MOVIE REVIEW: "Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness" Is A Mystical Mess
5/12 ForReel Score | 2/5 Stars
This is a review about Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, I promise. But before I address the latest entry to the MCU - as is the case with almost all Marvel cinematic entertainment now - I must revisit some of Marvel’s previous work.
Hear me out:
Marvel was on to something in WandaVision. For at least the first half of the show, episodes took turns replicating different periods of sitcom television. It was a narrative choice that upended the traditional understanding of modern superhero storytelling and delivered a unique spin on how superheroes can fit in other genres. In the first half of WandaVision, the sitcom style of entertainment was front and center, with a looming mystery unfolding in the background of the narrative. It was everything I could’ve hoped for in a Marvel phase 4 entry: a more unique, genre-oriented approach to superhero storytelling.
However, it seems that when Marvel does something truly great, they have an unfortunate tendency to feel tepid about the choice and then take it back. Be it Mysterio’s claim in Spider-Man Far From Home to be from the highly anticipated multiverse - a fact that is debunked later in the same film. Or the stunning crossover of the mutant version of Quicksilver, (reprised by X-Men actor Evan Peters) followed too swiftly by the retcon reveal of his intended identity as ordinary Westview resident Ralph Bohner. Even the snap in Avengers Infinity War - a distressing event unexpectedly decimating half of the population in the universe - inevitably had to be undone in Avengers Endgame.
Such was the case for WandaVision. Beyond retconning the mutant Quicksilver crossover, the second half of the show upends what is achieved in the first half, dissipating the suspense and reverting back to action packed prototypical Marvel superhero entertainment. Yes, it all works towards bringing Wanda Maximoff to the distressing level of grief and heartache that eventually shapes her motives, but it’s the glimmer of hope for new styles of superhero storytelling that made me excited for WandaVision’s sequel: Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness.
Since the implied notion of a multiverse in Spider-Man Far From Home, I have anxiously and patiently awaited the official introduction of such a world-bending component to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After Mysterio’s false tease of the multiverse, we’ve gotten more entertainment pertaining to this aspect of the MCU. The anthological Disney+ show What If is based on the idea that each episode takes place in different possibilities of the multiverse. Loki foreshadows the impending arrival of Marvel’s next great nemesis through the failing stability of the multiverse in its final episode. And then, the Spider-Man second sequel, No Way Home, exploits the multiverse to iconically unite all three cinematic versions of the Spider-Men.
Which now brings us to Multiverse of Madness. With the film positioned as Marvel’s first step into horror filmmaking, Sam Raimi as director, and the promise of interactive exploration of the MCU multiverse, Multiverse of Madness had the potential to differentiate itself from what is becoming run-of-the-mill Marvel superhero filmmaking. Picking up soon after the events in WandaVision, Multiverse Of Madness finds Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) in a suppressed state of despair over his inability to maintain a romantic relationship with Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams). But when he and current sorcerer supreme Wong (Benedict Wong) encounter America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), a young girl being hunted for her interdimensional traveling power, he finds that it is his friend and fellow Avenger, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), who is the one pursuing this power. Taking on the identity of the Scarlet Witch and wielding the corrupting magic of a spellbook called the Darkhold, Scarlett Witch is willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to get to a reality where she can be with the children she lost in WandaVision.
This premise is undoubtedly the right kind of introduction to the MCU multiverse I have been waiting for. However, Multiverse Of Madness is not the spellbinding film I had hoped it would be. Instead, it's a hodgepodge attempt to be one thing (a horror film) and everything (a mass market superhero summer blockbuster) at the same time. The thought provoking affects of a multiverse take a back seat to obligatory action sequences, rushed storytelling, and even more intriguing narrative choices and cameos that are too quickly retconned.
