Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Year: 2022
Rating: PG-13
Length: 126 minutes / 2.10 hours
It’s a sobering thought that Spider-Man (2002) came out 20 years ago, cementing the age of the superhero movie in a time before the Marvel Cinematic Universe even existed. Sam Raimi’s distinctive visual style worked for that movie and its two sequels (Spider-Man 2 (2004) of course being one of the best ever made). This is what makes Raimi’s return to the superhero genre exciting in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). Nostalgia is a heck of a drug, after all.
What was interesting with this Doctor Strange (2016) sequel was how Marvel allowed Raimi to connect to more of his roots in the horror genre. The scariest scene in the original Spider-Man trilogy was in the operating room with Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina). In contrast, the amount of horrific things shown in this movie creeps closer to his Evil Dead trilogy. Nothing so bad as to earn an R-rating, but still pretty intense for the MCU. Ultimately, he was the right director for this film, considering how much evil lies just outside the boundaries of Doctor Strange’s powers and influence.
While I’m a moderate fan of Marvel, having seen a lot of the 90s TV shows, but read none of the comics, Multiverse of Madness feels like it’s showing the cracks in the MCU. Cameo appearances are great since they hint at what Marvel can do in future movies now that they own more of the rights to these characters. However, connecting the motives of this film’s villain to a TV show that’s effectively behind a paywall is likely frustrating for fans who feel like they’re potentially missing out on key MCU story beats. And the only story this movie brings to the table is the potential for more stories. That’s it.
A great return to form for Sam Raimi despite exposing flaws in the MCU, I give Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 3.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
