[Movie Review] Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Plot Summary:
Director: Sam Raimi
Writer: Michael Waldron
Runtime: 2 hours 6 minutes
Main Cast:- Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange
- Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / The Scarlett Witch
- Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo
- Benedict Wong as Wong
- Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez
- Rachel McAdams as Dr. Christine Palmer
Review by: Sam
What I liked:
Subverted expectations were a big strength of this movie. All the trailers, promos, and even the “Illuminati” TV spot did a good job of getting you exciting about the film without actually telling you anything of pertinence. It is an excellent job by the marketing department over at Marvel because I promise that what you think you know…you do not. I, for example, expected an epic showdown between Baron Mordo and Doctor Strange following the ending of the 2017 film- I was wrong. I loved that I was able to be surprised by the film as the plot unfolded.
Speaking of the plot, this movie revolves around a teenage girl named America Chavez (the superhero Miss America in the comic books) who has the ability to jump from one universe to another. She is being hunted by a monster that wants her power so she seeks help from Doctor Strange. We then have our universe hopping adventure (hence the title of the movie).
The acting was good, and at this point, I think it’s safe to assume Marvel films aren’t going to have bad performances. So, I won’t spend too much time harping on it. No one performance blows you away (though I did enjoy seeing Benedict Cumberbatch play different versions of Doctor Strange), but overall, everyone was fine. The banter between Wong and Strange is back and as delightful as ever; the same can be said for the interactions between Strange and America Chavez- they had some real chemistry there.
Rounding out the cast is Elisabeth Olsen’s Wanda who is also really good and clearly shows us Wanda’s state of sadness after the events of Wanda/Vision on Disney+.
I also enjoyed Sam Raimi behind the camera- this felt like a true superhero film, much like his Spider-Man trilogy. By that, I mean you feel the hero is a “man of the people” who comes just in time to save the citizens as they face danger. In fact, a scene in the first act in which Doctor Strange first appears to save New York citizens is incredibly reminiscent of the first action scene in Spider-Man 2.
However, the best part of this movie is certainly the horror aspect. This is not a “horror movie” like Scream or Friday the 13th, but you might want to think twice about bringing little kids. This is definitely one more suited for those age 14 and above as it’s both creepy and incredibly brutal at times. And, I am not only speaking in a Disney context- I mean it is brutal in a general movie context; you will witness several deaths including one where a man’s head explodes. It is a change from the traditional formula and I am here for it. I was genuinely wide-eyed with disbelief at some of the brutality that transpired and there was even one chase scene where my leg would not stop shaking. Again, expectations were subverted for the better.
What I did Not Like
The villain of this film subverted my expectations when they were revealed, which I thoroughly enjoyed…but then I found out their motivation, which I really despised. This may be the dumbest villain we’ve encountered in a Marvel film. Without spoiling, I want to emphasize what the villain wants isn’t necessarily dumb, but the way they go about it and the ultimate resolution (which you can see coming) was really disappointing. I kept asking “why are you doing this?”
I also think the visuals in the first film were better. That’s not to say that this was horrible, but CGI was very apparent and there wasn’t as much of the trippy fun as we had in the 2017 movie.
By far, the worst part of this film was the blatant fan service. There is a (long) scene dedicated to fan service that should and probably will make comic fans upset. It was pointless- it felt shoehorned in and abruptly ended in a way that actually made me angry. The biggest disappointment is it didn’t need to happen. If this (long) scene weren’t in the film- literally ripped from the editing floor- there would be no change to the plot. So why add it?
It’s a type of reach that hurts more than helps because comic fans will not like it, and casual fans probably won’t appreciate it.
Summary
Overall, I thought I would either love or hate this movie and that there would be no in-between. I was wrong because this is a movie I would gladly see in theaters one more time, and then be done with it forever. I enjoyed it as a solo Doctor Strange movie that wasn’t bogged down trying to connect to the larger MCU, but ultimately at the end of the story you don’t feel like there was much growth for any of the characters you just watched for 2 hours.
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