"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" was maddingly disappointing

2022 - Action/Adventure/Fantasy

Mild Spoilers!

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This past weekend, I had the opportunity to watch Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and I have to say the film was entertaining, yet fell flat in comparison to my incoming expectations. With Sam Raimi having joined the marvel world again after it being 15 years since Spider-Man 3 was released, I was incredibly excited to see what he would bring to the developing Doctor Strange franchise. However, the film felt as though it relied heavily on cameos and an encyclopedia level of knowledge about the entirety of the marvel universe.

While many marvel films, such as Shang-Chi, Iron Man, and Black Panther, functioned as their own separate stories, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, on the other hand, would collapse without prior references towards other marvel works. It did not follow directly after the previous Doctor Strange, working almost completely separated from the first film, and rather acting as a sequel to the WandaVision series, which I had not seen and was initially left confused because of.

Photo Courtesy: Marvel Studios

Starting off, the film focuses on introducing us to the newest character, America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), a dimension-hopping teen that’s attempting to gain control of her powers. Through her journey, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Wong (Benedict Wong) protect her from Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), who’s intent on stealing Chavez’s powers to reconnect with her kids from another universe. After Spider-Man: No Way Home having introduced the idea of a multiverse, it was exciting to witness the concept come to life as characters weaved back and forth through the various movie and series formats within the MCU Cinematic universe, though, this time, fell flat in execution.

THE CAMEOS

For instance, the cameos of other MCU characters acted as a clear sign towards the excitement filmmakers had when exploring the realm of multiverse. And, while fascinating at first for any diehard Marvel or superhero fans, it was not as exciting for the casual viewer given that some may have not seen a few of the films these characters had derived from.

Moreover, the cameos were very short lived, as the heroes were quickly brutalized and gone within a matter of minutes of being introduced. As a casual viewer of the Marvel franchise myself, I was confused and, most pressingly, disappointed. These cameos felt as if they served no purpose other than a simple plot point and surprise factor for fans, remaining a part of the film that could’ve been better used for something more substantial to the story being told rather than fanservice.

THE ROMANCE, TRAGEDY, AND HUMOR

There was a fair amount of tragedy due to the multiverse concept. Dr Strange’s love of Christine (Rachel McAdams) was a prevalent point that was showcased through each multiverse, in which Stephen had been willing to die and/or succumbed to deep depression due to his intensity of love for her. Not surprisingly, Stephen being a sorcerous, crime-fighting wizard created difficulty in his personal life, negatively impacting his relationship with Christine that ultimately left them separated, with the film starting at him grimly attending her wedding.

Personally, I did not connect as much to their relationship, and found the film simply expressed how this couple in, quite literally, every universe did not belong together. The introduction of a certain white-haired hero in the end-credits of the film demonstrated a potentially new shift in Dr Strange’s romantic life, making the Christine-Stephen storyline feel as though it’s heading to an inevitable close. A fittingly incorporated storyline meant to begin developing another for the next film.

Photo Courtesy: Marvel Studios

Moreover, I have to admit I did love the entire scene where Stephen used his corpse to fight against Scarlet Witch, and the exchange of dialogue he had with Christine beforehand. It was funny yet incredibly powerful, and a wonderful circle back to a story point developed at the beginning of the film. Moreover, despite its clear makeup effects, I did appreciate the attention to detail on the corpse to show the decomposition. I found myself amused and excited after having felt slightly disappointed with previous parts of the movie. His determination in this scene remains an excellent documentation of growth towards Stephen in comparison to his other universe counterparts, in which I was surprised to see were primarily darker versions of the Stephen we are accustomed to.

DOCTOR STRANGE AND SCARLET WITCH IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS

Scarlet Witch – the powerful and beloved core character that acts as the antagonist of the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, should really have her name in the title seeing as she was the driving force of the story. Elizabeth Olsen completely dominated in her role during this film, showcasing to fans the sheer power Scarlet Witch has. Her lines that claimed herself as being “reasonable” and warned that Wanda would not be coming for Chavez but, instead, the Scarlet Witch – powerful!

Not only that but watching her fly through the smoke clouds as she faces the entire Strange Academy was an AMAZING moment! Within the theater, everyone was on the edge of their seat upon this amazing demonstration of power, recognizing how her strength is enormously bigger than an entire school of wizards.

Photo Courtesy: Marvel Studios

Every action had delivered an impact that made me ecstatic to see what she would do given that there’s no question of her abilities that could’ve singlehandedly ended the war against Thanos. Seeing her absolutely obliterate a variety of other powerful heroes while knowing the sheer amount of power she contains, made it increasingly more terrifying to see her against the scrambling Doctor Strange. In fact, it felt as though Stephen was no more than a regular guy when facing Scarlet, as his powers were practically useless considering the only one who can truly stop Wanda is, well, simply herself.

Having said that, it does feel important to touch on the negative storyline aspect of why Wanda – an insanely powerful witch capable of bending reality – primarily intended to destroy the world simply because she desired to be a suburban mom. Her ultimate desire to be the mom of (imaginary) kids causes her to go absolutely insane, murdering fellow heroes, friends, and losing control of her powers to achieve her own selfish wishes.

Without Vision, Wanda apparently has no other purpose or desire than to be a mother, only ending her murderous rampage upon merely hearing from her multiverse counterpart that she’ll take care of her kids. As if all of what Scarlet Witch had done was easily swept away because of a few simple words, and the crazy Scarlet is suddenly regretful of everything she had done throughout the entire movie. A sloppy and rushed ending, I will say, and somewhat weak and sexist plot device

FINAL TAKEWAY AND RANKING

Nevertheless, the movie was lackluster compared to its hype, ranking a 6 out of 10 personally. While there were great moments, the excessive dependence on fanservice and prior Marvel knowledge generated a film that felt too reliant on the success of the MCU universe to act as a standalone. Viewers, including myself, flocked to the theater determined to learn more about Stephen without the infiltration of other characters in the MCU, yet were sorely disappointed when it became an excuse to utilize the multiverse.