Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
This sequel to 2016’s Doctor Strange origin movie goes in some unexpected directions, and is all the better for it. Director Sam Raimi brings his trademark visual flair to a story that’s a lot darker than most Marvel films, both in terms of its fantasy horror elements and its character development.
Premise: Shortly after his brush with the multiverse in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is called upon to protect America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), a teenage girl with the ability to travel between parallel universes. Finding that she’s being hunted by a demonic force intent on stealing her power, Strange turns to Wong (Benedict Wong), the Sorcerer Supreme, and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), the Scarlet Witch, for help.
Review:
Rest assured, this is a spoiler-free review, so I won’t be giving away any of the film’s surprises, of which there are many. But I will just say that fans of Sam Raimi’s films will be happy to know that long-time collaborator and horror icon Bruce Campbell does get to make his customary cameo during the course of the film.
The opening minutes of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness don’t pause for breath, as we’re introduced to new character America Chavez (played by relative newcomer Xochitl Gomez), and a version of Doctor Strange from another parallel universe, while they battle demonic forces. While it could be said that the America Chavez is a slightly underwritten character – arguably more of a plot device than a three dimensional person – Xochitl Gomez’s performance does a lot of the heavy lifting to win the audience over.
“…I was intrigued to see where Elizabeth Olsen took her character next…”
Playing not only the Doctor Strange from “our” universe, but also the other variant from the opening sequence, Benedict Cumberbatch certainly gets plenty to do in this film. Our Doctor Strange is still struggling to find his place in the world, coming to terms with the decisions he made in Avengers: Infinity War (which indirectly led to half the world’s population being blipped into nonexistence for five years) while also still trying to define his relationship with his former love, Christine Palmer (played by Rachel McAdams). The character of Christine was side-lined for a lot of the original Doctor Strange, and although Rachel McAdams definitely gets more to do in this sequel, there’s still a feeling that the writers don’t really have a clear idea of where they want to take this character or how to fully integrate her into the more fantastical elements of the storyline.
It terms of the storyline, this sequel perhaps leans more heavily into the sci-fi concepts of parallel worlds and the multiverse, rather than the demons and the Dark Dimension of the first film – although there’s still plenty of focus on magical abilities and ancient spell books. In fact, it’s the connection between the demonic attacks on America Chavez and dark witchcraft that lead Doctor Strange to turn to Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) for help. I absolutely loved Elizabeth Olsen’s performance in the Disney+ miniseries WandaVision, so I was intrigued to see where she took her character next, especially given some of the dangling plot-threads from the earlier show.
“…Sam Raimi’s influence as a director is felt throughout the film…”
Other returning cast members include Benedict Wong as Wong (who is always entertaining whenever he’s on screen) and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mordo. The ending of the first Doctor Strange film seemed to set Mordo up as the next big villain, but presumably Marvel ultimately decided to go in a different direction with this sequel. That said, they not only found a way to weave Mordo into the storyline, but they also have Doctor Strange describe Mordo as a nemesis of sorts, implying that there have been offscreen confrontations that we haven’t seen, taking place between the movies.
After the director of the first film, Scott Derrickson, left the sequel due to creative differences, veteran director Sam Raimi stepped in. Raimi’s influence is felt throughout Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, both in terms of his trademarked camera moves, but also in relation to the tone of the film as a whole. While this film is still rated 12A, the fantasy horror elements are definitely stepped up, with the film including several jump-scares and a few scenes of sustained tension that may be a little too intense for younger viewers.
“…there are many pleasant surprises awaiting the die hard fans…”
That said, there’s also humour amongst the darker moments, and Sam Raimi also finds ways to make the magical sequences (which can get a little CGI-heavy and samey after a while) visually interesting – a high point being where musical notes from instruments form in the air and become used as magical projectiles.
This is the 28th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and that’s not even counting related tv shows like WandaVision and What If...?), and so at this stage, you have to wonder how easily new viewers would find it to follow everything that’s going on in this film. But for casual fans, there’s still plenty to enjoy – and for die hard fans who’ve seen everything else, there are many pleasant surprises awaiting you.
Oh, and (of course), stick around for the mid-credit and end-credit extra scenes.
