Strange is being haunted by visions where he sees some alternate version of himself battling alien monsters while attempting to protect a young girl we’ll later come to know as America Chavez — a teenager with incredible powers to open wormholes that allow her travel between the various worlds in the multiverse.
Somebody or something is chasing America across the multiverse in an attempt to take her powers and Strange continuously sees himself attempting to save her.
That all leads Strange to seek answers on what’s happening inside his own head, especially after he had such a close call after the multiverse nearly came apart after he attempted to cast a memory spell for Peter Parker. With nowhere to turn, Strange seeks out an old friend from the Avengers to ask for help in solving this mystery and that’s when he’s reunited with Wanda Maximoff, who has been living in exile ever since the events in “WandaVision.”
After realizing that the young girl from his dreams is real and America is in grave danger, Strange hopes that Wanda can help protect her from whatever threat is crossing the multiverse to find her.
If all of that sounds somewhat vague without ever mentioning the villain in this movie, that’s absolutely on purpose. Saying more would lean into spoiler territory and trust me, you don’t want that.
ACTING, DIRECTING AND SCRIPT
Let’s start off with Raimi, who returns to a genre that he arguably helped to create with his fun, action packed “Spider-Man” movies. Actually, Raimi created one of the single greatest comic book films in history with “Spider-Man 2” so he definitely knows his way around a superhero story.
This time around, Raimi’s best work comes from the eye-popping effects woven throughout a magical tapestry created by a script from writer Michael Waldron. The story is fascinating but most importantly there’s an emotional center to this film that hits harder than almost every other Marvel movie before it.
There’s still space for some laughs, which is a staple of almost every Raimi movie but this time there’s a much more serious overtone that speaks to the gravity of the situation unfolding in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
As far as performances go, Cumberbatch continued to excel as Dr. Stephen Strange and it’s clear he’s going to remain a centerpiece of the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward. He’s charismatic yet still manages to somehow pull off vulnerable at just the right moments.
Rachel McAdams returns as Dr. Christine Palmer and she’s a welcome addition to the cast as she oozes chemistry with Cumberbatch while still holding her own even when matched up with a powerful sorcerer like her ex-boyfriend.
Newcomer Xochitl Gomez also deserves a ton of praise for her portrayal of America Chavez, a comic book character who had never before appeared in the Marvel films. Because America is popular amongst readers yet still largely an unknown to movie going audiences, Gomez really did make the character her own and she’s unbelievably charming in the role.
While everybody is strong in this sequel, the real star belongs to Elizabeth Olsen, who once again steals the show as Wanda Maximoff. Olsen deserved every ounce of praise she received for her work on “WandaVision” — it earned her an Emmy nomination after all — and while there’s little to no chance the Oscars will be calling after this movie, she should absolutely have a mantle filled with statues from another stunning performance.
Olsen is truly a tour-de-force and an argument could be made that this movie is better viewed as a Scarlet Witch film than a Doctor Strange sequel. She’s that damn good and her story is the emotional anchor at the heart of this script.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE MOVIE?
As previously stated, there are a lot of times in this film where it feels like Dr. Strange is playing a supporting character in his own sequel. Now that’s largely a bi-product of the introduction of a new character like America Chavez as well as sharing time with Wanda Maximoff but there are moments where Cumberbatch is somehow the least interesting person in many of the scenes in this film.
It doesn’t hurt the movie — in many ways this sequel feels a lot like “Captain America: Civil War,” which was essentially an “Avengers” spinoff but the heart of that story largely centered around a conflict between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, played brilliantly by Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. That movie also featured one of the best villains in MCU history but the conflict between the lead characters really carried that film.
This time around the plot is supposed to be focused on Strange but again he just doesn’t carry this film as much as Wanda gets to do the heavy lifting. I guess the only real complaint is this film could have easily been called ‘The Scarlet Witch Featuring Doctor Strange” and it would have been even better.
FINAL VERDICT
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is a tremendous next step in the Marvel Cinematic Universes with so many surprises that you’re better off knowing as little as possible going into the theater for this one. Get ready to have your mind blown at least a couple of times before the final post credits scene arrives (and there are two of those in case you’re curious).
The sequel was far better than the original film even if this movie didn’t necessarily advance Doctor Strange beyond where we already left him in “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” gets 4 out of 5 on the Skolnick Scale
