Movie Review: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

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Original title: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Year: 2022
Director: Sam Raimi
Screenplay: Michael Waldron
With: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Rachel McAdams, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bruce Campbell.
Duration: 126 min.
Grade: 7/10

Review without spoilers, but with enough content so that you know what to expect. Hello hiveans, last night I saw a couple of movies and one of them was the new Doctor Strange one. I liked? Yes. Could it have been better? Yes. But, once you get used to the idea that the MCU is a different reality from the comics, there are no major drawbacks. And it is a film directed by Sam Raimi, fortunately not the Sam Raimi of Spiderman 3 (2006) but the one of the first two installments.

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Well ok, now I will retract and put a single spoiler, just one, very small: in the end, after five years and several movies, finally Strange changes the glass to the clock. It was time! Having said that, I'm going with a quick list of what I liked and what I didn't like, as if I was walking on eggshells so as not to burn anyone's film.

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But first, I have to clarify that I am an avid reader of the Doc Strange comics, and although I do not consider myself an expert, far from it, there are little things and winks that the casual viewer may miss, but they are going to add enjoyment for those who are a little familiar with the classic comics and not so much. Do you remember the Darkhold? What about Rintrah? Well.

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On the other hand, we are now in the bowels of the Marvel Universe. We are no longer at the beginners level but at the medium difficulty level. That's right, we're past the most superficial part, where almost anyone could recognize the characters, when we had Captain America, Hulk, Thor. Now we have… America Chavez.

Is that good, or is it bad? To a certain extent, I prefer it to what the competition had been doing. For decades, only Batman and Superman movies, Batman, Batman, Batman... Instead, for better or worse, the MCU took a chance on the Guardians of the Galaxy, or even the Eternals, and of course, the Doctor himself or with Ant-Man, avoiding boredom with the best-known heroes that I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

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Special mention for the acting skills of Xochitl Gomez, who at times are halfway between those of Sofia Coppola in The Godfather, Part III (1990) and those of the kid who appeared with Schwarzenegger in The Last Hero (1994). However, badly sometimes the girl defends herself and, at the end, it happens like with George Lazenby when he had to play James Bond: the film would hold up even if we had put a piece of brick instead of poor Xochitl.

Also, at one point, one of the versions of Christine Palmer tells Strange that in her world the Earth he belongs to is called "616". That does not mean that the Earth of the MCU is the same as the classic comics, but in that particular world (in which the scene takes place) they call it that way. Res ipsa loquitur. And now, to close...

What I liked:

It is not new that Wong is a brave and combative character, but in this film they really make him shine.
Callbacks to the original movie. For example, in the first movie, Strange picks up an object to defend himself, and Kaecyllius asks him if he knows what that object is for. Strange doesn't know. In this movie we see how another character uses it correctly. Other examples: Strange's watch, the one they remembered from Nicodemus West.
The different versions of Strange in the various realities, including some not very flattering ones.
The relationship and dialogues between Strange and America.
Some cameos, especially Bruce Campbell's.
It is not an excessively long film.

What I didn't like so much:
The predictability of some developments in the script, which can be seen coming from afar.
That some characters have had very little screen time. But hey, we didn't want a three-hour movie either.
That there were basically only one or two fascinating cameos in the entire movie.
That the connection between the film and what happened in Wandavision has not been handled better.
Just now they remembered Christine Palmer?

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To those who have seen Wandavision and did not buy Wanda's "tremendous sacrifice" in the miniseries, the girl will continue to seem like a piece of shit. On the other hand, to those who have not seen the miniseries in question, I suggest that they ignore those who say that it is necessary to see the series to understand this film. Are you going to waste 10 hours that will never come back to find out what happens to the little boys? Let's see if I can summarize it in a paragraph:

Wanda hasn't been ok since Thanos destroyed the Vision. In her madness, the girl enslaved the inhabitants of a small town and manufactured a sweetened reality that included a Vision of lies and some imaginary children. When that shed fell apart, the girl was left without children and crazier, which brings us to the beginning of the film.

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Done, now what? I'm not expecting thanks or anything, but I suggest you use those 10 hours I just saved you for learning origami, organizing your stamp collection, or any other task of marginal utility. For the same coin, it is not necessary to see the last of Spider-Man, nor those of the X-Men, although it would not hurt to see Doctor Strange (2016) again, to appreciate the evolution of the character.

As for the technical aspect, the special effects and the cinematography are spectacular (especially important things in a film as "strange"as this one), Danny Elfman's music barely repeats the leitmotifs of the previous installment (by Marco Beltrami) and manages to win the enough personality not to be a simple copy. (In fact, I listened to the soundtrack days before I saw the movie, and it's completely enjoyable per se.) The last post-credits scene (with a Charlize Theron cameo) implies that there will be a third installment, but I don't know how much credibility I can give. (Remember the post-credits of the previous installment, which promised Mordo as an antagonist, and you will know the reason for my reluctance.)

Do I recommend it? Yes. Until now, in general, Phase 4 came with a lower quality score than the previous ones, with one horrible movie (Eternals), two mediocre ones (Black Widow, Shang Chi) and a pretty decent one (No Way Home). This sequel to Strange, without being sublime, is at least enjoyable, and is recommended. You'll have a good time.