So, I didn’t think I’d be saying this, but Marvel finally did something different.
They kind of made a horror movie.
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” was directed by Sam Raimi,
and it seems like they let him do his thing as much as it was possible within the MCU.
And I had a great time with this movie. I want more of where that came from.
I don’t know if there is a point to describing the plot here since this is the 28th film in the MCU,
and if you’re not caught up - this is far from being a story you can just figure out.
I will say though that despite sounding like a “Doctor Strange” sequel (which it kind of is),
this is actually much more of a direct sequel to the “WandaVision” mini-series than anything else.
In order to understand what’s going on you absolutely need to finish all of the Phase
Three MCU movies plus “WandaVision”, which you’re not going to regret because that mini-series
is one of the best things in the franchise. I would even go as far
as saying that this is as much of a Scarlet Witch movie as it is a Doctor Strange movie.
You also have America Chavez in here, who is a newcomer to the MCU.
She’s someone who possesses a unique ability to travel between universes,
but unfortunately her character is more of a tool and a plot device
rather than a fleshed-out and complex character like Wanda or Doctor Strange himself.
Look, I’m not here to tell you that this is a flawless masterpiece or that it is the best
MCU film to date, even though in my personal ranking it definitely still makes the top 10.
But I really was pleasantly surprised by it, and it was a lot of fun on the big screen.
To get the negatives out of the way, the writing and particularly the dialogue are
easily the weakest aspects of this movie. Even though I don’t expect
amazing writing from the MCU, this one definitely stumbled a little more than I thought it would,
especially in the beginning, which felt pretty chaotic with bursts of clunky exposition.
It launches you right into action, and while it grabs your attention, structurally the whole
thing feels off with the first third feeling like your pretty typical, vibrant Marvel movie.
It almost seems like it was directed by a different person compared to the rest of the film.
Overall, the movie feels like an episode in the middle of a series,
which is essentially what these movies are now - they are a TV show with feature-length,
high production value episodes that we have been watching on the big screen for years.
But this format does not excuse the questionable writing or the occasionally wandering tone.
Eventually, the movie does find its way and once that happens everything starts
falling into place, and things get quite a bit darker, which I really appreciated.
Forget the silly octopus monster with a giant eyeball in the beginning - the characters have
much bigger and heavier problems here. They struggle with failure, personal fulfillment,
guilt, grief, and pain, on the multiverse scale, and the director Sam Raimi,
who brought us movies like the original “Evil Dead” trilogy and “Drag Me to Hell”,
treats us to scenes that range from creepy to kind of terrifying.
You know how the MCU usually has a lackluster villain problem? Not here!
This movie’s villain is easily one of the best and most interesting villains in the entire franchise.
Someone who is really powerful, and is not afraid to use those powers, which
makes for quite a few fascinating scenes. It’s definitely the darker side of magic and fantasy,
and Raimi manages to infuse a surprising amount of his “Evil Dead” self into this.
Here we have not one, but two very strong, magic-wielding characters willing to do
whatever is necessary to achieve their goals, and both of them reveal their darker sides.
One a bit more than the other, but let’s keep this spoiler-free.
While Doctor Strange and Wanda were already among my favorite characters of the MCU, this movie
really solidified this opinion - both of them have a lot to offer here and have a lot of potential.
But, as great as Cumberbatch is as Strange,
Elizabeth Olsen steals almost the entire movie. She absolutely kills it,
and if you loved her in “WandaVision” - just you wait, this movie is truly her time to shine.
I also have to mention the Danny Elfman score,
which is of course great, and my general appreciation for this film’s aesthetics.
We already saw some of these fun, “Inception”-like, puzzle box visuals
in previous movies, but here all of that is merged with the dark magic of the Scarlet
Witch and taken to the next level with the help of an evil book, which of course is very Raimi.
Plus there’s all the Multiverse stuff. It looks pretty great.
Even though I normally would complain about the overreliance on CGI (and there is definitely a
lot of CGI here), it looks more organic in this movie because we’re dealing with
sorcerers, magic spells, and general Multiverse weirdness.
It just worked for me, and combined with the horror elements, it was a great time - there
were some really creative sequences in there, even one that involved sheet music.
Does this movie include fan service? Yes, of course, though
nowhere near the extent of something like “Spider-Man: No Way Home”.
Are there jokes that just don’t land? Naturally.
Generally awkward dialogue choices or uneven storytelling? Yes to both of these.
But there was a lot about what I saw that I really enjoyed.
I can imagine why “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” wouldn’t work for
everyone, and I’ve been seeing some mixed feedback about it already.
But despite the flaws, I really respect the effort to try something different with this
incredibly long franchise, to give a different kind of director a chance to go about it his way.
I think injecting some more darkness into the MCU is the way to go,
especially when it comes to these characters, and as someone who has
pretty much given up on this franchise I have to say, this made me curious again.
I sincerely hope Sam Raimi will come back to direct more movies (or series) for Marvel Studios,
and we will continue seeing this other side to the MCU.
So, how do I rate this movie? For me, enjoyment and rewatchability play a
very big role when it comes to ratings, especially when it comes to this subgenre.
And in the end, while it’s certainly a flawed movie, it really ended up winning me over, so I
am going with a potentially surprising 8 out of 10 for “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”.
I definitely recommend checking it out on the big screen, and of course, stay for the credits.
Not my credits - the movie’s credits