Year: 2022
Director: Sam Raimi
Screenplay: Michael Waldron, based on characters appearing in Marvel Comics
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg, Rachel McAdams
Running Time: 126 minutes
Genre: Fantasy
New York City: Doctor Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch), the former "Sorcerer Supreme", is attending the wedding of his ex-girlfriend, Christine (McAdams), when a giant one-eyed, octopus-like monster starts rampaging through the city. The creature turns out to be hunting teenager America Chavez (Gomez), who has the power to travel between the various dimensions of the "multiverse". With the help of the current Sorcerer Supreme, Wong (Wong), Strange tries to save America from the unstable, and extremely powerful, Wanda Maximoff (Olsen), the "Scarlet Witch", who wants to steal America's power, which would mean killing America, and endangering the entire multiverse.
This is the 28th film in the ever expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) built around characters and situations from Marvel comics. A sequel to Doctor Strange (2016), this also follows on from the film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and the TV series WandaVision (2021) both of which are heavily referenced. The film was originally to be directed by Scott Derrickson, who made the first Doctor Strange film, but he left the project due to "creative differences", to be replaced by Sam Raimi, who had directed the pre-MCU Spider-Man (2002) and it's two sequels. Following the negative response to Spider-Man 3 (2007), Raimi had vowed never to make another superhero film, but being a fan of the Doctor Strange comic, and enjoying the first film, he decided to take up the reins. While this film, in common with the Spider-Man trilogy, has a dangerous, but almost sympathetic antagonist, the film really harkens back to Raimi's debut feature The Evil Dead (1982), and it's sequels Evil Dead II (1987) and Army of Darkness (1992). There is a scene with a flying eyeball, a cursed book with devastating powers, Ray Harryhausen-esque stop-motion style monsters and Evil Dead star and Raimi regular Bruce Campbell battling his own possessed limbs. If you are already a fan of the MCU films already, then this has more than enough action, quips, special effects and references to satisfy any cravings, if you are not a fan, however, then this is unlikely to convert you. If you have never seen any of the MCU films, then this is not a good place to start, it's very much tied in to what has gone before and lays the ground work for what is to come. When the film breaks free of it's franchising building duties and is able to tell it's own story, it is a lively, enjoyable film, which gets better as it goes along. The cast do the best they can with clunky, exposition heavy dialogue, and Benedict Cumberbatch plays it all with his tongue firmly in his cheek, Rachel McAdams, as in the first Doctor Strange, is wasted in a role that requires her to do little except run or stand around. Elizabeth Olsen is very good as the traumatised, corrupted Wanda. The film also has a number of fan-pleasing cameos, which point the way towards more crossovers, sequels and spin-offs. The idea of the multiverse, which are basically different parallel universes, has long been popular in both Marvel and DC comics as a way for writers to manage the continuity of decades with of characters and stories, as well as providing a convenient deus ex machina for example, if you want to bring back a dead character, you can just have their counterpart from another universe pop up. As I said, this is an enjoyable film, which at time suffers from overly complicated plotting and the need to tie in to so many threads from the larger franchise, as well as an over reliance on humour. It's also surprisingly gruesome for a Marvel film. It's probably one of their most violent films. At it's best, it is imaginative, smart and exciting, and often feels like a comic come to life. As always with an MCU movie, stay for the end credits, because there are two additional scenes, one midway through the credits and one at the very end.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Benedict Wong in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness
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