Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness marks an important milestone in the MCU plate of offerings thus far. Right before the film’s release, director Sam Raimi mentioned that the management allowed him full creative freedom to make the film he wants to make. After having actually watched it, we are extremely glad to realize how true his statement was! While this sequel to the Sorcerer Supreme’s journey isn’t by means a product with robust quality like Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War or even the first Avengers, it is still miles better than the generic and riskless template that most of the formulaic MCU films sadly dwell in.

Having a visionary behind the camera as opposed to a studio-hired puppet makes a world of difference is the gist here. Having a prominent director with conviction like Sam Raimi to helm the project, the Multiverse of Madness can’t help but ooze personality! Just by the depthful framing and composition you could see the huge distinction in picture quality! Said filmmaker is also an expert in all things horror, and he goes to eleven on this one! Wanda’s (Elizabeth Olsen) tunnel chase, Kamar Taj’s reflection ambush and the brilliant finale of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) using his counterpart’s corpse as an awakened zombie with the spirits forming the cloak screams Sam Raimi! What could have been a generic, simple altercation between two magicians turns out to be an abundantly creative battle featuring musical notes... is again, Sam Raimi.

About the writing, there are many positives. First of all, Stephen Strange goes through an arc, even though it could have been way more impactful had he been offered some convincing temptations that would lure him to become like the other evil Doctor Stranges across the whole multiverse. The script did have a multiverse Christine (Rachel McAdams) whom they could have for sure used much better for this purpose. In fact, the initial sequence of the real Christine getting married to someone else with our Stephen watching it with tears at the cusp of his eyes is heartbreaking, but what’s more heartbreaking than this is they didn’t bring this anywhere further . Wanda goes through a much stronger arc of realizing how to give up her coercion and make peace with herself. Her Lie does clear off by the end, knowing that she must be happy knowing her kids exist and living happily in another universe. The idea of sorcery versus witchcraft is fascinating as the entire film is built upon the battle of these two ideological factions.

At first, it may seem like the revelation about Wanda being the actual antagonist is too early, but it quickly becomes acceptable when you realize this is going to be the primary driving force of the film and there’s loads more to come. There’s a truly simply yet astute and effective communication methodology introduced known as Dreamwalking. Be it the ethereal squid fight that utilizes seamless transition from buildings to street, the initial battle with the guardians at Mount Wundagore or the flashback narration of how the Illuminati terminated Earth-838’s Doctor Strange, the visual storytelling in these instances are very well done!

The biggest surprise comes in the form of the introduction of Illuminati and the members in it. We've seen Black Bolt in Inhumans, Hayley Atwell’s reprisal of her animated What If's Captain Carter is a delight and to see Patrick Stewart's Professor X after Logan brings joy for certain. Of course, the excitement doesn’t last very long since Wanda steps in to shred and rip each and every one of them apart like they were nothingburgers, in one of the most jawdropping, gobsmacking gory action sequence we’ve seen in a while, that too in MCU! But the best part is definitely the casting of John Krasinski as Mr. Fantastic! Here's hoping Emily Blunt has agreed to play Mrs. Fantastic in the upcoming MCU reboot! Another big surprise is surely Bruce Campbell’s cameo... just kidding, Sam Raimi will even make a film without a script, but never without Bruce Campbell.

Of course it goes without saying that the visual effects are gorgeous! Just the cheesehole traversal through each and every one of the realm in the multiverse gives you that ticket price worth! The very design of the Book of Vishanti, Red Moon and the space between the universes aka Gap Junction are well thought out. Prosthetics for Zombie Strange is simply outstanding! Danny Elfman’s score supplies the grandeur the film needs!

When the film ends, we see Doctor Strange as a changed man. With the way the film ends abruptly with Strange developing a third eye and meeting a mysterious character played by Charlize Theron as they venture into the Dark Dimension, we are excited for our favorite sorcerer’s next adventure.