I took the family to see Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness over the weekend, a film I have been waiting for since the first Doctor Strange film was released in 2016. First off, what this film is not – it isn’t a follow-on to where that film’s final end credit scene left us, with Mordo stealing power from other sorcerers. Forget what you know, or think you know, about that film.
What I am going to do here is focus on non-story line specifics as I don’t want to give anything away, although if you have seen the trailers, or posters, or any other release media, you know that Wanda, aka The Scarlet Witch, plays a role, and it introduces America Chavez to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Wong also plays an important role, and not just singing karaoke with with Shang-Chi and Kate, although that was a fun scene at the end of the last the Ten Rings movie.
As I don’t want to give away any critical events in the movie, I will refrain from spoilers and stick to technical details on the film. I will say that it is, in many ways, a coming of age story for America, the latest character to join the MCU.
The cast, all of them, did a darn good job, and it is apparent that they all worked well together in this film. Having a cast that works well together makes a big difference in whether a film, or tv series, will prove successful. There are a few surprises in the cast that I didn’t expect having gone into this film with minimal background exposure. I don’t think I even saw a trailer for it, or if I did, it was a good six months ago (filed under memory dump).
The behind the camera crew showed their chops as well, from director Sam Raimi, screenplay by Michael Waldron, through to editing (one of the most important jobs in film as an editor can break a film if it is cut badly, this is done nicely), special effects, music score, props, set design, and on down the line. Must be a heck of a lot of fun to be able to say “Hey, I worked on this picture”. Overall, I think there was a lot of good work on this film. Gotta check with a couple of buddies of mine to see if they worked on it.
Props – there are some really good props, from various tomes used in the film. Yes, we’ve seen some of them before, and not just The Amulet of Agamotto, sling rings and a few other artifacts we’ve seen in the other films, but there are new props as well, in addition to the above mentioned tomes (which I am not naming...spoilers).
Visual effects – eye candy galore, but that is expected from MCU films, especially when Doctor Strange (or Thor) is involved. Yeah, saw the trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder...looking forward to that film. Some of the sequences where Strange is traveling through inter-dimensional space are quite stunning, and very much in keeping with the visual style set forth in the comics. Other effects in non-inter-dimensional scenes are also cool, but I don’t want to spoil anything, so you’ll have to see it for yourself.
What more can I say? Prior to writing this article I ran across an interesting article that I do wish to share in that it listed a number of comics to read if you are looking for hints on where this film was going to head, and yes, the writer of that article got a couple of them right in a small way, but only in a small way. Interesting article, and have a look if you are interested, but I’d suggest doing so AFTER seeing the movie. https://www.cbr.com/comics-read-doctor-strange-multiverse-of-madness/
I have to admit that I am disappointed that this new entry for Doctor Strange did not pursue where the first one left off with Mordo turning into a villain (he was always a villain in the comics, from day one, always plotting to kill The Ancient One and steal his power). I think that potential plot line ended up in the circular file.
Overall we enjoyed the film, I think it is well worth seeing in the theater so as to get the full effect of the film. My daughter really liked it, although she said she doesn’t want to see it again as it creeped her out a bit. But it is a very Strange film (pun intended). Me, I could see it again soon. But going to wait for Thor: Love and Thunder.
images - Marvel Studios.