Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

 Reviews from the Dark Side

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Released 5/6/22

What's the start of the summer movie season without the latest edition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe?  The MCU's resident sorcerer kicks off 2022 in hopefully a huge way.  I know for me, personally, I hoped for a big splash when I sat down in the theater because upon 2021 reflection, something seemed a bit off about the MCU.

Since Endgame, the MCU felt a little as it did in its first stages after 2008's Iron Man.  It was always going to be hard to recover from the epic events of Endgame and it showed.  I wouldn't say the MCU was necessarily struggling, but the footing wasn't as sure as it was in the past.

Black Widow was a fine enough action movie.  But it suffered a few maladies.  One being nothing really happens outside of the introduction of Natasha's sister, Yelena (played brilliantly by Florence Pugh).  Because the story in BW happens prior to Endgame, you already know Natasha's fate.  This film really doesn't move the MCU narrative in any direction.  It's just kind of...there.  BW really should have been the MCU's first female-led movie instead of Captain Marvel, a character that felt and still feels very shoehorned into the story.  Both BW and CM were rare missteps by Kevin Feige and company.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 rings was a tale of two movies for me.  It had a tight martial art heavy first half I very much enjoyed.  The second half involving the fantasy elements and Chinese mysticism felt like a different film.  Sometimes that's not a bad thing.  This time it felt odd.  Same as BW, Shang-Chi is a good movie.  It's one that I own.  But it's not one I've revisited since I've owned it and feel no desire to anytime soon.

Now I know a lot of people didn't care for it.  Some for legitimate reasons, others for not so legitimate reasons depending on if your political leanings were of one particular bent but I personally thought Eternals was the best of the three solo MCU efforts in 2021.  It was a strange one because nothing about the film tied into the greater MCU narrative until the mid-credits scene.  It was really that and the end credits scene that solidified my belief in Eternals.  Admittedly those two scenes probably only mean something to someone who is deeply familiar with Marvel Comics lore because they take deep dives into that particular medium.  

That brings us to Spider-Man:  No Way Home.  What hasn't been said about this phenom?  It was a marvel (no pun intended) to be sure.  But it was a collaborative effort by Disney and Sony.  Now it's debatable who had more to do with that film's meteoric success.  I would personally say Marvel Studios but we can't ignore it was a joint venture.  

I take this trip down memory to emphasize what I'm going to say next.  Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the first solo MCU venture since Endgame that feels like the old magic has returned.  It's the logical next step after several sub-chapters introduced elements of one character's journey.  And, oh what a step it was.

I'll provide a warning now.  From this point forward there will be spoilers.  If you have not seen the film, read no further.  So, since that's out of the way, let's continue.

The journey I referred to was that of Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch. (Elizabeth Olson)  When we last left Wanda at the end of the WandaVision Disney+ series, she had seemingly come to her senses after enslaving an entire town bending them to her will of being in an idyllic family setting.  She had defeated a powerful witch who was secretly manipulating her (partially at least).  She had come to realize just how powerful she actually was and began delving into the black magics of the Darkhold.  

Meanwhile let's not forget the title character who is going through a bit of a journey of his own trying to be the bulwark between Earth and other dimensional mystical mayhem and quietly longing for former love Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams).  

A new player in the MCU, America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), becomes the focal point of the conflict as she has power the still-unhinged Scarlet Witch wishes to possess.  Strange acts as her protector through various universes within the Multiverse, seemingly benevolently, but not without the willingness to make a questionable sacrifice if he deems it necessary.  

So now that you have the setup, let me say there's a lot to like about this film.  Number one being the handling of the multiverse itself.  Introducing an element as myriad and volatile as the multiverse can be a slippery slope considering that no character is truly gone as long as it exists.  But considering all of the elements that are being juggled here, I think the concept is handled as well as it could be.  It's a storyline that's simple to follow because the focus of it was narrowed down to a tale of grief spiraling out of control.

And the grief oozes off The Scarlet Witch character.  Still reeling from the events of WandaVision it wasn't a huge leap but was a bold step to make her the undisputed villain of the movie.  In WandaVision, she was a sympathetic character who did bad things due to her grief.  Here her grief has completely overcome her and she goes to some dark places as a result.  Very dark.  And to the movie’s credit, it doesn’t try to soften the blow.  Wanda is in full megalomaniacal overlord mode.  It was an eye-popping sight to see.

All of the mayhem is put together by director Sam Raimi who we haven’t seen tackle the superhero genre since 2007’s Spider-Man 3.  That film was what it was unfortunately.  Hopefully Doctor Strange 2 wipes the taste of that chaotic jumble out of everyone’s mouth.  It should.  This is a far superior effort.  One of the reasons for that is Disney allowed Raimi to play a little bit in a very familiar sandbox for the director.

I wouldn’t call this Doctor Strange a horror movie per se but it does lean very heavily on the horror genre.  Wanda appears demonically possessed at times.  Zombie Strange and a few jump scares are added for good measure.  But nothing will prepare you for Wanda’s massacre of the Illuminati.  She deals death in some gruesome ways to a few beloved characters that will make your jaw drop.  You can tell Raimi was doing this with a kind of macabre glee.  He pushed the boundaries of PG-13 about as far as he could with that group evisceration. 

