Based upon the Marvel Comics series created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee
Screenplay Written by Michael Waldron
Directed by Sam Raimi
**1/2 (two and a half stars)
RATED PG 13
It was bound to happen and frankly, I am not surprised that it has not happened even more often.
My superhero movie fatigue has been long documented upon this site and so, there's no need to rehash everything now. But with regards to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), I have comes to terms and have grown to largely accept the serialized storytelling approach they have achieved to a miraculous degree overall. The middle to end period of the "Phase Three' sequence of films and stories, which included nothing less than Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther" (2018) as well as Joe and Anthony Russo's extraordinary "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018) and "Avengers: Endgame" (2019) represented a towering culmination of all that had come before.
With the arrival of "Phase Four," we have already been gifted with Destin Daniel Cretton's wonderful "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" (2021) and Jon Watts' absolutely tremendous "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (2021), both of which worked independently and in conjunction with all of the new forays into the extended storylines depicted in the Marvel television series. With Matt Shakman's "WandaVision" (2021), Kari Skogland's "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" (2021), Kate Herron's "Loki" (2021) and Rhys Thomas and Bert & Bertie's "Hawkeye" (2021), I was thoroughly engaged with the elongated storytelling that expanded all that we had previously experienced as well as explored a post Thanos existence with creativity, pathos, sorrow, and the rightful sense of global PTSD.
With few exceptions, the MCU has become especially thrilling to me and with the gradual arrival of the multiverse and the full emergence of next great threat Kang The Conqueror on the horizon, the reservations that I harbored have largely dissipated...
...sort of.
As good to great Marvel has been as of late, there is still the factor of assembly line moviemaking to contend with and how having so many projects in the proverbial pipeline, and all working together to create a larger narrative, something at some point is bound to stumble. And unfortunately, that stumble has now arrived.
Sam Raimi's "Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness" has long been billed as being Marvel first horror film, so to speak. Yes indeed, we do receive the pre-requisite jump scares and sequences of surprising, sudden shocks of graphic violence (PG 13 comic book styled, of course) but that being said, the film is nowhere near as inventive, dazzling, frightening or as maddening as it could have been. That being said, it is not for Raimi's lack of trying as he is indeed working like the devil to keep all of the conceptual plates spinning in the air. But, honestly, there is only so much even the very best filmmakers can do when racing to complete a film before the pre-announced release date. And truthfully, and especially with this high caliber work Marvel has been producing recently, all parties involved, deserve better.
Opening a short time after the events of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," we reunite with Doctor Stephen Strange (again played by Benedict Cumberbatch) trapped in the throes of an adrenalized nightmare in which he and a plucky teenager named America Chavez (played by Xochitl Gomez) are being relentlessly pursued by a demon intent upon stealing America's powers to travel through and manipulate the multiverse. But, was it a nightmare...
In the so-called waking world, Doctor Strange soon meets, or is reunited, with America during a battle with another demon intent upon capturing the teen. Upon noticing witch craft runes, Strange decides to consult the grieving Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), living in isolation after the devastating events depicted within "WandaVision." Strange soon discovers that Wanda has not only been overtaken by the influence of The Book Of The Damned, known as The Darkhold, the book has also fully transformed Wanda into The Scarlet Witch and she is the one behind the attacks against America Chavez, leading to a relentless pursuit throughout the multiverse.
Sam Raimi's "Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness" functions like a technicolor fever dream. Vibrantly psychedelic and kaleidoscopic, certainly but also noisy, fussy, frantic, chaotic, and messy, definitely. Granted, the odds were stacked against this film considerably as Directors were swapped and therefore, Raimi's production time was truncated due to the switch as well as the Covid-19 shut down, plus all of the reportedly extensive re-shoots. All of that being said, it is amazing when a movie gets itself made under normal circumstances but for one as fraught with difficulties as this one, it is admirable that Raimi delivered a final result in time for the film's release...even though the entire film looks and feels as if he was building the plane while flying it.
Of course, there is much to admire. The pre-requisite MCU spit and polish is firmly in place. Performances are strong throughout, with Elizabeth Olsen as the clear MVP and I will speak to that shortly. Conceptually, I loved the idea that dreams and nightmares are in fact passages to multiverse existences and not fantasy at all. The Scarlet Witch's ability to Dreamwalk through and control multiverse existences was another aspect that really intrigued me greatly, I loved the concept of the Incursion-when multiverse realities collide and disintegrate. There was more than enough conceptually to work with and utilize to surprisingly and, in sticking with the film's title, to really work us over psychologically as well as function as a superb horror film, much like the source material which did give me nightmares as a child, strong enough where I gave the comic series a wide berth. And still, by film's end, it all felt to be a series of missed opportunities.
