If you have not watched WandaVision or What If, two of Marvel’s shows on Disney+, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the newest Marvel movie headed to theaters this week, perhaps there’s enough spectacle, fun cameos, and juicy villainy in this film to guide you through the proceedings. If you have consumed everything Marvel, you’ll no doubt gain more enjoyment of the picture, but even that enjoyment is mere paper over the cracks that it presents. By the end of the film, I simply felt whelmed by the movie. Not over, not under, just whelmed.
But let’s take a step back, shall we? Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness finds our hero, Stephen Strange, still struggling with the ramifications of the blip and battle against Thanos. The people in his life have moved on, he’s no longer the Sorcerer Supreme, and he’s being plagued by weird dreams. He gets thrust back into superhero action when he saves America Chavez, a powerful teenager who has the power to potentially travel to different multiverses. A useful skill, sure, but one that has left her hunted by a very powerful figure and Doctor Strange has to pull out all the stops to try and protect her.
It is so very clear from this movie’s plot that it was meant to come out right after or close behind WandaVision, given with how the movie picks up with Wanda. Scheduling issues pushed the movie back and as such the movie does feel a bit unmoored. But if a movie can’t entirely hold up on it’s own without it being in perfect alignment with a previously announced schedule, is it bad? I think I fall somewhere in the middle. There is a lot of fascinating stuff in this film, chief of which is a truly wonderful turn from Elizabeth Olsen as the Scarlet Witch and great visuals. Director Sam Raimi picked up the franchise from director Scott Derickson (still credited as an executive producer on the project) and he definitely gives the film. He’s got a sure hand when it comes to being able to blend both the blockbuster and horror elements of the story, while still carrying out Doctor Strange’s arc. There are some truly inspired moments and the magic battles in this really do sing.
However, the movie does buckle under the wait of all it’s trying to do. Doctor Strange is presented with a worthy adversary and has a clear arc, but the movie doesn’t necessarily do much that’s interesting with the character until about halfway through the film. Conversely the Scarlet Witch seems to have the more interesting first half but flattens out the more the movie is only concerned with her being on one path. This doesn’t even mention the fact that you can feel the production and overall plan seeping into the storytelling in ways that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness doesn’t entirely have the strength to overcome.