 Speaking of the Illuminati, this is where the rumored guest star list that was the rave of online chatter comes into play.  First let me spoil what was perhaps the biggest “leak.”  Tom Cruise is unequivocally NOT in this movie.  He’s not Tony Stark.  He’s not a fly on the wall.  He ain’t here folks.  But who is here is Chiwetel Ejiofor reprising his role as Baron Karl Mordo (or at least a multiverse variant of him).  Hayley Atwell returns as Peggy Carter.  However, this variant is not the Peggy we once knew.  Anyone who watched the What If? series on Disney+ will know what I mean.   In somewhat of a surprise, Anson Mount from the failed and rightfully maligned Inhumans series from several years ago returns as a proper Black Bolt.  Lashana Lynch is the Captain Marvel of the multiverse Earth this version of the Illuminati exists in. In what I can only call a bone that was thrown to Raimi, his old cohort Bruce Campbell makes a hilarious appearance as an obnoxious street vendor Strange curses.  The two biggest surprises come from two superhero groups Disney recently got the movie rights back to.

While there’s no Tom Cruise, we do have John Krasinski making his first appearance as the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards.  There is an FF movie coming to the MCU in the future and Krasinski has long been rumored as being up for a part in it.  So, if he’s Reed, can we be too far off in speculating who Susan Richards might be?  The second big surprise may not be so much a surprise to most after viewing later trailers of the film.  Patrick Stewart reprises his role as X-Men founder Charles Xavier.  Krasinski has the “ooh ooh ooh” factor going for him.  Stewart onscreen as Xavier again might bring on a few tears (especially since he gets wrecked in the most graphic way by Wanda).

In addition to the guest appearances, Doctor Strange 2 adds a few more little Easter Eggs that goes to further prove that love them or hate them, Marvel really caters to its comic fanbase.  Comic geeks like me had to smile at the reference of Earth-616.  That is a straight comic book reference referring to the Earth the main Marvel Universe is part of in the vast multiverse.  There are a few things happening when Xavier appears.  The first thing the audience sees is the familiar yellow hover chair.  Then there’s the manifestation of his psionic power in the form of brain waves emanating from his head.  And last but certainly not least you will hear something when the hover chair first appears.  That’s right.  It’s an all too familiar theme song most of us remember from the 1990s.  The theme from the X-Men cartoon.  All three items bring back such nostalgia from that beloved series.

One of the final things I’ll say is the story itself could have easily jumped the rails in a couple of different ways and you have to give credit where it’s due to Raimi for this.  Doctor Strange could have easily been sidelined in his own movie in lesser hands.  Even though he does share the stage quite often with both Wanda and America, it never feels like he’s supplanted by them.  Yes, Wanda is a little cray cray and deserved her time onscreen.  The relationship between Strange and Chavez feels like a mutually beneficial partnership between two people.  She needs his help to escape Wanda.  He acts as her dreadfully outgunned protector.  A simple premise executed to near perfection. Cumberbatch and Gomez interact extremely well.  It’s refreshing that Chavez wasn’t taken in the direction of angst-ridden snarky teenager.  There’s way too much of that in entertainment for my liking today.  Yes, that was my “get off my lawn” moment but, hey, I’m getting old.  Don’t let any of the Marvel/Disney naysayers online tell you this is another entry into the “M-She-U.”  Those who make a living of criticizing any entertainment that’s diverse.  Grifters gonna grift is all I can say. 

The only real thing I have to criticize about the film is something you might find a bit odd coming from me.  I wanted more.  Clocking in at a little over two hours, Doctor Strange 2 is one of the shortest movies in the genre in recent memory.  Yet I never felt like it was rushed.  I just wanted more of the spectacle.  Like the first film, the dimension-hopping special effects are mind blowing, maybe even more so here.  I needed more of the Illuminati because, honestly, we hardly get to know them before obliteration.  And I wanted to see Raimi play a bit longer with the horror elements, particularly the comic horror elements he’s so adept at. 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a clear indication to the movie going public of “We’re back, baby!”  Not that they ever went anywhere.  But they have to build back up after Endgame.  Be patient.  If anything Marvel is going to tie all of these odd elements together in a spectacular way.  This is 100% the best movie of 2022 so far.  It fires on all cylinders.  And what would an MCU movie be without a mid and end credit scene.  As is mostly the case with these films, one scene is poignant and the other is comic relief.  First the comic one involving Bruce Campbell is a creative way to say the movie is over.  The serious scene introduces an Oscar-winning actress in a role that is huge in the Doctor Strange universe.   The good doctor will be spending a lot of time in the Dark Dimension when we see him again.  This film is theater quality through and through.  It’s easily a top 10 Marvel Studios production. 

The Dark Lord of the Sith says:

****1/2 stars

 0*= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!

1 *= Fuggedaboutit!

2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special

3 *= Worth a look.  Better than a poke in the eye.

4 *= Great. I'm doing my happy dance!

5 *= Pure eye candy. I have seen the top of the mountain, and it is good