We’re now over 30 entries into the MCU and in that time we’ve seen just about everything from epic space-operas to tales of gods and devils. What we’ve rarely seen in the MCU is a film that truly embraces the style of its director (Thor: Ragnarok aside); that contorts the usual trappings of a Marvel movie to fit around an auteur rather than the other way around. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness fundamentally feels like a Sam Raimi film through and through, and that is a massive win for a franchise that has seemed to grow increasingly similar across instalments. Bringing with him heavier elements of horror and a unique visual eye for the camera, Sam Raimi has crafted one of the most stylistic entries into the Marvel canon, bursting with energy from start to finish.
When America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), a mysterious young girl with the power to create portals through universes, arrives in New York City with a demonic monster hot on her heels, Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and the now Sorcerer Supreme Wong (Benedict Wong) work quickly to intercept her. Believing that her powers could inadvertently cause irreparable damage to the entire multiverse, Strange turns to an isolating and clearly traumatised Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) for assistance in protecting the girl. As Wanda’s true motives become clear, however, Strange and America are forced to go on the run between universes in a bid to protect the girl and find a way to lock away the evil pursuing them.
What could have been another run-of-the-mill Marvel film is so elevated by Raimi’s style; the usual visual effects heavy madness given new life with inventive camera movements and editing choices that place a lot of emphasis on the horror elements Raimi brings to the table. For die-hard fans of The Evil Dead and Drag Me to Hell wondering whether Raimi would lean more towards his horror roots or his Spider-Man history, fear not, this is as close to a body-horror fright-fest in the MCU as possible. Long, suspense-filled shots end with shocking jump scares, kills are gorier than ever and Danny Elfman’s eerie score – filled with shrieking strings and ominous wailing – add weight to what could have been a far more lighthearted trip through the multiverse. Raimi even goes so far as to add in an element of the slasher genre, with the constantly looming presence of Strange and America’s pursuer never far behind, providing an urgency to their actions that makes for an appropriately panicked, fast-paced affair.
Somewhat expectedly, after months and months of post-No Way Home speculation, there are plenty of fan service multiverse moments here sure to please fans, even if they can’t possibly fulfil every wild wish and fantasy. Reports that these were added in following the release of the latest Spider-Man, whilst unconfirmed, would prove reasonable, as this is also where the film’s pacing slows down significantly, as it attempts to unload chunks of exposition at you to explain its, at times, incredibly confusing central premise whilst throwing new faces at you. These appearances are by no means necessary, and don’t further the overarching MCU plot in any significant ways, but Raimi manages to have a lot of fun with the surprises, going in unexpected and gleefully macabre directions that only the man who gave us the off-kilter masterpiece Evil Dead 2 could pull off.
As is the case with majority of Raimi’s films, there is a healthy heaping of cheesy humour thrown in for good measure; a lot of which doesn’t work in the usual Marvel manner. It isn’t bad by any means, but with everything going on and with the audience constantly being swept from location to location, it falls by the wayside in the bigger picture. Still the final act does feature some of the best prosthetics work in all of Marvel, in a scene that could have been pulled directly from the Evil Dead franchise; showing one of the biggest proponents for campy humour at his campy best.
Being only his second solo outing since the original Doctor Strange in 2016, there is a lot of room here for an exploration of Strange’s character and how the tumultuous events of his Avengers appearances have affected him. Michael Waldron – writer of last year’s Loki – tackles the material on a much more intimate level, crafting a multi-dimensionally sad story for Strange and any potential hope for a life beyond his superhero duties with former flame Christine (Rachel McAdams). It’s an emotionally meaty storyline that Cumberbatch sinks his teeth into, giving less of the arrogant surgeon that we saw in 2016 and portraying the former Sorcerer Supreme as a much richer character who has seen and evolved from all he has experienced.
On a similar journey of self-discovery is Wanda who, following on from the events of WandaVision longs for the children she has lost, with Elizabeth Olsen taking the characters to some truly dark places in her desperation. It’s her best performance as the Scarlet Witch to date, as she continues to make this deeply tragic woman one of the MCU’s most interesting characters.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness won’t be to everyone’s taste. It’s a drastic shift in the tone we have come to know, given Marvel’s miraculous willingness to commit to Sam Raimi’s vision and unique style. Cumberbatch and Olsen are the best they have ever been, telling a touching, intimate story on such an enormous scale whilst Raimi ensures we are always entertained, constantly finding inventive filmic techniques and genre trappings to tell an MCU story in a bold new way. Forget Wong’s warnings, you’d be mad not to dive into this multiverse.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stars Benedict Cumberpatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Xochitl Gomez, Benedict Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Bruce Campbell & Michael Stuhlbarg – In cinemas now.