Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — Movie Review
by KJ Proulx
I very much enjoyed the first Doctor Strange film and thought his character has made a nice progression thus far in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the events of Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, I was slightly concerned about this film being able to stand on its own. Now here’s the thing, it doesn’t, but I still thought it was great. In fact, I think it’s an even more entertaining film than the first Doctor Strange. I would even go as far as saying it would be in my conversation of the better Marvel Cinematic Universe films. Here’s why, as long as you’re caught up on the connected properties, this one is more than worth your time.
Picking up after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home and WandaVision, both of which laid the groundwork for how the multiverse is talked about in this film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness takes no time at all before it dives right into the action/madness. If for nothing else, I loved the pace. The film spends just enough time in the first few minutes to establish where relations are with other characters from the first Doctor Strange, but very quickly sets up how and why the multiverse is the mainline throughout the film. Without giving anything away, the reason the multiverse becomes the main plot is due to the character of Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen). Her presence here was electric and I couldn’t get enough of it, but I can’t go into any details without ruining her story here.
With the introduction of a new character in America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) very early on in the film, it becomes clear that she will be a staple in future films for sure. I’m okay with that because her performance here, along with her arc throughout the film, was all engaging to me. Her abilities and how she has them needs to be explored a little further in the future, but she was a very interesting character. Her interactions with Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) throughout the film were great as well. They share some great chemistry together. With all of that said, let’s dive into a couple of minor issues I think some fans may have.
There has been a lot of hype surrounding big cameos and appearances from familiar faces, and while there is definitely a small chunk of the film dedicated to just that, I can see why people are saying this film was overhyped. Personally, I didn’t know too much going into it, so I was very surprised by a couple of appearances. Still, where I feel people will be disappointed is in the fact that the multiverse itself remains focused solely on Wanda and Strange throughout the entire film. A lot more could’ve been explored, but I found that holding back made for a better overall film. There are some fun cameos for sure, but I think they went as far as they needed to. This film benefitted from not being bogged down by needless multiverse stuff. Plus, I believe this is still just the beginning of what kind of wacky adventures are coming in the next few films.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness didn’t blow my mind in ways I was thinking it would, but it was also much more of a focussed story and used the fun cameos for a purpose in a way I wasn’t expecting either. This film was great in my opinion. Yes, you do need to see a few other Marvel Cinematic Universe entries to fully enjoy everything on display here, but it’s worth it. I just had a blast with it from start to finish. Sam Raimi, who directed this film, has his vision on full display here and being a fan of his work for many years, that put a smile on my face. There are a few thrilling scenes that border on a bit of horror and that was also nice to see. Although other films/series have delved into the multiverse already, this film felt like a breath of fresh air for the franchise. It’s not perfect and I have some nitpicks with certain things, but I loved watching it.
Rating: 4.5/5
Check out the trailer below:
