Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) - 7/10

I get the post-Endgame Marvel hate. The early Phase Four films rely heavily on hyping up the Multiverse Saga while also being cohesively rudderless. The linear and clear narrative from Marvel's initial run was more palatable for casual audiences, despite being arguably weaker films overall. If that all sounds like nonsense to you because you don't really care about Marvel, I get that too.

As for this particular film, it's hard to ignore the greater scheme at work and judge these films individually, but I think Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness is a testament to the fact that you can still have strong individual outings for respective Marvel heroes as long as you have the right creative vision. Point being, if you're kinda just "over" the whole Marvel thing, you might not share some of my enthusiasm for this film. But if you're someone who thinks picking Sam Raimi, acclaimed director of both the Evil Dead series and the first Spider-Man trilogy, was an inspired move by Kevin Feige, then we should dive into the rubric.

1. Acting

Probably the most eloquent way I can think of to describe the acting in MoM is "meh." This cast has some heavy hitters, with Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Benedict Wong all reprising their roles from previous installments. Additionally, we get a bunch of fun cameos, including Sir Patrick Stewart returning to his iconic depiction of Professor X.

However, despite all of this talent involved, I can't help but feel that a lot of the acting comes across as fairly flat. There are definitely some bright moments, but I think the script is just a little too preoccupied with plot over character, which gives the cast less to work with.

Now, Elizabeth Olsen does manage to stand out the most among the cast (and seems to be having a lot of fun doing it). She seems to really relish the opportunity to play against what Wanda has been up to this point in the MCU, and she also gets to play double duty as she essentially portrays two different versions of the former hero. Yet even this great performance is arguably undermined by the greater machine of the MCU. The most poignant moments of the film, and where Olsen does her best work, rely heavily on the audience having seen WandaVision. You can piece together the narrative of her arc through context in MoM, but the emotional weight of it doesn't hit as well without the prerequisite viewing.

As for the titular hero, Benedict Cumberbatch returns to Stephen Strange with an opportunity to dig a little deeper into the character. Unfortunately, the script doesn't feel like it gives him enough room to really get anything going. As such, the performance feels like more of the same and a bit of a waste of the two-time Academy Award nominee's talent.

With that said, a big part of Stephen as a character is how closed off he is, and Benedict's best moments tend to be in his subtle gazes and body language rather than in broader, bigger "acting" moments.

The rest of the cast is largely fine. The script demands that they be heavy exposition deliverers, which they largely do well. And newcomer Xochitl Gomez does well in her MCU debut as America Chavez. However, once again, the script just kind of fails to give her much to work with.

2. Cinematography

Much like Guardians of the Galaxy before it, the Doctor Strange films are great because they get to deviate more liberally from the visual constraints of other Marvel films. Add Sam Raimi into the mix as your director and you've got a great recipe for making a really visually compelling film.

From a style perspective, MoM does a fun job bouncing between different aesthetics—namely sci-fi and horror. There are tons of CGI and sci-fi elements that typically highlight America's involvement. It plays closer to a typical blockbuster feel, but scenes like Stephen and America skipping through a montage of different universes are very cool sequences and reminiscent of a lot of the creativity from the first film.

However, since it is Raimi, the campy mix of B-movie horror combined with legitimately terror-inducing imagery is the real highlight of this outing. The exaggerated Dutch angles, the repetitive and intense zooms, and the darkly lit settings all feel so different from anything the MCU has been willing to do so far. Wanda's blood-soaked rampage through the Illuminati headquarters is a masterful sequence that is as fun as it is intimidating—and even scary.

With all of this said, there are a few times throughout the watch where I feel as if Raimi is a bit too off the leash. For instance, I will watch one scene that uses a Dutch angle and absolutely love how it looks and feels. But then Raimi goes back in for more Dutch angles in the next scene and it feels like a miss, as if something didn't land.

I think directors should be allowed more freedom to experiment, especially in broad commercial films, but they also need to be cognizant of diminishing returns. I think off-kilter shots like Dutch angles are a great tool, but they carry the most weight when they are wielded with more precision at just the right moment.

3. Production/Costume Design

Marvel certainly continues its streak of sparing no expense. The sets look great, the production quality is high, and the costumes are often impeccable.

Yet my favorite part of this section comes from the makeup teams. There may not be anything too extravagant happening, but I think they did a great job grounding some of Raimi's more horror-centric visions for the film. In particular, I think about how great Zombie Strange looks, as well as Olsen's increasing descent into madness as shown through her makeup and the increasing amounts of blood.

 4. Writing

The writing for this movie feels a bit like the filmmakers had a great concept, a larger throughline they wanted to explore, and a director and vision they were excited about. The problem is that it also feels like they didn't really know how to mash it all together.

For instance, we start the movie with Doctor Strange having returned from the Blip, no longer the Sorcerer Supreme, and clearly experiencing some inner turmoil about being lonely. Starting the film at Christine's wedding was a great call and highlights how Strange is wondering if he has missed out on something major in his personal life. Yet by the end of the movie, I don't really know if Strange has progressed at all. He shares lots of moments with an "other" Christine and spends much of the film trying to reconcile his feelings. But by the end, I couldn't tell you if he is still in love with her, in love with the idea of her, or if he is ready to move on.

In a similar vein, I don't really understand his relationship with America. We start the movie with her being fearful of Strange because of her experiences with other variants of him. For his part, Strange is a bit standoffish, but he also seems to be struggling with the idea of pushing back against the harsher missteps of the other Strange variants. The next act seems to frame their shared relationship as one of mutual growth—somewhat mentor and mentee. But again, the setup doesn't feel like it really gets a full follow-through.

