Rewatching Doctor Strange the other night, I think I was suffering from a little bit of comic-book fatigue when it first came out in 2016, because it’s a much better movie than I remember. I know I was suffering from some actual fatigue back on the day I saw it too – never go to the cinema when drowsy, kids; what a waste of money. I think as the MCU has extended since Doctor Strange, it’s easier to wrap my head around the mythology and mysticism mentioned back then as well, which may fly in the face of what we’re told to believe in Loki (?), but I’ll nub that diverging conversation for another day. Because this movie, seems to be following on most readily from Spider-Man: No Way Home, where Dr. Strange botched a spell, opening cracks in our universe to incoming the multiverse 😮 And if you thought Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire were big surprises, the trailer for this movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, indicates a smorgasbord of past references and cameos, and I can’t wait. I’ve already seen so many still shots of that golden chair promising a familiar bald-headed mind-melder is back, and no, I’m not talking about the Ancient One.
Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) suffers from a nightmare that sees a different version of himself lose a fight to a giant squid monster, alongside a young girl named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez). The next day, the same monster and girl land in New York City, and it’s extrapolated by the pair and Wong (Benedict Wong), that our dreams show glimpses into the lives of our other multiversal forms, where this monster has been attacking America because she possesses the ability to jump through the multiverse; a valuable power coveted by an unknown entity. Strange enlists the help of Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), but it isn’t long before he and America, are bouncing across the multiverse, unable to get home, and staving off multiple threats.
Well, Wanda goes evil, from zero to sixty. I recently wrote that although she tread on a few toes in Westview (WandaVision), her time with her fantasy children should put her in a good stead for the future, helping to provide good memories and closure regarding the life she’s missed with Vision; throw that out the window. The strongly held motivation to want to get back to her children here, is pretty basic, and silly, really – and you can give me that she’s possessed by the ‘dark book’ so she’s not thinking clearly, but I’m not jiving with it. I understand that this movie is trying to cover a lot of ground, and the sad part is, the deep intrinsic characterization it sacrifices for a quick-moving action-packed caper is all there, and that’s what I’m all about. Perhaps Wanda could’ve started out just wanting to explore the multiverse before getting overheated, since she feels there isn’t much left for her in this existence – she wouldn’t take kindly to Strange telling her no. Why does Strange get to be the boss of the mystic arts when the magic of the Scarlett Witch is equal in measure? And let’s not forget, it’s Strange who sifted through all the possible outcomes to defeat Thanos and decided on a path where Vision had to die… and West (Michael Stuhlbarg) lost his cats.
Moreover, the first Doctor Strange movie dealt with Strange learning to not be so selfish in striving for his achievements, and whilst he is quite noble by the end of that film, risking an endless amount of pain in trapping Dormammu, he’s still toying with incarnations at his own whim in Spider-Man: No Way Home, against the better judgement of Wong, the Sorcerer Supreme, and ultimately risks the multiverse tearing our world apart. A Strange variant is still willing to suck the life-force out of America for his greater good at the beginning of this movie, and as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness decides at one point, all the Stranges are the same. No wonder Wanda, after the turmoil of WandaVision, doesn’t want to listen to Strange tell her she can’t do what she wants if she wants to explore the multiverse. Admittedly, Strange does concede that sacrificing friends is off the table by the end of this movie, but I thought this movie would be building to a scene where Dr. Strange says he’s sorry, and even though Vision died for the ‘greater good’, there were still real consequences for those turn of events, which would require finding an empathy; something that’s been lacking and keeping him from an equal relationship with Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams). And I imagined, by that time, it would’ve been too late to redeem the angry Sokovian marvel 😪 But we just saw Hawkeye apologise to Yelena in Hawkeye, for circumstances that were beyond his control, and this movie makes me admire that series more… by the way, where is Hawkeye? I’m sure he’d like to know how his first protégé is going.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness also makes a lot of assumptions; like, where is Vision in these other worlds? Dr. Strange assumes the darkest Strange will have had the same sister as him when he discusses how helpless he felt with her falling through the ice. Strange was also frightened by his lack of knowledge of the multiverse in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but as soon as America comes into the picture, he barely gives it a hesitant thought, so there’s also that. Plus, I feel like we’ve missed an entire story, where Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) actually challenges Dr. Strange and Wong for the role of Sorcerer Supreme. And does it make sense to everyone else that Christine would become a multiversal quantum-whatever researcher on Earth-838 when she’s a neurosurgeon by trade? That seems like a wildly drastic career move – but I get that the movie needed Christine in the vicinity again somehow, to have her and Strange adventure together, and multiverses be crazy!
