Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg, Rachel McAdams. Directed by Sam Raimi. Screenplay by Michael Waldron. Based on Marvel Comics. Produced by Kevin Feige USA Run time: 126 minutes. Color. Superhero, Horror
As you may recall from my review of Doctor Strange
(2016), I was not a huge fan of that film, thinking of it more as ”taking a required course at college as opposed
to an elective one.” The character played better when part of an
ensemble in such films as Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). But now he’s back in his own film, Doctor Strange in the
Multiverse of Madness. But he is not alone; as the title suggests, there is
a multiverse, not just different Earths but also Marvel characters. And not
only does the film expect you to be familiar with the 22 films in the Infinity Saga and at least three Marvel spinoff TV series (WandaVision, What
If...? and Inhumans), but also other Marvel comic universes, X-Men and
The Fantastic Four, which Disney reacquired with their purchase of Fox.
Talk about required courses, this one comes with homework.
And, in case, you're wondering, I took this as a virtual class,
waiting for it to appear on Disney+ rather than in a theater. I’m glad I waited.
The film opens with Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) helping America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) in the space between universes as they try to outrun a creature in pursuit of the Book of Vishanti, the greatest known source of white magical knowledge on Earth. However, before they can reach it, Dr. Strange is killed and America creates a portal that takes her and his corpse to Earth-616.
For Strange, this feels like a bad dream the next morning.
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| Nicodemus West (Michael Stuhlbarg) is one of the guests at Christine Palmer's wedding, along with Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). |
Later, while attending the wedding of his former lover, Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), Dr. Strange, with the help of The Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, Wong (Benedict Wong), rescues America from a one-eyed octopus-like demon that is out to get her. Turns out America can move between universes, a power that someone wants for their own, even though she can’t control the power herself. He recognizes her from his dream the night before, and she tells Strange and Wong that dreams are proof that there are other universes. For concrete evidence, she takes them to the dead body of the Dr. Strange who had helped her.
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| America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) running from a demon out to kill her. |
Recognizing that there is magic involved, Strange turns to the one person he knows who really understands it, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), who has become the Scarlet Witch and is the one trying to take America’s powers. Wanda wants to get to her sons Billy (Julian Hilliard) and Tommy (Jett Klyne), who don’t exist in Earth-616 but whom she knows exist in another because she dreams they do. She has become the Scarlet Witch using the Darkhold, also known as the Book of the Damned, a magical book of instructions that corrupts the reader and contains spells that the demon Cthon wrote within Mount Wundagore.
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| Dr. Strange and Wong (Benedict Wong) prepare to defend Kamar-Taj. |
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| Dr. Strange, in front of the Illuminati who want to decide his fate. |
In this universe, their Dr. Strange is a dead hero. Initially greeted as a “brother” by Earth-838's Sorcerer Supreme, Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Strange and America are drugged and captured. Strange is brought in front of the ruling group, the Illuminati, which consists of Mordo, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) as Captain Carter, Blackagar Boltagon/Black Bolt (Anson Mount), Maria Rambeau / Captain Marvel (Lashana Lynch), Reed Richards (John Krasinski) of the Fantastic Four, and led by Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart). They explain that through the reckless use of their universe's Darkhold in an attempt to defeat Thanos, Earth-838's Strange triggered a universe-destroying "incursion". After defeating Thanos, the Illuminati executed their Strange to prevent him from causing more harm. They believe Earth-616’s Dr. Strange is, therefore, also a threat.
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| Now the Scarlett Witch, Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) uses her powers to dream-walk a version of herself. |
Meanwhile, Wanda uses the Darkhold to "dream-walk", taking control of her Earth-838 counterpart, who lives a suburban life with her own Billy and Tommy. Wanda sends her dream-walker to bring back America. However, a surviving sorceress sacrifices herself to destroy the Darkhold and break the dream-walk. Enraged, Maximoff forces Wong to lead her to Mount Wundagore, the source of the Darkhold's power, to reestablish the dream-walk.
Mount Wundagore turns out to be expecting Wanda and she is
easily able to reestablish her dream-walk and arrives at the Illuminati, where
she manages to vanquish the overly confident members.
Dr. Strange manages to subdue Mordo before hurrying to find
America and the Book of Vishanti. They are helped by Earth-838’s
version of Christine Palmer, who is now a scientist familiar with the multiverse and
works with the Illuminati.
While being chased by dream-walk Wanda, Strange, Chavez, and
Palmer enter the space between universes and find the Book of Vishanti, which will
counteract the Darkhold. But Wanda appears and destroys it before Strange can
use it. She then takes over America's mind and uses her powers to send Christine
and Strange to an incursion-destroyed universe and America to Mount Wundagore.
