Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) plunges itself unconditionally into the wild zone of different realities displaying its director Sam Raimi’s powerful magic. Amazing graphics, thrilling action scenes and a good representation by Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) are some of the positive aspects this movie has but it falters under an overly crowded plot which occasionally undermines character development.
After Spiderman: No Way Home, Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) survives in the aftermaths of tampering with time stream. He keeps dreaming about a teenage girl America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), who can move between parallel universes. Strange is compelled to join forces with America when one grotesque entity breaches reality and together they will traverse through many alternate realities encountering multiple strange people while facing a danger that could just destroy everything.
Sam Raimi employed his typical style that combines superhero action and horror in this film. The dream sequences especially journey us through distorted visuals and creepy imagery that remind us of some older horror movies he made. The fight scenes are remarkable and fantastic, thanks to creative camerawork by Raimi and quick editing which brings out a sense of exhilarating confusion. One scene which is worth mentioning here is an epic musical battle between him and another version that involves musical notes being used as weapons.
Elizabeth Olsen’s performance as Wanda Maximoff was among the strengths of this film. Using subtle body language patterns, her role appeared very emotional since Wanda went nuts after losing her lover Vision at Age Of Ultron. In order to fully understand Wandavision we get right inside her mind thus learning how deep she was pained from sorrow on top of how desperate she became due to it. However, there is a fine line between making her sympathetic antagonist without completely vilifying her.
The biggest struggle for the film has been to balance its wide-ranging narrative. Several jumps between different realities have left no room for character development and this applies to Doctor Strange as well. When compared with the first film in the series, his internal conflict is too much of a copycat. America Chavez is one of the most promising new MCU characters but she was not fully developed. Her background and motives are only hinted at.
There is also an issue of over exposition that affects this film. Some parts where dialogues were used were long enough to explain how multiverse works and what drives people’s decisions thus making it appear like those words were just forced out. To me, this appears clumsy, disrupting the rhythm of story telling itself. Despite everything, the movie could have been concentrated more on in order to naturally develop some themes connected with character relationships.
Nonetheless, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a visually stunning film that will keep viewers entertained throughout its duration. Raimi’s direction gives a nod at his own style when directing superheros plus Olsen does a fantastic job as Wanda Maximoff here. Nevertheless, this ambitious story fails to find itself hence leaving a plethora of underdeveloped characters while sacrificing emotional depth for special effects.
Strengths and weaknesses of the film can be summarized as shown below:
Strengths:
Exquisite visuals and inventive action sequences
Special directorial style of Sam Raimi
The powerful performance by Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff
Introduction of America Chavez, a new character with potential
Weaknesses:
Full plotline but shallow characters
Reliance on exposition
Imbalance between developing characters and spectacles
In general, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a visually stunning and entertaining film that features an absorbing central performance. However, its narrative suffers from pacing issues as well as lack of development among characters which in turn creates a sense of wasted opportunities.