Speaking of Earth-838, I suppose it’s time to touch on the biggest guest stars of the movie – I’m sure I heard that Patrick Stewart would retire from Professor Charles Xavier around the same time Hugh Jackman formally retired from Wolverine after Logan; far be it for me to stand in his way if he’s clearly changed his mind, but there really isn’t much substance to behold in his return – a cameo spoiled in postproduction advertising anyway, and apart from finally putting the great man in the iconic yellow chair, I wonder if it was all worth it. I’d heard rumors of Tom Cruise appearing as an alternate Iron Man, and I’m kind’ve glad he didn’t if he was going to get mown down by Wanda in five minutes. But it was great seeing John Krasinski as Mr. Fantastic 😃 and we want him as our Mr. Fantastic (!), where he’s a hero, and not turned into a Bega Stringer. Monica Rambeau’s (Lashana Lynch) Captain Marvel has got to be more annoying than even our Carol Danvers, casually arrogant that they can handle any ‘Scarlett Witch’ before being dead in less time than it takes to make toast; good riddance, at least your daughter is cool.
This movie is visually spectacular, and I wouldn’t expect anything less from a MCU movie in this day and age. I actually dug the first third the most, with the battle with the giant squid, Christine’s wedding and seeing how Dr. Strange is accepted as a part of New York City – he’s another crazy superhero that the common folk may not understand but are glad to have around. Wanda’s assault on Kamar-Taj is the best scene of the movie, hands down, reminding me that this is a Sam Raimi movie, where he gets to bring a special touch of horror when the ‘Witch is on the prowl – I love Wanda’s magic power of suggestion, creeping out behind people to whisper in their minds. And Wanda using reflective surfaces to break Strange’s trap was very cool. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness develops a scope with Kamar-Taj that is severely larger than I perceived it was from Doctor Strange, and I would love to know how all these mystic martial arts of the MCU are related, if at all, between Shang-Chi’s people, Kamar-Taj, and Iron Fist – perhaps this could be answered with a bit of research on my part, but perhaps not. I also liked seeing zombie Strange, and I understand that it harkens back to a famous Doctor Strange comic book.
This is a classic case of a movie trying to get its arms around a lot and not necessarily finding the best way to cobble it together. The editing is discombobulating in parts, and I’m clearly not a fan of the direction the story takes (I haven’t a word to say about America, good or bad). But I am a fan of the direction, and you’re reminded how good Sam Raimi can be in parts, although sometimes I feel these giant Marvel productions nearly steer themselves. Even my tried-and-true adage, that ‘Rachel McAdams makes everything better’ isn’t enough to have me leaving Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness without feeling a little disappointed. I actually prefer Venom: Let There Be Carnage over this on first viewing, as although that movie was watered-down comic book fare, it didn’t have the potential that this movie has at its disposal. Wanda is probably my favourite character in the MCU, and it’s like this movie didn’t want to do the legwork, or commit to a path where she becomes satisfyingly irredeemable – the ‘real Wanda’ was in there somewhere, if only Professor X could have gotten to her in time. And if this is the last time we see Wanda Maximoff in the MCU, then that also leaves me flat.
3.0
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