Directed by Sam Raimi, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness takes place a few months after the events of Spider-Man No Way Home and follows Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) who encounters a new adversary that he alone cannot defeat. Strange must gain the help of both old and new mystical allies in order to stop this threat, but as they travel through the multiverse it becomes clear that things aren’t as simple as they seem.
The concept of the multiverse was first hinted at in the first Doctor Strange film and then hinted at a little further in Avengers Endgame, but it wasn’t until the beginning of Phase 4 that we began to fully dive into a new realm of endless possibilities for the MCU. A Multiversal saga had begun, starting with the hit show Wandavision and continuing with Loki, What if and Spider-Man No Way Home. The saga continues with this Doctor Strange sequel, helmed by veteran director Sam Raimi, that promised to take us further into the multiverse on an insane ride that could change the fate of the MCU, the fates of some beloved characters, and give us many massive surprises.
This film is lives up to its title as Sam Raimi delivers in his unique style a crazy, haunting, brutal, fun, heartbreaking, creative, and horror filled comic book film of epic proportions. This was Raimi’s comeback to the comic book genre after all these years and he comes in full force, bringing his greatest strengths as a filmmaker to the world of the Doctor Strange, and he doesn’t hold back for a second. I think ever since he name-dropped the character in Spider-Man 2 he hoped to one day make a film about the character with full creative reign. His wish was granted and with that we were given perhaps one of his greatest works in recent years, one that goes for the horror that was promised when the film was in early development, while also delivering a lot of unexpected delights.
This is a non-spoiler review so major plot points and characters will not be discussed in full detail. (Though some characters are mentioned that could be a surprise.)
Benedict Cumberbatch returns as our beloved Doctor Strange, delivering another fantastic performance as expected, but he also gets to expand upon the character as he endures a wild journey that brings him into conflict not only with other beings but also with himself, both figuratively and literally. He has to face the choices he has made in the past and is trying to be the best possible version of himself, especially when he sees what he could become when he encounters variants of himself from other universes.
Cumberbatch brings his absolute A-game when it comes to playing Strange and his other variants, making them look and act different from the Strange we know, and it’s marvelous. You could tell he had so much fun as the variants, especially Sinister Strange.
And while the title character is indeed one of the strongest parts of the film, his presence is hugely rivaled by a massively outstanding performance by Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch. Her dark path that began in Wandavision is a crucial part of her story arc in this film as it feels like a direct continuation, both in narrative and performance. The same level of phenomenal acting Olsen gave us is back again, but multiplied to great extremes as she embraces the Scarlet Witch persona and ends up at great odds with our lead hero as she has her own motives with the multiverse. I can’t say anything more than that, except that she was a massive stand out in this film that was a long time coming and Sam Raimi really did an amazing job helming this character.
The supporting cast is awesome as well. Benedict Wong as Wong is as great as one would expect, having his own fun and intense moments. But the stand out of the supporting crew is the newly introduced multiversal traveler American Chavez, with a fantastic performance by Xochitl Gomez that had me welcome the character to the MCU with open arms. Similar to Black Panther in Civil War, she isn’t the main focus of the story but serves an important part of it and acts as a guide for us through the multiverse with her uncontrollable but visually appealing powers that allow her to travel through multiple universes in a blink. She was great addition to the cast and I am eager to see what plans Marvel has for her and how they plan to explore her character further.
Rachel McAdams makes a solid return as Christine Palmer, having been given an interesting direction and a lot more to do in this film compared to the previous installment, which I thought was fantastic. Rachel is an incredibly underappreciated actress that felt completely underutilized in the first film but was allowed to be a more fleshed out character here that had more of an impact on the story.
Mordo, reprised brilliantly by Chiwetel Ejiofor, is also taken in a different direction but not in the way people may expect, which is all I’ll have to say about him.
In regards to the anticipated cameos there are several major ones we get in this film that had my jaw drop to the floor and made the audience go crazy with excitement. They are amazing, however these cameos were not made for the sake of fan service and instead contribute towards the story, never taking us out of what’s going on and they felt natural to the multiversal adventure. I’m so glad they were utilized appropriately and I’m very happy with the appearances we got and what they could mean for the MCU going forward.
When it comes to the narrative and story there’s not too much I can talk about in major detail due to massive spoilers but I can say there is one major thing that needs to be made clear.
