It might not be the best chapter in Marvel’s ever-expanding cinematic library….but by gosh, ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ is certainly the most mind bending. And for that, there can be no argument.
The first solo outing for the title character (played with a fascinating blend of sarcasm and allure by Benedict Cumberbatch) since his debut film in 2016, ‘Multiverse of Madness’ arrives at a time the MCU storyline thread is turning into a sci-fi roller coaster ride; after defeating both death and Thanos in ‘Avengers: Endgame’, navigating the eclectic swerve that was ‘Wandavision’ and playing around with the fabrics of time in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, things get so nutty in this sequel that even the most ardent Marvel fan might need a road map to make their way through this journey.
That said, like most things Marvel, the confusion doesn’t dull the creative brilliance; this team still knows how to roll out one ridiculously entertaining tale.
The movie is directed by Sam Raimi who, between his early stuff like ‘Evil Dead’ and ‘Darkman’ and a few outings with the Coen brothers to the original ‘Spider-Man’ franchise with Tobey Maguire, has proven to be one very bold, very solid, and very smart filmmaker – think Tarantino, only he’s packing a bigger bag of toys and a bigger budget. The plot begins with Strange set to watch his former love, Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) walk down the aisle with another man. The ceremony is interrupted, however, by a giant octopus-like beast mowing some downtown New York real estate while chasing America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), an individual who, we learn, is from a parallel universe. With the power to open portals between different dimensions, and someone or something sending ugly creatures to terrorize her, Strange enlists his old friend Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch, for assistance.
From there, it’s an endless parade of trippy (and sometimes, par for the course with Raimi, extremely dark) tussles and surprising cameos, a couple that will really, really get faithful fans jacked. To dive in any more than that would be serving up spoilers, and I’m not too keen on doing that for two reasons; #1) I don’t want to spoil things, and #2) I don’t want to screw up any details in case I’m way off on unravelling the intricacies of the story. Look, I’m a comic book fan, but even I had to do a breakdown session or two with friends after this one – yup, it’s THAT layered.
