Main cast: Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr Stephen Strange), Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Karl Mordo), Benedict Wong (Wong), Xochitl Gomez (America Chavez), Julian Hilliard (Billy), Jett Klyne (Tommy), Sheila Atim (Sara), Adam Hugill (Rintrah), Michael Stühlbarg (Nicodemus West), and Rachel McAdams (Christine Palmer)
Director: Sam Raimi
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness takes our main character Dr Stephen Strange and the latest model of the MCU “Plucky, Sassy, Whee!” strong, female character America Chavez through a multitude of multiverses, pursued by a mad Scarlet Witch because all she wants is to be reunited with her brats (I guess she’s safely moved on from Vision) and only with America’s powers can she do that.
There, that’s the story of this movie in a nutshell. Oh, and for folks that have not watched WandaVision, I’d recommend at least reading the synopsis of the series first, as what Wanda did in that show factors very heavily here.
Having multiverses also means cameo appearances of various characters that may or may not be used for future appearances, and I suppose that’s the whole point of it all. It’s to get everyone excited over future MCU shows and movies. After all, folks that have paid tickets or Disney+ subscription have already given these Disney people what they want, and now it’s time to get those folks to keep consooming.
Back in those days, the mid-credit scene was the place for sequel baiting. Now, it’s the whole movie, woo-hoo! The movie itself? Who cares! Get excited for the upcoming stuff with Fantastic Four, X-Men The Mutants, et cetera.
So, back to this movie. America Chavez has been given a complete do-over so that she’s not that horrible thing that is in the comics. She’s more likable, for one, instead of a mouthpiece for bitter people that wanted to be writers for big movies but couldn’t do any better than being diversity hires at Marvel Comics.
America has the ability to travel through multiverses, but sadly, not the ability to fully control her power. Wanda wants to get her hands on America and hence, the power of the latter, to be able to reunite with her kids in some other multiverse out there.
She and Dr Strange from another multiverse are on the run when the poor guy is killed by a demon, and America and Dead Strange end up in the current version of the multiverse, where our Dr Strange and the Sorcerer Supreme Wong manage to save America from another demon. As for that demon… is that Shuma-Gorath? If yes, it’s embarrassing how easily it is defeated, sigh.
Somewhat foolishly, as if being dis-invited from appearing on her show meant nothing, Strange seeks Wanda for help, only to realize that she is the one hunting America all this while and oopsie, he’s just let her know that America has practically been delivered onto Wanda’s doorstep…
Oh well, at least now he will be distracted from dwelling on his ex Christine marrying some other bloke!
While I’m on this, how on earth can these people still remember Peter after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home? Did that movie take place in, what, the Sony multiverse, and this one in the Disney multiverse? Ugh, why am I thinking so hard over silly things like this?
Getting back on track: this is a Dr Strange movie, so expect lots of CGI. However, I feel that these scenes resemble a little too much of shiny whirling things in a platform video game, perhaps because of how bright and plastic-y the CGI generally is.
I’m far more interested in the human elements of this movie, actually. Early on, Strange naturally tries to make Christine’s wedding all about him, and I love that she sets him straight, gently of course, that he wants to be in control too often, too much and she couldn’t see herself in a long-term relationship with him because of this. He seems to expect her to be grateful for his martyrdom, and she’s like, nah, they won’t work out anyway, so this is the best.
More significantly, this movie is an opportunity to explore Wanda more properly. WandaVision tried, but completely botched Wanda’s evolution into a complex villain by having Monica Rambeau assure her, and hence telling the viewers that Wanda really wasn’t that bad for, oh, brainwashing people just to live out a life with Vision that she never had a chance to do. While her motives may be sympathetic and even relatable, Wanda’s methods are anything but benevolent. This makes her a potentially fascinating and complex villain.
Just like with her show, Elizabeth Olsen is the MVP here, as she plays the hell out of her role when she could have just followed the MCU playbook and just quipped, quipped, quipped. When her character has to be vulnerable, she hits all the right notes. Everyone else here is just quipping, but even when Wanda lobbies one, there is an undercurrent of sadness and bitterness in the delivery that hits the feels hard. When Wanda is being the meanest witch of them all, she embodies a calm, yet terrifying kind of quiet fury to tower over everyone.
As for Benedict Cumberbatch, well, he looks handsome enough to be Strange, but to be honest, while his character’s name is in the title of this movie, the more accurate title of this movie is Dr Strange in the True Finale of WandaVision.
Strange and the rest of the cast suffer from the same all-time-quipping disorder that affects practically everyone now in the MCU. It is hard to take the supposed end of the multiverse seriously when everyone just drops quips even at a supposedly tense moment, and it is discordant, to say the least, when Wanda is doing her “If I can’t be happy, no one else can!” stunt like her heart was bleeding for everyone to see, and everyone else is busy trying to outdo one another in the one-liner ha-ha-ha’s.
Wong is especially embarrassing in this movie as the flailing, incompetent Sorcerer Supreme. I’m surprised none of the woke fans of this franchise have accused this show of racism or something by now, because that character is pure cringe here.
Indeed, this movie falls apart completely when Wanda attacks the sorcerer HQ, Khamar-Taj, at the 30th minute or so, because all she has to do is to whisper “Boo!” and then lobby a red goop of power to decimate the sorcerers’ defense in such an embarrassing manner for the good guys. Then again, with the clown Wong in charge, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, as these clowns turn out to be completely unprepared to face Wanda.
The movie never recovers after that. It devolves into a long chase sequence, with various cameos popping up for pointless fanservice purposes, and the whole thing eventually becomes a showdown between America and Wanda while Strange stays dutifully by the sidelines. I’m sure fans of shiny CGI will be thrilled, but I personally feel that whatever little emotional arc the movie has going for it has been flushed down the toilet for the usual barrage of shiny lights, bright explosions, and quip festival that recent MCU has been reduced to.
At the end of the day, this is a halfway good movie up to its first 30 minutes or so, and then it becomes a boring showcase of CGI that attempts to distract me from how little this movie actually has going for it in terms of everything else.
The cast may be up to scratch on paper, but they are wasted here in a movie that is far more interested in advertising for more MCU and then throwing CGI after CGI to wrap up this movie as quickly and half-heartedly as possible. What a waste, really.
