(Photograph courtesy of the official Doctor Strange Twitter account, @DrStrange)
With shows like Loki and WandaVision paving the way for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s exploration of the multiverse, and the film Spider-Man: No Way Home only opening the multiverse further, it was only a matter of time before the MCU blew the door wide open for what other universes could mean for its franchise. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was the movie that was supposed to do just that, but will fans truly feel satisfied upon leaving the theater?
Both the tone and style of the second Doctor Strange film aren’t anything quite like what fans have seen in the MCU so far. Director Sam Raimi does an excellent job at bringing out an aspect of horror that hasn’t been in other Marvel Studios films. It was an approach that was completely unique to the MCU, and it definitely worked out in Marvel’s favor. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness toys with the idea of pushing its PG-13 rating by exploring a more gruesome and horror-inspired world where the line between what’s right and what’s wrong is very thin. It’s very refreshing to see them explore a different approach, especially when just like in the case of the first Doctor Strange, the movie is visually stunning, regardless of its darker approach.
With a change like this in an already well-established franchise, pacing can become an issue, which is something the MCU has had a problem with on occasion in the past. This isn’t the case with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The action starts almost immediately, with few moments of reprieve throughout the film. The movie is truly an action film through and through. There are short moments discussing plot and sentimental topics, but they’re incredibly short-lived in comparison to the fight scenes scattered throughout. It isn’t a movie that’s going to cause its audience to lose interest while they wait for the next fight to break out.
Even with action being its main focus, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness also puts a lot of effort into the characterization of its heroes. Characters like Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch are easily given the limelight and for good reason, but even minor characters like Wong and America Chavez are given scenes perfect for their characters. None of the screen time feels forced or irrelevant, it all plays into the bigger picture and the story’s outcome. Even characters that have little screen time are there to prove a point or to offer something important to the overall arc. Since the movie does exist to shed more like on the multiverse, cameos of never before seen characters were inevitable, and while it could just be interpreted as fanservice, even those characters existed for the purpose of showing just how powerful an already well-known fan favorite is.
With that being said, one of the film’s flaws could potentially be the use of cameos, despite how good they were. Fans who are not well versed in Marvel outside of the MCU could be let feeling confused as to who some of these characters are, and what their importance is. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, the cameos of other characters blended perfectly with the story, and while the cameos absolutely existed as a means of fanservice, it fits with the story that the film was telling. While the cameos in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness served a purpose, using cameos time and time again can start to become gimmicky, and make the franchise feel like it’s a one-trick pony if overused. This could especially become the case if there’s no intention of bringing these characters back in a capacity outside of their short scenes to please Marvel fans with more extensive knowledge from the comics.
Overall, the movie is a blast to watch, especially for those who have been keeping up with the Disney+ television shows that exist for the purpose of being tied into the movie-going experience of the MCU. While it addresses very little from some of the shows, WandaVision is absolutely a show that needs to be watched to understand and enjoy the movie at its full capacity. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness may be the first seed sown in the era of “the death of the casual Marvel movie fan” because the more fans have watched in the Disney shows, or even read in the comics, the more they’re going to be able to appreciate the film for what it is. Viewers that have no context outside of the last major MCU project in theaters are going to be left dissatisfied and confused, which surprisingly, is not exactly a bad thing by any means. While the MCU may begin to lose some casual viewers over this shift, it will also give them the opportunity to explore topics and stories that they felt like may have been “too much” to address earlier in the franchise. Comic fans and “old school” Marvel fans will be over the moon at the potential this change has, even if some casual viewers may decide this is where they’re no longer interested.
Fans should also keep in mind that the film is going to answer surprisingly few of the questions they may have assumed a movie on the multiverse would answer. The movie only adds even more questions to the list of inquiries that have been mounting since Avengers: Endgame. Someone expecting a lot of their questions to be answered are not going to be able to enjoy the film for its intended purpose, which would be a real shame because it’s easily one of the best-directed films that the MCU has to offer. Even one of the two after-credit scenes only leaves moviegoers with yet another question, but the question will either be “who is that?” or “where are they going with this next?” depending on what knowledge they already have about Marvel.
Written by Ashley Laney
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