Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Official Australian release date: 5/5/22.
Viewed: 5/5/22.
Director: Sam Raimi
Actors: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams
Genre: Sci-Fi / Fantasy
Rating: M

 

‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ (Dr Strange 2) feels odd in a few ways, as it’s been six years since the first film, but we’ve seen so much of Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) recently, in the last two Avengers films and ‘Spider-Man No Way Home’, where he was almost the co-lead. This is also a bit different, as it dips slightly into horror territory, with demons, monsters and zombies – it is directed by Sam Raimi, from the original Spider-Man films, but also ‘Evil Dead’ fame.

The plot follows new character America (Gomez) and her teleporting power and what that has to do with Strange, Wong (Wong) and Wanda (Olsen). This film follows along the lines of what happened in ‘WandaVision’, ‘Loki’ and ‘No Way Home’, so it should be no surprise to viewers with all the interdimensional hopping, magic and psychedelic “other worlds” in this film. It’s good to see some of the alternate Strange’s and the other characters they chose to show us.

While not actually horrific or scary – even though there’s a few minor-shocks – it’s certainly quite dark and tragic, with the Scarlet Witch storyline being quite well-done, even if it leaves little room for humour or fun. It’s good to have McAdams back and she gets some screentime. Cumberbatch is good, but Olsen practically carries the film. The score is good, the CGI top-notch as always and the plot not too indecipherable. As always, there’s two end credit scenes.

Overall: Dark, brooding dive into the dark & mystic arts.
 
Gav’s Rating: 3.5 stars.