Doctor Strange 2 Movie Review, Doctor Strange Madness in the Multiverse Movie Launch Today LIVE Updates: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is directed by Sam Raimi, who is known for bringing back the superhero movie culture with Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man. Tobey Maguire recently reprised his character in Spider-Man: No Way Home, after the doors of the multiverse were opened by Doctor Strange. In a recent chat with AP, Sam said, “I was really trying to make a Marvel movie, first and foremost. I guess everyone does things their own way, without trying to specifically make it something other than what it was. I was really just trying to follow the characters from the previous Marvel movies and storylines from Wandavision had led into and where all the Avengers movies had led into. But also try to open up the multiverse as Marvel had requested of writer Michael Waldron for future adventures.”
The first reactions to Doctor Strange 2 described it as a ‘horror movie’. Collider’s Perri Nemiroff wrote, “MARVEL MADE A HORROR MOVIE! It’s weird, scary and earns the title Multiverse of Madness. If you were at all concerned this movie wouldn’t feel Sam Raimi enough, fear not! I can’t imagine a more Sam Raimi MCU film. My genre loving heart is bursting right now.”
Fandango’s Erik Davis wrote, “By far the creepiest, gnarliest, zaniest, most haunting & terrifying Marvel movie, #MultiverseOfMadness definitely brings the Sam Raimi horror vibes, and I loved that about it. Danny Elfman’s music is a perfect fit for the film’s odd, mysterious tone & Elizabeth Olsen is MVP, imo.”
Of the 27 films released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far, if there was one flavour these films lacked or rather did not play with was horror. In comes director, Sam Raimi, and the standard template of MCU transforms into a terrifying, gritty, and dark world. The new offering from Marvel Studios and the 28th MCU film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, is visually stunning, refreshing, and scary — all in all a heady tempering peppered with moments of fan service.
Although Multiverse of Madness is a sequel to Doctor Strange (2016), the events of this film take place after the developments in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and Disney+ Hotstar web series WandaVision (2021).
At the end of No Way Home, Dr Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) had already cast a forbidden spell to open a portal to the multiverse. Now, while he struggles to restore the balance, he stumbles upon a young girl named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) who also possesses the power to travel through the multiverse.
Scarlet Witch in Doctor Strange’s world
There are several moments where I questioned the title of this 126-minute long film. Written by Michael Waldron and based on Marvel Comics, the film should appropriately be named ‘Scarlet Witch ft Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’. Not to say that Doctor Strange does not have enough screen presence. He is, of course, the spine of the film but it is the Scarlet Witch who outshines him on more than one occasion.
Olsen, who has portrayed the role in previous MCU films too, played the titular role in Marvel Studios’ maiden web series WandaVision. Wanda’s character picks up from where the web series ended.
For the uninitiated, Wanda’s alter-ego Scarlet Witch had discovered ‘Darkhold’ at the end of the Marvel show — a book possessing the evil magic that destroys whatever comes in its way. The book’s antithesis is another book — ‘The Book of Vishanti’ — that Dr Strange is on the lookout for.
If you study the ‘villains’ or antagonists of the last few MCU films such as Hela (Thor: Ragnarok, 2017), Mysterio (Spider-Man: Far From Home, 2019), Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War, 2018 and Endgame, 2019), Erik Killmonger (Black Panther, 2018), Xu Wenwu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, 2021), you cannot blatantly label them as ‘wrong’ or ‘bad/evil’. Most of these characters are driven by their own version of ‘truth’ that does not seem unreasonable — a trait that makes these characters and films better and richer. But since we are in the superhero domain, the ‘Earth’s mightiest heroes’ must thrive (Avengers: Infinity War being a short-lived exception). At one point in Multiverse of Madness, Wanda says, “You [Dr Strange] break rules, you become a hero. I do the same, and I am the villain.”
The fan in me felt satiated seeing Scarlet Witch’s evolved characterisation but it was equally underwhelming to not see Dr Strange’s evil side — ‘the sinister Strange’. Perhaps Raimi will make up for it in the next installation (referring to the jaw-dropping cliff-hanger).
Imprints of Sam Raimi in MCU
With Multiverse of Madness, director Sam Raimi has officially joined the likes of Jon Favreau, Anthony and Joe Russo, Kenneth Branagh, Taika Waititi, and Ryan Coogler — who have directed one or more MCU films.
Although Raimi is not oblivious to the superhero genre (the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy), he is famously known as the ‘master of horror’. The Evil Dead series (1981, 1987 and 1992) and Drag Me to Hell (2009) are testament to his knack for creating scary, unhinged, and visually imaginative cinematic worlds.
The layered design and visually staggering shots are fantastical. In one particularly long sequence, when Wanda is chasing a few characters, her demeanour and the direction create some of the terrifying yet best scenes of the film. In another sequence, two characters use musical notes as weapons to attack each other with Danny Elfman’s score playing in the background. While it makes for a stunning visual, it does not cease to be a terrifying scene.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is an exquisite blend of horror and visual escapades delivered by MCU debutant Sam Raimi. Only if it was named after the Scarlet Witch rather than Dr Strange.
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