Spoiler Warning: Major spoilers ahead for Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
The latest installment in the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe has arrived, much to my excitement. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness dropped in theaters this past Friday, May 6th, and I’m pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. Going in, my expectations were all over the place, because while I was excited to see director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, The Evil Dead) bring his unique filmmaking flair to the franchise, I was also weary that this latest superhero romp would be overly complicated and riddled with campy fan service. The end result is, safe to say, a mixed bag.
As the MCU expands further into the cosmic realms of the franchise, many fans knew that Multiverse of Madness was going to have a huge impact on things moving forward. The multiverse is of particular interest to pretty much everyone at the moment, especially when you keep in mind other recent Marvel Studios releases like Loki, What If…?, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Doctor Strange’s latest adventures bring this concept to the forefront in a largely positive way.
The plot goes something like this: Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), master of the mystic arts, and Wong (Benedict Wong), the current Sorcerer Supreme, meet a young girl named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez). America has the ability to travel between universes, but she’s being hunted by someone or something that wants her power. Strange turns to Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), aka the Scarlet Witch, in the hopes that she can help keep America safe and defeat who or whatever is after her. Things turn dour real fast, as it turns out that Wanda is the one after America; she wants to steal America’s power so she can enter a reality where she can be with her children (who were first introduced during Marvel’s WandaVision on Disney+). Mix all of this together, and you’re left with a recipe for disaster, as the heroes are thrust into a surprisingly horrifying adventure that spans the Marvel multiverse.
First things first, this is undeniably a Sam Raimi movie. His fingerprints are so obviously all over the place, and it shows in the best possible ways. Wild camera moves and angles, amazing practical effects, and exceptionally thrilling and, at times, terrifying action sequences are littered across Multiverse of Madness. This is probably the most original MCU film to date; it really is the closest thing to a superhero horror movie that audiences have likely ever seen. At numerous points during my first viewing of the film, my friend and I couldn’t help but joke, “Someone tell Sam Raimi his Evil Dead is showing.” It has its own identity, through and through, even when it’s still hitting all of the other typical notes of the franchise.
And speaking of those typical notes, there’s plenty here to appease diehard fans of the franchise just looking for a good time. The introduction of the Illuminati from an alternate reality is an obvious standout moment in the movie. Characters like Captain Carter, Black Bolt, Professor X, and Reed Richards all show up in a splendid display of fan service. These characters are, then, all killed off almost immediately in a gruesome fashion. It’s almost akin to the manner in which Deadpool’s crew were dispatched in Deadpool 2. Except, here, it might honestly be worse. For example, Black Bolt inadvertently shouts his own brain apart, and Captain Carter gets cut in half by her own shield. It’s all quite stunning, to say the least, and it’s so unbelievably refreshing.
At this point, it seems almost certain that Marvel Studios are building to a “Secret Wars” style event, though more akin to author Jonathan Hickman’s version from 2015. The mention of universal incursions is brought up several times; these are events where two realities collide with each other and either one or both are destroyed. This is the basic premise for Hickman’s run on “Avengers” and “New Avengers” from 2012, one of my favorite comic book runs of all time. If the MCU is truly building to “Secret Wars” in this particular fashion, I’ll be quite pleased.
The performances in Multiverse of Madness are fantastic, all across the board. Benedict Cumberbatch further cements himself as the titular hero; much like Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Cumberbatch was made to play the role of Stephen Strange. His charisma is unwavering and his ability to deliver such zany lines in a believable manner is impeccable. Benedict Wong is given so much room to just have fun with the character of Wong in this movie. He’s been a favorite of mine since he was introduced in the first Doctor Strange film, and I’m glad to see he hasn’t missed a step since.
Xochitl Gomez makes her MCU debut as America Chavez in what is an undeniably endearing performance. I’ve been excited to see this character brought to life on the big screen, and her introduction is strong, for the most part (more on that in a bit). Rachel McAdams and Chiwetel Ejiofor also reprise their roles as Christine Palmer and Baron Mordo, respectively, to great effect, helping to ground the film and round out the already outstanding cast.