In the end, America is starting her training with the Masters of the Mystic Arts, and Strange just kind of goes home and leaves her. They basically high-five and go their separate ways. This could have arguably been used to bridge the gap in Strange's loneliness instead. Basically, having grappled with and resolved his feelings about Christine, he could have found something meaningful in becoming a mentor and father figure for America. And it didn't have to be exactly that, but all of the exploration of Stephen and his relationships feels like it ends in roughly the same place that they started in.

Luckily, the film does have an adequate co-lead who gets a bit better handling. Continuing Wanda's story from WandaVision is a smart move, even if I don't necessarily think this was the only way to do it. WandaVision already tried to somewhat put a bow on Wanda's grief, so now we're just sort of picking at the scab and recycling it into a feature instead.

Instead of Vision being the focal point, Wanda's children become the source of her descent into madness. Really, I think the big misstep here is not actually having the time to show how the Darkhold corrupts Wanda. We just kind of pick up the story with her already being evil, and it might give viewers a bit of characterization whiplash.

At least in this instance, though, as the film progresses, we see Wanda follow an evil-to-slight-redemption arc that at least makes sense. Her descent into madness follows a nice pace and peaks at just the right moment when she finally comes face-to-face with her children again. Their fearful rejection of her, and the caring, pitiful moment she shares with the other Wanda, is a great and emotional way to bring the arc to a close and helps prop up Strange's more unclear or unsupported arc.

Other than that, I think the film follows a decent, fun plot. Exploring different multiverses and stuffing the film with fun cameos is admittedly entertaining. And the cat-and-mouse chase between Wanda and Strange/America is a good framing device to progress through different settings and keep things moving.

Overall, it's a fun film with good ideas—I just can't help but feel like the characters don't get served in the best ways, which weakens it.

5. Sound Design

Raimi brought in longtime collaborator Danny Elfman to replace Michael Giacchino. I didn't really register too many differences between this film and other Doctor Strange outings. Elfman seemed content to preserve Giacchino's work while adding some subtle flair and changes to the score.

If anything, the place where the sound design stands out is in the inclusion of little musical Easter eggs to highlight the characters. For instance, we see the use of musical elements from WandaVision in some of Olsen's moments, while also getting the Captain America: The First Avenger theme when Hayley Atwell makes her appearance as Captain Carter.

Best of all, though, for a longtime fan of Marvel television and movies, hearing the iconic trill of Ron Wasserman's original X-Men theme was awesome fan service.

6. Editing

Apart from keeping a decent pace, I think what I enjoyed most from an editing standpoint is how they stitched a lot of the sequences together. The editors seemed to do a great job keeping up with Raimi's visual flair and bouncing back and forth between different filmmaking styles to preserve both the horror and sci-fi tones.

7. Visual Effects

Again, this is Marvel. There is a ton of CGI, and it largely looks phenomenal. In particular, Doctor Strange, compared to other Marvel heroes, really gets into some outlandish imagery, and the artists did a great job bringing it to life.

There are tons of examples throughout the film, but there is no better example of just how weird and awesome this movie can be than when two Doctor Stranges have a magical musical fight. It is weird, outlandish, and fun.

However, because there is so much CGI, there are a few instances where it feels messy or underbaked. I think the opening sequence is an example of this. Some of the fight with the giant eye monster looks good, but something is just a bit off. The lighting doesn't match, and I think the monster itself is too much of a mismatch with the setting. It's like a cartoon character backdropped by a very realistic version of New York City.

People also highlight that Strange's third eye, which appears in certain scenes, is done poorly. I don't actually think the CGI is bad here. I think this is a problem I've seen a few times now where the uncanniness of a facial feature is too hard for your brain to ignore. Eyes are incredibly important in human interactions, and anytime something messes with them, it breaks your ability to suspend disbelief. 

Nevertheless, it does stick out like a sore thumb.

8. Originality or Strength of Adaptation

People accuse the MCU of just being the same movie over and over again, and I get that sentiment. However, I think Marvel has shown several times now that they are willing to branch out and let somewhat auteur-driven directors take a crack at putting their own personal touches on a blockbuster superhero film.

I think Raimi's style is extremely apparent in this film, and it shows that Feige and company are not as formulaic as some suggest.

9. Stunt Coordination

Again, this is a big blockbuster film, so it's safe to say that the stunt work is very solid. With that said, I think the Kamar-Taj attack was a bit poorly constructed when compared to other sequences in the film and shows the inherent weakness that occurs when trying to do large-scale battles with magical powers—it mostly just becomes a bunch of arms moving around awkwardly and beams of light going back and forth.

At the same time, there is some really cool stuff in this film, and the highlight is certainly Wanda's utter decimation of the Illuminati. Having the freedom to play around with superhero characters who are not completely protected by plot armor led to some truly awesome moments. 

10. Direction

Having Raimi return to the superhero genre is a really cool fan moment. For most people, the original Spider-Man trilogy paved the way for what the genre has grown into, so his return feels a bit full circle.

It's also great that Doctor Strange is a very different character from Spider-Man and actually fits much better with Raimi's campy and horror sensibilities. Still, this is not a perfect film by any means. I take issue with some of the writing decisions, and I think Raimi occasionally overdoes his camera work.

Overall, I take the most pleasure from the film simply being different and fun rather than being a truly great entry into the genre.

Legacy / Final Thoughts

It's a bit hard to say exactly what Multiverse of Madness' legacy will be within the MCU. The Multiverse Saga, for better or worse, is still developing at this point. Maybe after Doomsday, this film will be easier to place within the grand scheme of Marvel films.

Outside of the MCU, this is still a good-to-great example of how not all superhero movies are alike. Raimi definitely made it his own, and while I take issue with some of the end product, it is still entertaining. If nothing else, I hope that movies like this, and their success, continue to show studios that you can experiment within genres and take risks without hurting your bottom line.