"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" review — Sam Raimi carries weight of strained Marvel film

“Things just got out of hand.”

In the time after the Avengers’ final confrontation with Thanos, Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) finds himself haunted by the weight of his perilous gamble at the conclusion of Avengers: Infinity War (2018). “Are you happy?” people ask Strange throughout the film. He lies and says “of course I’m happy.” But all the while, he can’t reconcile himself with toying with an uncountable number of lives on the off chance he was right. Sometimes, as Doctor Strange’s history of heroic actions within the MCU exemplifies, the rules must be broken to serve the greater good. But how far is too far? At what point does the hero become the enemy? But Strange’s philosophical pondering will have to wait as his quiet reverie is quickly broken by a star-shaped inter-dimensional portal appearing in New York City and, along with it, a call to a new adventure.

From the moment the eye of a large magical squid is ripped out of its head early in the film’s runtime, you can begin to see bits and pieces of director Sam Raimi’s unique style all over the film. With the tantalizing promise of an actual filmmaker behind Marvel’s usual affair of lifelessly rendered polygons, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness sees Raimi return to the director’s chair like he never left. Unfortunately, Raimi’s distinctive directorial flair and the film’s interesting visual style are offset by a messy story, rough characterization, and pacing that makes the film feel rushed in places and far too slow in others. The fun surprises, delightfully campy dialogue, and healthy dosage of “WTF” moments are unfortunately paired with a film that doesn’t deliver on its premise as much as one would like — especially with Everything Everywhere All at Once having done a very similar multiversal story only a few months ago and accomplish the task with flying colours. In the end, the film feels all too frustrating and unfinished but with a recognizable creative touch that keeps it afloat.

Picking up after the events of Avengers: Endgame (2019) and the Disney+ series WandaVision, the Doctor Strange sequel — but hardly a proper continuation of the Scott Derrickson-helmed Doctor Strange (2016) — sees the Master of the Mystic Arts thrown into a multiverse-hoping adventure when America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), a young girl with the ability to punch holes between universes, shows up in his world chased by monsters. Wong (Benedict Wong), the Sorcerer Supreme, takes Chavez to the fortress of Kamar-Taj and Strange heads off to find Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), still reeling from the events of WandaVision, for her help in cracking the magic. The only problem? Wanda, now under the alias of “the Scarlet Witch,” is the one sending the monsters after Chavez.

Xochitl Gomez, Benedict Wong, and Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Photo: Marvel Studios.

When Chavez’s untamed power sends her and Strange into the multiverse, we see the best of what Raimi and his team can do. There is an encounter with a zombie-fied version of Strange, someone wields a cloak made out of the souls of the damned, and Strange engages in a fight using music notes. This lends itself to some stellar art design and visual effects. The design of the unmanned destroyed dimension and its accompanying warped version of the Sanctum Sanctorum stands out as being particularly excellent. The glimpses of the countless worlds of the multiverse are strange and exciting to view. The electric guitars of legendary composer Danny Elfman’s score make it appropriately distinct from other Marvel scores. Benedict Cumberbatch is a fantastic lead here with a script that gives the versatile actor — who recently delivered his best performance yet in The Power of the Dog — plenty to work with.

Now, the real star of the film is director Sam Raimi and his charms. Having revitalized the superhero genre in the early 2000s with his iconic Spider-Man trilogy, Raimi is a welcome addition to the Marvel fold. Raimi is one of a handful of filmmakers (along with James Gunn and, albeit to a lesser extent, Taika Waititi) who seems to be able to use the confines of the Marvel machine to make something that feels personal and the product of a singular filmmaker and not something shot by a second unit and done to death in a visual effects studio. Raimi brings his horror sensibilities to the forefront and to great effect. The film contains several good jumpscares and a surprisingly high amount of gore for a PG-13 film. But these many positives are countered with just as many challenges.

Doctor Strange beholds a statue of one of his variants. Image: Marvel Studios.

It is writer Michael Waldron’s screenplay and the many story-related hiccups it brings that is the film’s stumbling block. The film feels tonally inconsistent in a bad way. While something like Raimi’s own Evil Dead II plays with tone in a careful, playful way, Multiverse of Madness simply can’t decide on one. The film misses plenty of opportunities for character development, especially for Chavez, Wong, and Rachel McAdams’ Christine Palmer. While Elizabeth Olsen delivers another strong performance (accompanied by a fickle accent), her character arc seems to go back to what we’ve already seen from the Scarlet Witch in WandaVision. Marvel’s latest obsession of retreading its past through a barrage of cameos in the name of fan-service works to inconsistent effect here. This contrasts heavily with Spider-Man: No Way Home’s use of returning appearances from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as alternate versions of Spider-Man. While Maguire and Garfield play a part in the film’s story and emotional arc, the cameos here, which I will not spoil, are nothing more than needless distractions and wastes of time.

But perhaps the most disappointing element of Multiverse of Madness is that it struggles to live up to the possibility of its title. The film throws around plenty of interesting ideas without fully capitalizing on the multiverse. With Loki and No Way Home having already established Marvel’s multiverse, Multiverse of Madness could have benefitted from a little bit more than just three different New Yorks and teases of others. The inherent ridiculousness of the premise that is there is never felt strongly enough. There are a few interesting spins on established MCU characters, but they are few and far between. The story feels tragically limited in scope as well and can’t learn how to balance the emotions it strives for with an expansive, mind-bending story. 

However, Raimi’s style is so compelling that it, in many ways, makes up for the difficulties of the narrative. Those familiar with Sam Raimi’s idiosyncrasies may take deep delight in what is presented in this film. I know that I certainly did. That is what makes Multiverse of Madness such a — if you will pardon my pun — maddening film: I cannot seem to make up my mind on it. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Maness is guaranteed entertainment but leaves a disquieting emptiness behind. Raimi’s unique style is certainly a nice change of pace, but it could have been more. The film is frustratingly unambitious, made by a studio that likes to play it safe and a filmmaker who can’t quite get the upper hand creatively. The multiverse, which is repeatedly established as a dangerous threat, doesn’t seem terrifying when filtered through such a limited gaze.

Score: 3

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theatres.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness information
Directed by Sam Raimi
Written by Michael Waldron
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Rachel McAdams
Released 6 March 2022
126 minutes