Elizabeth Olsen steals the goddamn show, though, as Wanda Maximoff, a broken woman who just wants to be with her children, though unable to realize the damage she’s causing in pursuit of that goal. Wanda has fully embraced her role as the Scarlet Witch, becoming the MCU’s most terrifying villain. Olsen’s spectacular acting range is on full display, bringing the character to life in ways we’ve never seen before. Wanda takes advantage of the entire breadth of her reality-warping powers, as she creepily staggers through her surroundings, possesses herself in an alternate dimension, and commands towering, demonic creatures. It’s endlessly fun to watch Olsen on screen here, because it’s so obvious she was having a blast playing the part in this way. It’ll be very, very interesting to see how Wanda might try to redeem herself in the future, should she make a return (which I have to imagine she will).
Unfortunately, while the visual storytelling of Multiverse of Madness is spectacular, the written storytelling suffers greatly. I think this movie has a similar problem as Thor: Ragnarok, where the director is trying to manage two different kinds of stories that don’t exactly blend together. Because on the one hand, you have Raimi doing what he does best, injecting tons of exciting and terrifying energy into the film. But on the other hand, he also still has to play along with some of the usual Marvel Studios antics; the film is fairly dependent on the connective tissue of the MCU, and it’s rather glaring against what Raimi is otherwise trying to do here.
Most of the characters suffer because of this. To me, Wanda has the only real character arc throughout the film, as she gradually ascends in the use of her dark powers, only to be brought low at the realization that her intense need to be with her children has actually corrupted her. Everyone else just feels like they’re along for the ride. Most of the emotional character moments for Strange or America feel obligatory, like they had to be included just to check off some storytelling boxes. Either that, or they’re buried under mountains of exposition. It’s not that these moments are poorly written or acted—quite the opposite—they just feel incorrectly implemented.
There’s a moment where America and Strange view memories from each other’s pasts, but the scene comes out of nowhere. Nothing prompts this moment, it just kind of happens as they’re walking through NYC in an alternate reality. Again, it feels like this was included to check off a box on a list of things to do. The details we’re provided about both characters are nice, the dialogue is pleasant, and the performances are genuine, but I wish the script would have allowed this moment to happen in a more natural manner.
I also think Marvel could stand to pull back on this whole “Christine means literally everything to Strange” idea, because it’s not working. Complicated relationships, be they romantic or friendly, can certainly be interesting, and Cumberbatch and McAdams do have some great chemistry, but there’s not enough development here for it to have any believable weight. They spend too much time telling us about their past without ever actually showing us anything, which is just lazy. The lack of palpable context, then, makes it hard to believe that an alternate version of Strange would destroy his reality looking for a way to be with her.
The worst storytelling blunder of this film is, unfortunately, America Chavez. Again, I’ve been looking forward to seeing her brought to life in the MCU, and Gomez’s performance will definitely give viewers something to latch onto, but her role ultimately boils down to that of a plot device. She’s the object of desire that pushes the story forward when nothing else can. It also doesn’t help that America’s characterization is far too little; we’re given very few details about her past, and I don’t think she gets nearly enough chances to naturally express herself. What she gets is alright, but I wanted more from this character. I don’t doubt we’ll get it when we see her next, but for the debut of a character like this, I was left somewhat disappointed.
Honestly, I think this movie could’ve benefitted from having an extra half hour or so to tell the story. It feels like there are a lot of important character details missing that could’ve been included with more time. But, because the movie is already trying to accomplish so much, between jumping between realities, addressing Wanda’s deteriorating psyche, and cramming in a healthy amount of fan service, none of the other characters have a chance to develop in any meaningful ways. Concepts like Strange trying to find his happiness or dealing with his guilt from allowing Thanos to win in Infinity War are touched upon briefly but are never given enough time to properly evolve.
Again, to me, it seems that Raimi’s priorities were the clever visuals and horror-centric antics. I imagine he would’ve liked to address the characters more closely, but because of all the other world building schtick the movie has to get through, a lot of that gets shafted. What development we get is serviceable, but there is clearly potential here for more.
Still, despite its handful of hiccups, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is undeniably fun to watch. It was honestly most fun I’ve had watching a Marvel movie in quite some time. The film is not without its flaws, clearly, but it’s absolutely one of Marvel’s most refreshing efforts in recent years. Despite its blemishes, there’s enough individuality present in this film that I think it sits neatly in the upper echelon of the franchise. This is a clear standout in the broader MCU, and I sincerely hope we get to see more like it in the future.