Movie Name:Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Release Date: May 6, 2022
Director: Sam Raimi
Genre: Superhero film

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Movie Review: With every Marvel outing, its Cinematic Universe is creating a blueprint for the next ‘Endgame’ level event. Subconsciously, we knew it while watching Loki, What If?, Spider-Man Far From Home, however, Doctor Strange 2 is the most obvious one to establish it. With an outlandish narrative, menacing villains, conflicted anti-heroes and the introduction of Gen Z superheroes whilst welcoming the old ones, Benedict Cumberbatch’s film has brought back the grandeur of Avenger movies. Finding Sam Raimi's name in the credits as the director after almost a decade is a delight. It affirms that Marvel is still open to experimenting with its films rather than going for template filmmaking, something it has often been accused of.

The dichotomy of Doctor Strange 2 is that the film is tossed in two directions. While it is an enormous force that is contorted and boisterous as it opens the dark gates of MCU it is also a question bank of concepts. And Dr Stepehen Strange is given the mammoth task of not only providing an answer key but also closing these said gates. Had it been anyone else than Cumberbatch, the task would seem impossible, however, the former Sorcerer Supreme is a skilled magician and a capable actor to pull it off.

Cumberbatch has only one stand-alone film in three phases but his recurring role in MCU gives an edge to his mysterious character. In comparison to recent Marvel outings, Doctor Strange is a relatively short film with a run-time of over two hours. But somehow, it manages to encapsulate too many details and characters without compromising on the timeline. Raimi's induction of horror into the superhero genre only adds charm to it. With numerous impalings, charred corpses and effective jump scare moments, Sam Raimi gives Evil Dead feels.

Talking about VFX, Marvel has always been a winner on the front, and Doctor Strange 2 is no different. Visually speaking, if you're there for two hours of fireworks and the spectacle of the multiverse, you won't be disappointed. The many different transitions of Dr Stephen Strange in Multiverse are sure thrilling. But that's kind of expected from MCU. What stands out is Elizabeth Olsen and the arc of her character Wanda Witch. What appeared to be a trivial supporting character in the initial phases has turned out to be a massive driving force of Phase 4. Olsen is dramatic, devilish and dreamy at the same. She is vengeful but she can't separate Wanda Maximoff from Wanda Witch. Likewise for Dr Stephen. He still has those obnoxious high maintenance traits of an illustrious neurosurgeon but now he feels the weight of the knowledge from Kamar Taj.

As for Chiwetel Ejiofor (Karl Mordo), Benedict Wong (Wong), Xochitl Gomez (America Chavez), Michael Stuhlbarg (Nicodemus West), and Rachel McAdams (Christine Palmer), each one of them has significant contribution to the plot. Gomez's banter and fan shipping Doctor Strange kind of paves the way for a Tony Stark-Peter Parker relationship. Will you see more of it, we'd like to believe yes.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness doesn't have too many mind-boggling plot twists per se but the presentation is what keeps the audience engrossed. There are plenty of surprises for fans to rejoice. On paper, you can summarise the plot without too much hassle.

So, does Doctor Strange 2 live up to the hype it and other MCU films have created? With Sam Raimi, it is for sure MCU's first horror movie with promising unique sequences by the able cast. The truth is it might work for fans who have been deeply engrossed in the cinematic universe while others may snub it as another 'theme park' experience. But that's necessarily not a bad thing to say.