Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Movie Review

 by Karl W.

Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Directed by: Sam Raimi
Written by: Michael Waldron
Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

    Well, it's about time I do an MCU movie. Honestly, I should've done a review of one of these movies a long while ago, maybe with "Spider-Man: No Way Home" last year. Well, a part of the reason for my reluctance towards reviewing an MCU project is mostly because, well, the MCU has kinda become a bit tiresome for me. I never even watched all the movies of the first three phases of the MCU when it was at its peak in popularity, but now with added series on Disney+ that I now have to worry about, plus the big Infinity War/Endgame event now past us, I really phased out of whatever love I had with it. Not to mention how much more commercial the whole affair has become. There are some movies that I do thoroughly enjoy from the MCU (No Way Home being one of them), but for the most part, I'll only really see an MCU movie when it holds at least something worth of interest.

    Enter "Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness", the long awaited sequel of a movie I have never seen starring a character I only have a passing interest in. Yeah, maybe this could've been an easy skip for me, but it did have one interesting name of note in here: director Sam Raimi. Raimi is the director of the Evil Dead trilogy and the original trilogy of Spider-Man movies, which I still regard as some of the most enjoyable and enthralling comic book movies of all time (yes, even "Spider-Man 3", don't @ me). Marvel has let some directors take the wheels on a handful of their projects (like James Gunn and Taika Watiti), and those have been some of the better Marvel projects out there, so maybe it would be the same for a veteran visionary director like Raimi...right?

    Well, yes and no. You can tell that Raimi had his hands on this movie and the direction, and honestly, the best moments in this movie are when this movie is fully in Raimi's control. The other parts of this movie are the parts that I've overall come to dread with most MCU movies, namely expository dialogue, constant tie-ins to previous material, and cliched dialogue and set pieces. An idea that sounds good on paper, but doesn't truly stick the landing. I do mean it when I say Raimi's involvement in this is the best part about this movie, because his style can truly be seen in a lot of these scenes, particularly involving the main villain of the movie and a lot of the shot composition. This is the closest a Marvel movie has come to a horror movie, with plenty of tense moments and even a handful of jumpscares (a little cheap, I know, but still plenty cheesy and enjoyable). I can also appreciate this being the most brutal Marvel movie by a long shot, for better and for worse.

    The problem is that it feels as if Raimi's style seems like it takes a back seat sometimes to the typical Marvel trappings, pertaining to explanatory scenes and mediocre pacing. What's worse is how, despite being a multiverse story, and one that promises an exploration of the multiverse or Marvel, their actual exploration of the multiverse is extremely lackluster. Honestly, it feels almost unfair that this movie came after the incredible movie from Daniels "Everything Everywhere All At Once" the same year, a movie that went through multiple universes and managed to make them all interesting and varied. In this movie, asides from a cool visual set piece at the end of the first act, we only explore two of these different universes, with only one of these being explored in any real depth. It's kinda disappointing, even when compared to "No Way Home" from Marvel half a year ago.

    The movie takes place after the events of Endgame and No Way Home, where Dr. Strange is now tasked with helping save a dimension-hopping teenager named America Chavez from being taken by strange creatures that have been attacking her, traveling across the multiverse in the process. The multiverse setting does set up some nice characterization for Dr. Strange, who witnesses how other versions of himself across the multiverse handled the events of Endgame and questioning whether or not his way was really the correct way. Asides from a lot of the moments where Raimi is left to shine, Dr. Strange's internal struggle is one of the strongest parts of this movie. Shame he's the only character who really gets to shine here as Wong doesn't get too many moments to shine apart from Dr. Strange and America Chavez feels a lot like a walking macguffin than an actual character most of the time. Then there's the main villain, and while I won't spoil the reveal for those who haven't seen the movie, I will say that it is an interesting and clearly threatening villain for this story, although their characterization feels...off from a lot of their established personality from before. It's a common complaint I've seen a lot of people have towards this movie, and I can clearly see why.

    Overall...I'm feeling conflicted on this movie. It really is at its best when it feels like a Sam Raimi movie, and while his style is there, it sometimes takes a backseat to the usual Marvel trappings. It makes for one of the more inconsistent entries in the MCU, but honestly, it makes me more worried about how Disney would handle the MCU going forward. I enjoy these creator-driven comic book movies, but I also feel like these are one-off experiments that take a backseat towards establishing more characters for example. Though, at this point, maybe it's just me being past the point of enjoying Marvel movies and wanting something a little bit more. For Marvel fans, well I'm sure you've already seen this movie, but for me, this is a taste of some of the spice that the MCU can truly have, and I just want a little more.

Strong 6/10 (Decent)