Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Review

 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a comic book movie based on the Marvel Comics' character Doctor Strange. It's also a sequel to 2016's Doctor Strange and the 28th film in the MCU. The movie is produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is written by Michael Waldron and directed by Sam Raimi.

The story is it's been a few months since the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, and at first nothing seems wrong, until Dr. Stephen Strange finds out there's something wrong within the multiverse. Now Dr. Strange, Wong, and other allies must put a stop to whatever the threat is or the multiverse is doomed.

Initial Reaction

Now, I've been looking forward to this film since the first movie. Got a little worried when Scott Dickerson was off of the movie, but I was very hopeful when I heard Sam Raimi was brought on board. The guy who gave us both the Evil Dead films and Spider-Man! I'm all in!

Cons

The only thing I hated was the post-credit scene. It was yet another one of those last minute jokes scenes. And it was was a surprise cameo who after gets a spell worn off shouts "It's over!" That was so bad that the audience I saw it with not only groaned in annoyance, but I heard one woman go "Seriously? THAT'S what we waited for?"

Middle Ground

One mix bag is the humor. There were some bits that actually got a chuckle out of me, other times me and the audience was dead silent. The other slight issue was the pacing. It's not too bad, for the most part it's just fine, but there does come a time when you get a tiny feeling of that 2 hour runtime.

Pros

Now let's get into the more positive stuff and it is what saved the movie, for the most part. One pro is the visual effects. Much like the first movie, the effects are just beautiful. I especially liked this one bit where Strange and Chavez was going through other universes and some bits where a little strange (no pun intended), but I liked that because it kept you interested, and it works for the movie. What I also want to give credit for is the villain. It's a pretty good baddie. It's not "Greatest of all time!" or top ten, but we do get a good motivate, and I'm thankful the writer didn't pull some sort of forgiveness or some crap like that. No happy ending for that character. Another good aspect of this is the performances. Cumberbatch once again nails it with Doctor Strange. I especially want to give praise to Elizabeth Olsen. She really showed a lot more range in this. She pulled off being motherly, intimidating, and etc. What was also good was how brutal this film. Sam Raimi was really pushing it with that PG-13 rating. I was actually surprised with how much was allowed in the movie. No, it's nothing crazy like Raimi's Evil Dead films. But it's still pretty graphic. Hell, one character's head blows off and there was no shying away from that. Now for the biggest compliment I can give this movie, and that is this is without a shadow of doubt, no debates about it, 100% a Sam Raimi film. I find it absolutely ridiculous that this is a criticism against the movie. One of the most common complaints I've seen about the MCU is nine times out of ten some of the movies look like they were directed by the same person. Which despite being a fan of this franchise, I can't argue against that. Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios need to ignore this criticism, and let their directors put their own personal style to these films as supposed to the save style they've been doing. That's why a lot of people like phase one as supposed to now. Cause during that phase, you could tell that different people were behind the camera. Believe it or not, an auteur isn't going to be a bad thing for the MCU. And Raimi proved that with this film.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness isn't perfect, but it can still be enjoyed. It's got great visual effects, a pretty good villain, really good performances, a lot more intense violence this time around, and it's definitely a Raimi film. The humor and especially the pacing was decent, but could've used more work. The only thing I couldn't stand was that stupid post-credit scene.

My final rating is Good.

Okay, that's going to do it for me. Come back on Saturday, May 14th for my review of the remake of Firestarter. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.