In this destroyed universe, Strange meets his counterpart,
who it turns out has been corrupted by his universe’s Darkhold and has grown a
third eye as a result. Strange manages to defeat and kill himself and using the
Darkhold manages to dream-walk his deceased version on Earth-616, something
that witches are not supposed to do.
With Wong’s help, dead Strange saves America from Wanda before
she can take her powers and encourages America to use her powers to defeat
Wanda. And while she fights back, America is not able to defeat Wanda and
instead takes her to Earth-838, where Billy and Tommy live with that universe's Wanda.
When the boys see the Scarlet Witch, they recoil and turn to
their real mother instead. It is then that Earth-616’s Wanda realizes what she’d
done. She uses her powers to destroy Mount Wundagore as well as all of the copies
of the Darkhold throughout the multiverse, sacrificing herself as she does.
Later, now back in Earth-616, the Kamar-Taj is being rebuilt
and the sorcerers are once again training. America is now training with them.
Back home, Strange develops the third eye, the result of
having used the Darkhold and dream-walking a corpse.
And just when you think it’s over, during the mid-credits scene,
Strange is approached by another sorceress, Clea (Charlize Theron), who needs
his help. Apparently, his actions have triggered an incursion and she needs his
help to fix it. Without a second thought, Strange follows her into the Dark
Dimension. And like James Bond, we’re told Dr. Strange will return.
I have no complaints with the acting, the usuals, Benedict and
Wong, are good in their roles. Chiwetel Ejiofor seems to be a good go-to for playing
a bad guy, I can’t stop associating him with those sorts of roles after Serenity
and the first Doctor Strange, though I know that he’s done other roles
as well. Rachel McAdams reprises her role as Strange’s ex-love interest. They
still care about each other but one has to wonder if a Strange from Earth-616
and a Christine from Earth-838 would really have any sort of chemistry the way
they’re depicted here.
A relative newcomer, Xochitl Gomez gives a very good
performance as America, a young woman with a power that they can’t control. I
wonder if we’ll be seeing her in the next installment, now that we know one is
coming.
Seeing Charlize Theron on-screen only drove home the notion
that every actor with a pulse and an active SAG card has been in one or more of
the MCU, DCEU or Star Wars franchises.
The other Marvel interlopers, Reed, Carter, Xavier, and
Black Bolt, don’t really add to the film as much as the possibilities Disney may
see in mixing them into future story arcs. This film is the first, I recall, to
bring other story universes into the MCU. Though technically part of the
Marvel universe, we hadn’t seen the X-Men or the Fantastic Four in the series
so far but I guess that’s going to change now that Disney (Marvel) once again
controls those characters. Not sure I’m really up for that, but I’m not really
into Phase Four.
The reference to the defeat of Thanos only serves to remind
me that his demise was a good stopping point. While I enjoyed spending those
hours in the dark, I don’t want to live a Marvel lifestyle and invest time in
whatever cockamamie series they can draw out of my supposed brand loyalty. I’m
more selective than that but I shouldn’t be punished as a viewer for not
following.
There is a real assumption that you watched WandaVision,
I didn’t. Or What If...?, I didn’t.
I’m aware of what happened in those series at a superficial level but I don’t
feel any real connection to those characters. I know that Disney is trying to
churn through the characters and make as much out of them as they can but I don’t
have the time or inclination to invest in them. For this class, I didn’t do the
homework.
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to mix Inception
with the MCU, then Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness may be
as close as you get. You can definitely see where the special effects budget
went as the film presents a very imaginative look at traveling between
universes and what it would be like to find yourself in a world that looks
like yours but isn’t. In addition to red
instead of green meaning “go”, the biggest difference between Earth-616 and
Earth-838 seems to be that Mickey Mouse didn’t exist and Oswald the Lucky
Rabbit was there in his stead.
I do have some issues with the story, and I know you’re just
supposed to go along with it but how long does it take for someone to take
someone else’s powers away? Apparently longer than it takes for a dead corpse
to make it to a magical place only The Sorcerer Supreme of Earth was supposed
to know how to get to, and that’s even after Wanda has already started to
extract them.
The saving grace may be the film’s director, Sam Raimi, a
noted horror director who sort of invented the MCU, even though it wasn’t called
that at the time, with his original trilogy of Spider-Man films for Sony
Pictures. For a superhero film, there are definitely elements of horror thrown
in, not to mention the welcomed comedic cameo by Bruce Campbell. I have the
feeling this film in the hands of another director might have become more of a
mess.
Whenever I see a Doctor Strange movie I always wonder why? Did this film need to be made or was it just a ploy by Marvel Studios to wrap one TV series up and point the way to the next sequel at the same time? I don’t honestly dislike Doctor Strange n the Multiverse of Madness but I probably could have lived in this, or some parallel universe, without having seen it. I will probably watch the next film, even though I don’t feel compelled. I only wonder what other homework the next installment will have expected me to do.
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