If you are expecting this film to be Avengers 4.5 or a cameo fest that is not what it is in the slightest. Similar to Loki and Spider-Man No Way Home, this film is a more personal story that is tight, well-paced and focused primarily on the journeys of the main characters, namely Strange and Wanda. A lot of fun, insane and terrifying shit happens that definitely impacts the future of the MCU and creates further world building for future installments, but at its core are these two characters who go through their own arcs full of emotion, heartbreak and insanity that molds them into the people they were destined to become. There are some major stakes but most of them are personal to the characters and we’re front and center as they go through a dark multiversal film with multiple surprises that only the twisted brilliant mind of Sam Raimi could come up with.
I didn’t really know how far this film was going to go with the horror elements but holy hell this film went for it hard with great scares, haunting atmosphere and even gore that definitely had Raimi’s authentic touch. I’m honestly shocked how much this film got away with without needing an R-rating but as this film (as well as the previously concluded Moon Knight) shows, even at a PG-13 rating you can make some dark and impactful stories when given the creative freedom to do so. And with that same creative freedom also comes some unexpected turns and bold choices that will shock many people and definitely be hot topics of discussion.
And yes, for those wondering the film does provide some levity amongst the madness in the form of humor, but with it being Sam Raimi, he has his own style of humor that lands perfectly and blends in well with everything else. Also, I am happy to say this film, like its predecessor, also has a unique third act that was unhinged, unpredictable and stands out hugely from other MCU third acts.
If there’s one small thing I could criticize, I feel the film could have benefited from a few extra minutes that could have given some areas time to breathe. The story has a great pace to it similar to some of Raimi’s best work and we do get some beautiful moments throughout the film that do slow down moments between the endless entertainment, but I wouldn’t have minded a bit more of that.
Sam Raimi’s unrestricted passionate energy can be seen all throughout this film and I really hope people are willing to embrace or at least respect the story he wanted to tell with the creative freedom he was given, rather than reject it as some hypocritical people have who didn’t get the film “they” wanted.
However, the narrative wasn’t the only thing that Sam Raimi had full control of; he also had control over every single technical element, from the action to the camera work to the editing to the visuals, that contribute hugely to the story and make the film look absolutely beautiful and horrifying (in a good way). We get a dazzling array of effects and colors like a kaleidoscope that honestly manage to outdo the visuals of the first film in massive ways, feeling completely unbound and breathtaking. Strange’s realm of mystic arts is full of creative possibilities that have been utilized in the past, like in Infinity War and What If, but Sam Raimi goes further with it, breaking the limits of imagination and therefore increasing the excitement and insanity. It’s a film that goes full comic book, in some ways similar to The Suicide Squad and Into the Spiderverse.
There are lots of incredible action sequences that are either grand spectacles or shockingly violent. There is so much gorgeous cinematography and editing: the trailers have shown some but that’s just a fraction of what the film offers. The technical elements really establish the tones this film goes for perfectly and they offer plentiful visual storytelling in the process.
And then we come to what was initially my biggest concern for film as whole which is the music. I know that may sound silly to say, considering the MCU has had a mostly great track record for scores. My concern was mainly with the chosen composer being Danny Elfman. In recent years I felt Danny Elfman hasn’t really created any impactful or memorable scores compared to most of his earlier works so I was hoping that given his past relationship with Raimi he would give us a score that would elevate everything this film had on the table. And he did. Thank goodness he did. I can finally say that Danny Elfman is back, delivering a masterful score that enhances all the elements of this film especially with the horror and multiversal chaos. The same passionate music that many like myself know Elfman is capable of comes back in this film and hits hard when it needs to, feeling like an old friend you haven’t seen in years.
And I also feel the same way about Sam Raimi, an old friend you haven’t seen in so long come back and give you a wonderful time. But he gave me more than a wonderful time. He gave me a phenomenal time. He came back to the world of comic books films stronger than ever before, and showed that Marvel is still capable of telling incredible and impactful stories, provided they continue to take more risks. A lot of risks have been taken with this film and most of the phase 4 projects, which makes me hopeful for a continuous bright future ahead for the MCU no matter where they go. In regards to where the character goes next, I would very much love to see Sam Raimi continue helming this character because he has earned that right. I’m going to give Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness an A+ = 99.
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