Directed by Sam Raimi
Written by Michael Waldron
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Elizabeth Olsen, Xochitl Gomez
Runtime: 2 hours, 6 minutes
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, frightening images and some language.
In theaters May 6

by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring

As a Sam Raimi movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (DSMM) is a ride worth taking. The director brings his unique flair to the mostly stolid, single mode Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). As an entry in the MCU, the story is one of the absolute weakest, and actively feels out of step with the characterization established previously for some of the featured characters. Watching it is an exercise in whiplash, going from being delighted to frustrated across the entire runtime.

The way that the MCU plays with genre is akin to subgenres of rock music. Iron Man? Hair metal. Thor, metal; Ant-Man, surf rock; Hawkeye; post-grunge; Etc. All of these are flavors that still share a common core, though they can feel very different in the moment. Where the first Doctor Strange was more of a prog rock feel, Raimi firmly plants this sequel in goth territory. Witchcraft, demons, and the undead all make an appearance as Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) tackles the latest threat to the multiverse, a dimension-hopping teen named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez). Well, her power is a threat anyway, as Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen)–in the wake of WandaVision– sees access to the multiverse as a way to regain what she lost (more on that a bit later).

The film opens with an alternate universe, ponytail-wearing Stephen Strange taking America’s powers for himself (and killing her in the process) as a way to try to get the Book of Vishanti–a spellbook that provides a sorcerer with the most appropriate spell for any situation–to defend the multiverse from various threats. America and the demon (based on, but legally distinct from Shuma-Gorath) land in the MCU proper while the Strange we know is attending the wedding of his ex, Christine (Rachel McAdams). Strange’s existential questioning is thrown into high gear when he learns more about other versions of himself. The low-grade existential crisis aspect of the film jives well with Raimi’s filmography, and even echoes his Spider-Man efforts. However, similar to the episode of the What If…? Disney+ series episode that focused on the Dr. Strange-Christine relationship, it just doesn’t ring true with the version of the character we know. The MCU Strange, even at his most heroic, seems like a loner who only has time for himself and Wong (Benedict Wong, always great in these movies). McAdams is so barely a presence in the original film that we don’t know anything about her other than her relationship with Strange.

Raimi brings his directorial signatures, at least, so even without hopping universes, DSMM has a bit more panache than we’ve seen from Favreau, the Russo brothers, and Jon Watts. And I don’t just mean Bruce Campbell and an Oldsmobile. Fades and wipes give a bit of an old school cinematic feel, but it is Raimi’s propulsive camera that makes it feel special. In addition to bringing in some Evil Dead-like elements, although jump scares and gore are of the toned-down, safe-for-tweens variety. This will likely be some kid’s horror gateway, and that’s pretty cool! There’s some great imagery here, and Raimi seems more comfortable using magic and superpowers than most directors who’ve tried over the past 15 years or so. It especially pays off in the ways magic is used throughout the film, and there are a couple fights that go way beyond flashy colored energy beams that are very satisfying.

Most of my issues with the film are at the script level. Penned by Michael Waldron, the creator of the lackluster Loki series, DSMMt veers away from the characterizations that have come before, either by fumbling mandates from uber-producer Kevin Feige or misunderstanding what is important about them. As mentioned previously, Strange’s pining for Christine doesn’t really mesh with the character’s previous appearances, even as recently as Spider-Man: No Way Home. Even Wong seems less distinct than his cameo in Shang-Chi. America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) also suffers from this simplicity, joining all of the other characters in expressing barely more than a single emotion across the whole film. Gomez is charming, and I hope we see America again, but better written.

The biggest victim of this is Wanda, unfortunately. The end of WandaVision left her adrift, having made a mistake and hurt people, and without the emotional support of her fellow Avengers to help her work through her feelings. In my review of the finale, I noted:

The other main takeaway of the series is that Wanda is the first female superhero in the MCU who is allowed to be as complicated and multifaceted as any of the male heroes. She has made mistakes, she has acted out of spite, and broken something while trying to fix it. She’s not unlike Iron Man or Thor or Ant-Man in this way, and makes her much more interesting and whole than Black Widow or Wasp. I hope future stories will honor this complexity.

Sadly, Michael Waldron does not. Here, Wanda is reduced to being a big bad, willing to kill a girl in order to find her sons within the multiverse. While not an unsympathetic goal, her story is subjugated to that of Strange’s in this film. After having an entire television miniseries finally giving her the spotlight, shading in much of the character’s details and enriching her, DSMM feels like it is taking a powerful woman–a literal witch–and reducing her down to just another villain. The script gives Olsen only a handful of emotions and modes to work with, and while she does what she can, it’s a huge step down from the show, which felt like such an authentic and thoughtful demonstration of grief. Similarly hurtful is that Strange never pays more than lip service to her pain, or offers to engage with her as a friend, or even conjure up Hawkeye, the currently living character with whom Wanda has the most history. The MCU feels special when it “pays off” or repurposes things set down in earlier movies (and shows), and this feels like a huge step backward for her character.

The other big point of contention is the amount of fan service added into this film. We’ve had lots of fun with teases and one-off characters in other MCU projects, but this tipped the line for me. The specific choices made here (which you will either see when you see the movie or have spoiled for you online by clickbait headlines soon enough) induced nothing but eyerolls here. Almost all are introduced simply to establish Wanda’s threat level, but they ultimately don’t matter to the plot or to the themes the story is exploring. They seem to be included simply to pander to pedantic YouTubers so that they can giddily fansplain who these characters are to the audience members who haven’t been following these characters for decades. And of course, most things are handled with a wink as to how silly some of these characters are, which further makes it seem like someone at Marvel is embarrassed by the work of Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. Plus, there's a musical stinger that made me roll my eyes so hard I almost expected Deadpool to show up to tell me that I was in fact, watching a movie based on a comic book. Somehow, Marvel seems to have less and less confidence that these things can stand on their own. The constant inward navel-gazing by the most popular entertainment going right now is tiresome, even to someone like me who reads the source material on a weekly basis.

One final note of disappointment is that while Danny Elfman is a legendary and excellent film composer in his own right, his score for DSMM is a big step down from Michael Giacchino’s work on the first Doctor Strange. Giacchino brought something unique to the score, mixing in some sounds from world music sources along with more traditional arrangements. His work blended well with the tracks from Pink Floyd’s Piper at the Gates of Dawn, where Elfman’s work here feels like a temp track sourced from Darkman and Spider-Man scraps.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is perhaps uniquely frustrating from other MCU films because they tend to be better written than they are impressively directed. This was especially true of the work of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who wrote 6 of these films (including all of the ones directed by the Russo brothers). Raimi’s films are always energetic, yet that energy isn’t matched by a hollow and cold script.