Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (C or 2/4 stars)
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' (directed by Sam Raimi, of the early Spider-Man movies, Evil Dead) takes place after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Loki, & WandaVision -- all of which are referenced in the film. Part of my issue with this film, but certainly not a major issue, is that many people like me have not seen 1 or 2 of those MCU works. Luckily, I was able to parse through some things and figure out what was going on in real time. The film begins with Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) attending the wedding of his former girlfriend/lab partner Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams, mostly sidelined). During the reception, Stephen whips on his magical cloak to intervene in a supernatural fight btwn. 2 characters from the multiverse - a gargantuan one-eyed octopus-like monster ... and a young woman named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez).
America contains mysterious powers; namely, she can spontaneously travel from universe to universe, but doesn't quite know how to harness & control her abilities. Having recently met another version of Dr. Strange, America knows that the creatures are being dispatched as henchmen, of sorts, to steal her multiverse-traveling power. Feeling a bit out of his depth, Strange enlists help from Sorcerer Supreme Wong (Benedict Wong) and seeks aid/information from Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). But to that, he learns that it is SHE who is behind the monster invasion! She wants America's superpowers & will do whatever is necessary to attain them. Her goal: to find a universe where the life she created in the series WandaVision {being with her two children} is real. Nothing goes as planned for anyone and, the struggle btwn. Strange, some superhero allies {cameos galore} & Wanda unfolds across several universes. Chaos ensues.
Director Sam Raimi's signature style of blending action/adventure with a grandiose sense of the macabre makes this Marvel sequel more twisted than most other MCU films. I appreciate that. However, the stamped-out, straightforward MCU machine wins out over Raimi's cinematic flourishes' resulting in an uneven film. Furthermore, this new 'multiverse' concept that is permeating the MCU, I think, will irreparably damage it in the long run. For me, I've started feeling that nothing really truly matters now. Want to see Iron Man again? You can find him in another universe. The Avengers got rid of Thanos! Nah, he's existing somewhere. No death feels as visceral. No victory feels as exultant. Anything could be undone.
Narratively, this movie is shoddily constructed; in fact, word is that Raimi starting shooting without the script being fully completed. The story just feels unpolished, rushed & insubstantial. Visually, there is no denying that a top-notch visual effects team to compliment Raimi's wackadoo style. There are some wonderfully-mounted action scenes, including that one-eyed monster opener, & one that involves using musical notes as weapons. Much of the film looks fantastic; even though, I did feel the numbing onslaught of CGI as the film drudged on. This has become a norm: throw EVERYTHING at the screen, add in some humor, some dollops of oh-so-meaningful exposition, toss in some cameos, and no one will realize that the story is mehhhh.
Benedict Cumberbatch is wry, sly, amusing, & captures the 'madness' of his character very well. It's a self-assured performance trying to keep a less self-assured movie afloat. He exhibits nice chemistry with Benedict Wong, but I didn't think much of Wong here, personally. Ditto that for Xochitl Gomez; who did little more than express wonderment or grief on her face, for me. There are a host of minor cameos; minor being the operative word, as none of them did much for me. As for Elizabeth Olsen, I did like her grief-stricken portrayal. She's fierce as Hell as the Scarlet Witch, sympathetic as Wanda, and gives us far more than the shallow script called for. Wanda is desperate, lonely, and tries to give us depth to her pain. But there's only so much she can do once the pyrotechnics take over.
I'm just not loving the oft-bizarre, frenetic, cosmic territory that these MCU films are heading to. Sure, there is superficial fun to be had throughout these films. I enjoyed No Way Home, along with the expert execution of the multiverse Spider-Mans integrated into the story. But I think these multiverse storylines quickly lose their appeal amid the chaos, destruction & universe-jumping. This film is overblown eye candy, with confusing jaunts thanks to the 'oh, anything can happen' plot ramifications. The notion of impermanence where major events can be overturned by leaping into another multiverse is a trope that I think may wear thin on conventional movie-goers over time. On a purely subjective level, I simply didn't care for what I watched.
America contains mysterious powers; namely, she can spontaneously travel from universe to universe, but doesn't quite know how to harness & control her abilities. Having recently met another version of Dr. Strange, America knows that the creatures are being dispatched as henchmen, of sorts, to steal her multiverse-traveling power. Feeling a bit out of his depth, Strange enlists help from Sorcerer Supreme Wong (Benedict Wong) and seeks aid/information from Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). But to that, he learns that it is SHE who is behind the monster invasion! She wants America's superpowers & will do whatever is necessary to attain them. Her goal: to find a universe where the life she created in the series WandaVision {being with her two children} is real. Nothing goes as planned for anyone and, the struggle btwn. Strange, some superhero allies {cameos galore} & Wanda unfolds across several universes. Chaos ensues.
Director Sam Raimi's signature style of blending action/adventure with a grandiose sense of the macabre makes this Marvel sequel more twisted than most other MCU films. I appreciate that. However, the stamped-out, straightforward MCU machine wins out over Raimi's cinematic flourishes' resulting in an uneven film. Furthermore, this new 'multiverse' concept that is permeating the MCU, I think, will irreparably damage it in the long run. For me, I've started feeling that nothing really truly matters now. Want to see Iron Man again? You can find him in another universe. The Avengers got rid of Thanos! Nah, he's existing somewhere. No death feels as visceral. No victory feels as exultant. Anything could be undone.
Narratively, this movie is shoddily constructed; in fact, word is that Raimi starting shooting without the script being fully completed. The story just feels unpolished, rushed & insubstantial. Visually, there is no denying that a top-notch visual effects team to compliment Raimi's wackadoo style. There are some wonderfully-mounted action scenes, including that one-eyed monster opener, & one that involves using musical notes as weapons. Much of the film looks fantastic; even though, I did feel the numbing onslaught of CGI as the film drudged on. This has become a norm: throw EVERYTHING at the screen, add in some humor, some dollops of oh-so-meaningful exposition, toss in some cameos, and no one will realize that the story is mehhhh.
Benedict Cumberbatch is wry, sly, amusing, & captures the 'madness' of his character very well. It's a self-assured performance trying to keep a less self-assured movie afloat. He exhibits nice chemistry with Benedict Wong, but I didn't think much of Wong here, personally. Ditto that for Xochitl Gomez; who did little more than express wonderment or grief on her face, for me. There are a host of minor cameos; minor being the operative word, as none of them did much for me. As for Elizabeth Olsen, I did like her grief-stricken portrayal. She's fierce as Hell as the Scarlet Witch, sympathetic as Wanda, and gives us far more than the shallow script called for. Wanda is desperate, lonely, and tries to give us depth to her pain. But there's only so much she can do once the pyrotechnics take over.
I'm just not loving the oft-bizarre, frenetic, cosmic territory that these MCU films are heading to. Sure, there is superficial fun to be had throughout these films. I enjoyed No Way Home, along with the expert execution of the multiverse Spider-Mans integrated into the story. But I think these multiverse storylines quickly lose their appeal amid the chaos, destruction & universe-jumping. This film is overblown eye candy, with confusing jaunts thanks to the 'oh, anything can happen' plot ramifications. The notion of impermanence where major events can be overturned by leaping into another multiverse is a trope that I think may wear thin on conventional movie-goers over time. On a purely subjective level, I simply didn't care for what I watched.