I think back to "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and how the concept of theme multiverse was handled, presented and executed as it was indeed a magical merging of storytelling, emotional heft, dire issues of fate and consequences plus fan service that was supremely earned. I look to both "WandaVision" and "Loki," where the dizzying concepts of alternate, multiverse realities and variant personalities, The Time Variance Authority (TVA) and the overall destruction of the Sacred Timeline thus unleashing the soon to be revealed dangers of Kang The Conqueror made for mesmerizing, captivating, cathartic viewing.
With regards to Sam Raimi's "Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, we are given elements of pathos, some better than others. For Stephen Strange, I suppose the take away is that he is a figure confronted with the limits of his own arrogances as every multiverse incarnation Strange confronts is one who has been defeated in one way or an other. It is as if in this film, Strange is serving as Marvel's George Bailey in essence, exploring existence and his place within it or without him. Compelling in theory but it never sticks to the cinematic ribs, so to speak. Benedict Cumberbatch is perfectly suited for the titular role as Doctor Strange but even so, I had wished the screenplay did not let an actor of his skills down so much and so often as he really has not terribly much to do...and due to that, I know that I was nowhere near as invested as I should have been in a story such as this one.
Now Elizabeth Olsen on the other hand, as previously stated, walks away with the entire film, flaws and all. It seems that despite all of the storytelling potholes and poor tonal sifts, Olsen as Wanda and furthermore, as The Scarlet Witch continued to create a powerful swan dive into the ocean of grief and loss, which for her possesses no bottom Granted, if you have not seen "WandaVision," you will be missing a massive amount of intensely crucial set up for the events of this film--in addition to one of the very best performances seen within the MCU in the service of one of the series most tragic characters.
With Raimi's film, Wanda's trauma has been transformed into a righteous rage that does brilliantly set her up to become a formidable "villain" but an adversary that is rooted in grave pain congealed with a fury that does indeed strike at the heart of the unfairness and even implied sexism Wanda has faced throughout her adventures with the Avengers.
"You break the rules and become a hero," Wanda states sharply to Strange early in the film. "I do it and I become the enemy. That doesn't seem fair." At its very best, and for so often during the entire MCU saga, the humanity of the characters has far outweighed any of the pyrotechnics. It is within those three lines that we understand nearly everything that we need to know about this stage of Wanda's trajectory as well as how it has informed and re-contextualized everything that we knew about her previously. I really think that Raimi comes dangerously close to merely demonizing her yet Elizabeth Olsen's performance is what makes Wanda/The Scarlet Witch roar.
Yet, with Sam Raimi's film overall...sigh...Where was the sense of awe? Or confusion? Or psychological terror? Or...well...honestly, that sense of madness that is presented in the film's own title? Yes, there is one terrific sequence of Doctor Strange and America Chavez hurtling through one universe after another, but all told, Raimi seems to have no thoughts about these universes other than visual...and briefly at that. Yes, indeed this is a PG 13 movie and Raimi can only go so far (and I believe that he certainly did within one particularly gruesome sequence of superhero carnage) but everything feels so glib and unsurprising.
Absolutely no one seems to be remotely phased by the existence of the multiverse or when characters from one universe meet similar characters who exist in a parallel universe. Everything is so matter of fact, so everyday and without any sense of real danger, excitement, or intensity, It often just feels like the actors are only walking from set to set or just standing upon one set with CGI backgrounds ever changing without any real consequences and in a story where things just happen.
The typically strong Marvel storytelling was considerably messier this time around to the point where I am wondering if it was a glaring plot hole if the events at the conclusion of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" were understood correctly.
Sam Raimi's "Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness," while not a bad film by any stretch, it one that doesn't sink inwards, doesn't really disturb, and it is a film that often felt like it was being written each day in order to meet the pre-ordained release date. In fact, this film's shortcoming only showcase how strong the Marvel television series actually are as they have worked wonders for the Marvel characters by having the time to stretch and add layers and textures, making for more satisfying experiences.
Doctor Strange deserves so much more than a rush job and unfortunately, that is precisely what this film is.
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