Raimi's influence on Multiverse of Madness is apparent, and for the most part, welcomed in this unfolding story of one witch versus a wizard, sorcerers, and superheroes. Whether it’s the occasionally uncanny score, the occasional uncomfortably skewed camera angles, or the occasionally disturbed acting Scarlet Witch, the elements of a tantalizing horror experience are present. However, it’s the “occasional” nature of these horror elements that too often makes Multiverse of Madness feel disjointed, pitching the notion of a horror experience that the following sequence has to subsequently pacify. For many desperate for something special out of Multiverse of Madness, these glimmers of Raimi filmmaking can be a real delight. But they are both flickering and fleeting, and each person’s relationship with the current state of Marvel movies will ultimately determine how heavily weighted these moments are on their overall experience with the film.
But at a brisk 126 minute runtime, there is still not enough space for the stories of Doctor Stephen Strange and Wanda Maximoff to breathe, let alone the backstories of supporting characters like America, the alternate version of Christine, or the other, less successful Doctor Stranges. Anything that needs further explanation is encapsulated in shoehorned segments of the film during activity downtime. Like a randomly placed memory actualizer that, for no logical reason at all, is placed in the walkway of Stephen Strange and America for them both to walk on and reveal short and underdeveloped snippets of their past. Or a panel of heroes literally talking down to Strange about that universe’s version of himself. Not to mention a number of monologues that occur right before an action sequence. It’s all cheap storytelling, which is not ideal from a lavishly expensive $200 million production.
Furthermore, as writer Marty Millman addresses in his review of Multiverse Of Madness, that price tag is a head scratching figure when the CGI quality is as lackluster as what this film offers. For example, most interactions with Strange’s cloak are akin to early video games that couldn’t quite align a subject’s hand with the objects they pick up. Movement of the digital characters in action are too often unnatural, where inertia and momentum aren’t applied properly to the digital figures’ motion. And to that end, there are too many instances when it’s easy to tell that something is digitally added.
Then thematically, I struggled to get a clear understanding of the film’s position on good and bad or what the takeaway is on moral corruption and unintended consequences of bad behavior for good intentions. In the multiverse, the Doctor Strange we know learns about how the multiple versions of himself made unethical choices for what they thought was the greater good and found themselves suffering the undesirable consequences. Our Doctor Strange also engages in this kind of questionable decision making - like giving the Time Stone to Thanos, as the film points out. So when the Strange we know seeks a resolution with the tool that is known to impose detrimental consequences on everyone who has used it, Multiverse Of Madness does not offer an explanation on why our Doctor Strange should be the exception. Audiences are left to assume that the Doctor Strange we know is the Doctor Strange we root for and therefore must be the hero of the story, even if the hypocrisy of his character is glaring. It’s an unfortunate example of how proper character development is an elusive endevor for Multiverse Of Madness.
It’s Wanda - through the reliably bewitching performance of Elizabeth Olsen - who assumes the most responsibility for keeping Multiverse of Madness engaging. Similar to the best of Marvel’s villains like Killmonger in Black Panther, Hela in Thor Ragnarok, and Thanos over the course of the Infinity Saga, her motives, though deplorable, are understandable. Her desire to regain motherhood of her children (in a film released ahead of Mother’s Day weekend, no less) is an at-all-costs excursion that offers audiences that uncomfortable conflict of empathizing with the objective while condemning the path to achieving it. But even Wanda has her scripting deficiencies when the resolution to her plight is ultimately less than revelating.
It is disappointing to speak so unfavorably about the unfolding of these sets of stories that I felt had so much potential, especially in the shadow of a film like Everything Everywhere All At Once, which didn’t need 27 preceding films and a $200 million budget to make something beautiful out of its one shot at depicting a multiverse. The MCU successfully completing its journey from Iron Man to Endgame has had me looking to phase 4 and beyond for something better and more compelling. What’s next for the MCU? What heights will future strands of these superhero stories reach? Unfortunately, a desirable answer does not exist in Multiverse Of Madness. But, perhaps the next Doctor Strange appearance in the MCU will see him search 14,000,605 more realities for the one that corrects this quantity-over-quality style of filmmaking Marvel seems to be woefully committed to.
Acting/Casting - 2 | Visual Effects and Editing - 0 | Story and Message - 0 | Entertainment Value - 1 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 1 | Reviewer’s Preference - 1 | What does this mean?