Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) is not perfect but ultimately entertaining entry into the Marvel universe. The creative directing and excellent performances from the two leads give this movie some life.
An enormous need for the Marvel Cinematic Universe is something different than the complacent quips and overly kid-friendly stories. Some characters are based on quips like Spider-Man, so there are exceptions, but it still happens too much. I'm not advocating for adult storylines but more teens to adults are watching this movie than kids. These are the people that saw Iron Man in 2008. Thankfully, Doctor Strange 2 breaks the monotony.
How does it break the monotony? The film pushes its PG-13 rating by adding several horror elements. People died on screen before in the MCU, but this is different. Heads literally explode. Rotting corpses and copious amounts of blood are seen. Many of these images are unsettling, and it was only achieved by Sam Rami.
This film could've failed without a proper director. While he is the director of the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man films, he created The Evil Dead franchise. These are famous horror films that are terrifying yet have a campy comedic effect at times. Bruce Campell was the star in those films, and he gets a hilarious cameo in this picture as the Pizza Poppa.
Benedict Cumberbatch is great again as Doctor Strange. He's one of modern days better actors, and he delivers again. I also thought Rachel McAdams returning was great for the story and enjoyed her performance.
A new character was introduced with Xochti Gomez as America Chavez. Her powers include jumping between the multiverses. Unfortunately, that's all she was - a plot point. Some slight attempt was made at character building but not much. Maybe more will be done with her in the future.
As usual, the visuals are excellent from the CGI to the camera work. That's one thing that Marvel consistently delivers on.
There are two ways to watch this movie. You've either seen Wandavision or not (click for review). You'll like this film better if you've seen the show since it directly ties into the story. This one thing will directly influence how you like the movie in my opinion. Anything past this point may contain spoilers. Skip to the end to avoid them for the movie's final rating.
Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda makes this movie. Her show gave us just a taste of how powerful she has become. In this film, she has become the Scarlett Witch and proves she may be the most powerful Avenger. Frankly, she's terrifying. The heroes from the alternate Earth had no chance including Captain Marvel.
The Darkhold (Book of the Damned) has corrupted her. Desperate to see her children again, Wanda wants to use this dark magic to get her to a new universe where she can be with them no matter the cost. All mothers can sympathize with such a strong desire.
Pair that desire with her abilities, and she became the most powerful hero on screen so far. I don't think this Scarlet Witch could've beaten Thanos still, but she would have held her own for a long time.
As previously mentioned, they spend some time on the alternate Earth that features the Illuminati. No, it's not the mainstream lore of a secret powerful society but a marvel one containing superheroes. While I found it interesting, this was fan service.
People wanted to see Patrick Stewart as Professor X again and got their wish. Fans willed into existence John Krasinski as Mr. Fantastic. I assume he will stay on for the future movie. Chiwetel Ejiofor returns as Mordo. Hayley Atwell is Captain Carter, and fans got Anson Mount as Black Bolt although no one asked for him. Technically, he is already cannon from ABC's Inhumans which bombed dramatically.
This is Marvel's creepiest movie as said before. There are demon spirits and zombie Strange. There's zombie Strange controlling said spirits so... it's different. Good different. It's easy to tell Sam Rami directed this if you know his work. I feel like I understand what he was trying to accomplish.
This isn't a flawless film, but it's a good break from the same old Marvel movies. You can tell exactly what Thor: Love and Thunder will be like, and it's not this. I'm calling it right now that I won't like it as much as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Only time will tell.
It's not the best, and it's not the worst. You should give it a try if you haven't seen it. Share this with other cinephiles today! My film rating is a B+.
