Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness Scares Up A Genuinely Fun And Visually Dazzling Sequel

NOTE: This Review contains NO SPOILERS  

     

      When looking back at the first Doctor Strange film, one see's an enjoyable and visually dazzling entry in the ever expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe while serving as an effective introduction for its title character. Little did audiences know the impact which the character would have on the MCU's overall timeline going forward. Now six years later and coming off the heels of Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans finally get treated to the much anticipated and overdue sequel to Doctor Strange with Evil Dead director Sam Raimi helming the story this time. If one found the original to be a wild and exhilarating ride, they'll be even more impressed with Multiverse Of Madness as it's not only enormously entertaining but is full of surprising twists.

      Madness plot has Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) casting a forbidden spell that opens a portal to the multiverse. However, a threat emerges that may be too powerful for his team to handle. The sequel works both as a worthy follow-up to the original while connecting other key storylines of the MCU together to make for a thrilling ride. Everything about Multiverse feels bigger in scope with the inclusion of Raimi's directing skills making the sequel not just hugely entertaining, but distinctive from other films within the universe. If one found the Multiverse aspect of Spider-Man: No Way Home to be insane, they're in for a wild surprise as Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness takes the concept to even more absurd lengths but does so in the most entertaining fashion, while allowing it's visionary director to place his talents as a filmmaker on full display. 

      When it comes to performances, Multiverse's cast thrives with everyone delivering fantastic performances. Benedict Cumberbatch keeps getting better and better at playing Stephen Strange with him legitimately feeling like he was born for the role. Elizabeth Olsen is stellar as Wanda Maximoff with her playing a more darker, brutal and tormented version of her character this time around. Her performance is made even more impressive with her character shifting back and forth from the Scarlett Witch to a grief-stricken Wanda whose struggling to regain her humanity here. Benedict Wong is great as Strange's mentor and friend Wong with his character being so lovable that it's almost near impossible for audiences not to find him appealing. Chiwetel Ejiofer does well in playing an alternate version of Strange's former mentor-turned-enemy Karl Mordo. One of the films more impressive performances goes to Xochitl Gomez as teenager America Chavez, who carries the ability to travel between dimensions by punching open doorways. She brilliantly plays her character as being someone whose running away from their uniqueness at first yet slowly learns to embrace it. Along with Ejiofer returning from the first film, Rachel McAdams reprises her role as Strange's former love interest Christine Palmer with her character bearing an interesting character narrative this time around. As a whole, Multiverse's cast deliver fantastic work with everyone appearing to be genuinely enthusiastic with playing their characters.

      Replacing the original director is Sam Raimi, who proudly places his trademark directorial stamp all over the film. Known for his horror roots with the Evil Dead series along with his early comic book work the original Spider-Man trilogy, Raimi blends both works together to give audiences a film which feels darker than the typical MCU fest. In doing so, he also pushes the boundaries of  Multiverse's PG-13 rating with the film being full of jump-scares, dead bodies being resurrected, violent and graphic deaths which include the decomposing of bodies, people being burned and are shown turning into ash, and terrifying fight scenes that show the decimation of entire villages with high body counts. On a visual level, Multiverse ranks among the MCU'S finest works with much of it being attributed to Raimi's unique style of visual flare. The music by Danny Elfman is effective with him reteaming with Raimi to produce one of his best composed pieces in years. At 126 minutes, Multiverse keeps thing fast and tense with its stellar pacing while allowing enough time for plot and characters to properly develop. Overall, Raimi delivers an installment that's darker and more terrifying than the typical MCU film while maintaining the same comic book style fighting and peril. 

      Whereas Madness story is dark, it tackles themes that pertain to courage and teamwork while also emphasizing ones like power, grief, love, doing what helps the greater good, and righting wrongs. The story bounces back and forth from the perspectives of Strange and Wanda with the latter still grieving from the events of WandaVision. Despite committing unimaginable acts of terror throughout the film, the audience finds themselves connecting with her characters state of grief despite being terrified of her capabilities. With the latters inclusion, the stakes are raised higher here with Strange going up against one of the MCU's most formiddable opponents. The development of the films side characters are strong with America being presented as both intriguing and sympathetic with Wong being delivered a handful of some of the films best lines. The surprise cameos that appear in the film are top-notch with them being guaranteed to generate gasps from audiences. Despite the film boasting elements of horror, there's enough laughs throughout the film to smooth things over for audiences. As a whole, Multiverse's writing does a fine job of building off the characters established from the original while continuing Wanda's journey from where audiences left off in WandaVision. 

      While it's not the most original nor inventive  Marvel film, Madness works in moving things forward while delivering more complexed portraits of its main characters  It doesn't feel like the typical Marvel flick which is actually a positive aspect of the film because it strives to be different while advancing the character of Dr. Strange. Although not the best work to come out of the universe recently, it still manages to cast a powerful spell with audiences along with showing the importance of a directors personal stamp over a story. 

Final Verdict: For both Marvel and Sam Raimi fans, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness Is A Must See.

Images Courtesy Of Disney