Name: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Released: 2022-05-04T00:00:00+00:00
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Xochitl Gomez, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong

The camera plunge into a neon-drenched alternate reality, where Benedict Cumberbatch‘s Doctor Strange flips through the pages of the Book of Vishanti like a man skimming a particularly wild IKEA catalog. This is Sam Raimi‘s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, a film that swaps the cool detachment of its predecessor for something far more visceral and chaotic.

Raimi, a director who cut his teeth on horror-comedies like Evil Dead and Spider-Man, brings his signature energy to the MCU, infusing this sequel with a sense of playful dread. The film’s first act is a whirlwind tour of alternate universes, each one more bizarre than the last. A standout sequence finds Strange and America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) dodging demons in a haunted house that feels like a love letter to Raimi’s earlier work. The practical effects and horror elements—creaky floorboards, sudden jump scares—ground the multiverse’s madness in something tangible.

The film’s central conflict revolves around Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), who has fully embraced her dark side as the Scarlet Witch. Olsen, freed from the constraints of WandaVision‘s sitcom aesthetic, delivers a performance that’s both tragic and terrifying. Her scenes with Gomez—particularly a tense standoff in a suburban kitchen—are charged with a palpable sense of desperation. Olsen’s Wanda is a woman unraveling at the seams, her grief and rage manifesting in terrifying displays of power. It’s a far cry from the subdued performance of WandaVision, but Olsen sells the transformation with a raw intensity that anchors the film’s emotional core.

However, the film’s pacing struggles under the weight of its own ambition. The multiverse concept, while visually stunning (thanks to Danny Elfman’s score and Raimi’s kinetic direction), often feels like a gimmick rather than a narrative tool. The film constantly teases alternate realities but rarely explores them in any meaningful way. A trip to Earth-838, for instance, introduces a version of Wong as the Sorcerer Supreme, only to discard that thread almost immediately.

The action sequences, while impressive, occasionally sacrifice clarity for spectacle. A climactic battle on Mount Wundagore is visually striking but so frenetic that it’s hard to tell what’s happening. Even the emotional core of Wanda’s journey—her desire to reunite with her children—gets lost in the shuffle. The film tries to balance horror, humor, and heart, but the tonal whiplash occasionally undermines its own impact.

That said, Multiverse of Madness is never boring. Raimi’s direction keeps the energy high, even when the plot stumbles. Cumberbatch’s performance anchors the chaos, grounding Strange in a way that feels both familiar and fresh. His Strange is still the brilliant but arrogant surgeon we met in the first film, but there’s a newfound vulnerability to him as he grapples with the consequences of his actions across multiple realities.

Gomez, though saddled with some clunky dialogue, brings a winning mix of pluck and vulnerability to America Chavez. Her performance is a highlight, particularly in her scenes with Cumberbatch, where their chemistry shines through even the film’s more convoluted moments. Chiwetel Ejiofor returns as Baron Mordo, though his role is disappointingly diminished. His arc from the first film—struggling with the moral implications of sorcery—is largely abandoned in favor of a more generic antagonist role.

The film’s themes are equally muddled. On one hand, it explores the idea of sacrifice and the cost of power, particularly through Wanda’s journey. But these ideas are often overshadowed by the film’s relentless pace and constant shifts in tone. The horror elements, while fun, occasionally feel tacked on, as if Raimi is trying too hard to prove he can do something different within the MCU framework.

Visually, the film is a feast for the eyes. Raimi’s use of practical effects and practical sets gives the alternate realities a tactile quality that’s often missing from CGI-heavy blockbusters. The haunted house sequence, in particular, is a standout, blending Raimi’s signature horror sensibilities with the MCU’s usual spectacle.

But where the film truly shines is in its exploration of grief and loss. Wanda’s arc is a tragic one, driven by her inability to let go of the family she lost. Olsen’s performance elevates these moments, making them resonate even amidst the chaos. The film’s emotional beats are its strongest, providing a grounding counterpoint to the multiverse’s madness.

In many ways, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness feels like two films struggling to coexist. There’s the Raimi horror-comedy, with its practical effects and jump scares, and the MCU blockbuster, with its CGI spectacle and sprawling multiverse concept. The film never quite finds a way to reconcile these two halves, resulting in a finished product that’s both exhilarating and exhausting.

Ultimately, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a film that pushes the boundaries of what an MCU movie can be—sometimes to its detriment, but often to its delight. It’s a film for fans of Raimi’s earlier work, who will appreciate the horror elements and practical effects.