DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS REVIEW

Sam Raimi and his cast kill it when it comes to exploring new MCU ideas

When last we left Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange, he was kind of helping Spider-Men get rid of their Peter Parker problem in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Despite its title, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is not a sequel or even a continuation of that movie, other than the fact that the multiverse aka other dimensions do play a part in it. 

Mind you, I generally hate reviews that feel the need to ruin one’s enjoyment of a movie by spoiling important plot points. Honestly, I’m not even sure that many MCU fans really care too much about the plot, so much as they just want to see the characters they love from the comics, the cartoons, the other movies, and now, the Disney+ shows. With that introduction, I will say that really the only prior anything you need to have seen to get into Multiverse of Madness is the first Doctor Strange (more or less) and the WandaVision TV series from last year.

Before we go further, did you realize (or even remember) that the term “multiverse” was actually first uttered by Tilda Swinton’s The Ancient One in the original Doctor Strange? It’s true. Strange’s powers actually involve the “multiverse,” which is why it made perfect sense to have him in No Way Home, and why this seems like a strong place to go for his own sequel.

Within the first few minutes of Multiverse of Madness, we see Doctor Strange running from a scary-looking creature along with a powerful young woman named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez). Spoiler(ish): It’s only a dream, thankfully, but it isn’t long before Strange encounters Ms. Chavez for real, this time being chased by another large one-eyed creature before Wong (aka Benedict Wong) appears to help battle said creature. America has the powers to travel between different dimensions, something she has been doing to escape from someone who wants to take those powers from her for their own use.

And that’s probably about all you need to know or that I want to say about the plot. Strange, Wong, and Chavez are the heroes (with some helps from Rachel McAdams’ Christine from the first movie and a few others). There is a VERY powerful villain, who I’m not even sure is that clear from the trailer, which I’ve seen a good dozen times or more without realizing that was where this movie was going. What I will say is that the story  involves the dark arts magic contained within the Darkhold book and delves into the differences between magic and sorcery within the MCU, and a character who is more or less a counterpart to Strange. Honestly, if you read any Marvel Comics from the past few decades and/or seen WandaVision, you might be able to figure it out.

Therein lies maybe the only real problem I had with Multiverse of Madness (and I’ll give props to Mr. Neil Turitz, who I saw the movie with me, for pointing this out as well), but I do wonder how many people who go to see this Doctor Strange sequel will be able to figure out why things are happening the way they do without knowing the comics or having seen WandaVision.

The thing is that we don’t have to talk in too great deal about the movie’s villain, as important as that is to any story, particularly a superhero movie, except for the fact that some (like me) might find it more satisfying than others. I went into the movie quite skeptical about America Chavez – a character who I wasn’t that familiar with from the comics – playing ANY part in this movie, but it makes a lot sense as you watch the movie. When essentially dealing with dimension-hopping (or “dream-walking,” as it’s called), it makes sense to include a character whose very powers involves travelling between dimensions. It’s an interesting decision that actually works quite well thanks to Ms. Gomez, who is great

Another important character I haven’t mentioned much (for good reason) is Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch. All I can really say about her role is that if you’ve enjoyed how she was transformed within WandaVision, you should be equally thrilled with Olsen’s performance here. In fact, Cumberbatch is quite good, as well, maybe better than earlier appearances of the character (including the first movie), because he’s able to portray a few different versions of the character. (Other than a few interesting teases to the What If… animated series, you don’t really have to have watched that… except that it’s kind of fun in its own way with a continuous story running through the nine episodes.)

There’s a certain point where Marvel’s latest feels a bit more like Crisis on Infinite Earths from the Distinguished Competition, but honestly, there isn’t really that much  you need to know about that classic comic book tale other than the fact that it involves universes colliding. Multiverse of Madness is still essentially Marvel with elements from the comics (and other media) twisted and turned into a fairly original story specific to the characters. Some might get a little confounded by the storytelling, sure, but at least it doesn’t involve time travel, as well. 

The most important thing from this movie that popped for me was having director Sam Raimi at the reins. While I’m sure the movie would stil have had more than enough suitable horror elements if Scott Derickson remained as director, Raimi is indeed a master of horror, who brings all his experience with the genre into Multiverse of Madness. This doesn’t just mean dark supernatural elements, of which there is quite a bit, but also actual bonafide scares, lots of fantastic creatures, and even some of the comedy-horror Raimi first introduced in his “Evil Dead” movies and then more recently in Drag Me to Hell. (Important note to parents: If your 5-year-old who watched No Way Home asks to go see this, be warned that there are moments that might give them nightmares for months.)

Raimi brings along a couple of friends as well, one of them being composer Danny Elfman, who already has so much experience scoring for superheroes, he seems like a gimme. Other than what I’ve previously mentioned, the visual effects in Multiverse of Madness are top-notch, not just in the creation of the fantastic worlds and dimensions but also with the creatures and various characters’ powers.

Following the important contributions (and introductions) made to the MCU made by the 2021 movies and series, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness explores another aspect of the MCU using a cadre of previously-introduced characters,  along with one that could very well become a popular fan favorite. I’m not sure I would say this was a better movie than the previous Doctor Strange persé, but it does a fine job playing in the sandbox of magic and sorcery with just the right amount of Raimi horror sensibilities thrown into the superheroics.

Rating: 8/10

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters nationwide (probably worldwide) starting on Thursday, May 5.