Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Of all the Marvel superheroes, Doctor Strange has the most potential for visually wild and appealing films. Filmmakers can get awfully crazy, and especially now that Strange is supposed to travel to other worlds and universes and where everything was once again based on magic, so the boundaries of normalcy were pushed a lot further than, say, in Black Widow. In that respect, there's nothing to fault in the Multiverse of Madness. Sam Raimi enjoyed his return to blockbusters and, unexpectedly, Kevin Feige allowed him to be his typical self. There are a few horror and scary moments, references to the visual style of the first Spider-Man and even Evil Dead, and it's nice to watch. The trouble is that there's not much interesting stuff going on. The story this time around is fairly banal, the characters uninteresting, and the whole time I felt like there was a missing minute here or there where it could slow down and go a bit more in-depth. I didn't get the sense that the universe was at stake or that Strange himself had to undergo some major transformation. It's simply a nice attraction, but it wraps up a not very interesting plot. It should have been better. (05/04/2022)

It’s quite... Well... Ordinary. The plot is fine, although if I had seen WandaVision I would have found my way to it faster and wouldn't have had to wait for the film to explain what it was all about. But that doesn't hide the biggest problem. Most of the new Doctor Strange felt “meh”. The new young character wasn't properly introduced, she was just there and everything started to revolve around her. Strange and Wong have abilities more like Green Lanterns than the mystics from the first movie, that semi-camp atmosphere that Sam Raimi had in his Spiderman movies doesn't suit Strange either in my opinion, every now and then something happens just because someone thought it was a good idea to make it happen, but it doesn't make much sense... And the horror, which sometimes really reigns supreme, is again – unfortunately – balanced by not very good jokes. And then there's the multiverse, which I had so many hopes for, but which is hardly used at all! The characters can theoretically jump from one world to another, but they spend most of the film in two, and the one in which the expected cameos take place (which are also no big deal) is quite boring and differs mainly because it switches to red. For example, Avengers: Endgame used time travel a hundred times more imaginatively. It’s a shame. I watched Strange's first film a few days before going to the cinema and liked it much better. PS: Danny Elfman didn't really pull it off either, because he uses Giacchino's great motif, but his own music is not very interesting. PPS: I don't think Strange has much to envy Black Widow's solo outing, and it's certainly no worse than the recent Morbius, so I'm quite curious to see how the critics will handle it :) (05/05/2022)

Definitely one of the most distinctive and auteur-driven films in the MCU. The central motif is slightly sixth-rate (as in, I'm just a caring mother and I care about my kids), but Elizabeth Olsen manages to pull it off remarkably well as an actor. Sam Raimi recycles himself here (the kitchen scene is very much a copy of Drag Me to Hell), but still manages to imbue the second Strange with at least some semblance of personality. The script is weaker and not very bold, but the whole thing somehow goes well and there are some (un)expected cameos and the introductions of the old (un)familiar. I was expecting more, but all things considered it was still great.[75%] (05/09/2022)

A blatant attempt to wring out the last vestiges of a graspable comic book universe of famous heroes. Doctor Strange is not a bad character and has a lot to offer, but once the creators embark on yet another scripted whirlwind full of parallel universes, magical books and runes, time jumping, etc., it's more than likely to be just another generic comic book action flick full of colours and digital effects. Sam Raimi's arrival will be appreciated by horror fans, as the second Strange has a lot to offer in this aspect and some moments are quite solidly dark. As a whole, however, the second film does not surpass the compactness and interestingness of the first. (12/24/2022)

Somewhere in the multiverse, there's a better movie version of Doctor Strange. Marvel is fading and you can feel it. Spiderman was still a cool coda for the Avengers), but Black Widow and The Eternals are just mediocre concoctions in my opinion, and so far it doesn't look like it's going to get better in the future. In contrast hand DC with Suicide Squad 2 and The Batman are on a better path. Personally I wasn't too happy with the first Doctor Strange either and was hoping the second would grab me more due to the horror feel and multiverse madness. It's a hair better, but as a whole still not entirely satisfying. The performances are fine, Benedict Cumberbatch does his thing, Elizabeth Olsen is probably the best thing about the film, and the new character of America Chavez unfortunately didn't impress me much. Visually the film is without a doubt solid (although some of the CGI craziness was a bit not- so eye candy for me), the action again is not much but it is shot decently (the duel with the music was very original and imaginative, the Illuminati, the opening fight with the demon and the jump through different worlds was visually great). The humor is completely absent and the cameos seemed a bit unnecessary. In a few scenes you could even tell that Sam Raimi was directing the film (references to Evil Dead, the demon scene, a couple of jump-scares and one badass action sequence). Story-wise, the film doesn't have much to surprise, it lacks proper fatality and the MCU is not really moving anywhere unfortunately. Personally, I was hoping for more insanity in the multiverse, it's surprisingly not used that often and when it is it only gets interesting towards the end. I have nothing downright bad against the film, I enjoyed it, it goes by quickly, but I have no desire to watch it again. The trailer for Avatar 2, however, is amazing Story 3/5. Action 4/5, Humor 1/5, Violence 2/5, Fun 4/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 4/5. 6/10. (05/05/2022)