Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Following on from both WandaVision and Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness sees the titular hero contend with Wanda Maximoff, know calling herself the Scarlet Witch, who has been corrupted by the Darkhold, a dark spell book, into doing anything she has to do to get versions of her children from another universe. With the help of other sorcerers, including Wong, they must keep America Chavez, a young girl with the power to travel the multiverse, safe from Wanda's hands. When Strange and Chavez do end up traveling the multiverse, they must do whatever they can to stop Wanda while dealing with the consequences of Strange's own actions when previously handling the multiverse. Sam Raimi comes back to the superhero genre after his stint in the original Spider-Man trilogy and does a phenomenal job at taking Scott Derickson's place. His unique direction and style benefits this much more horror oriented entry in the MCU that often captures the fun and absurdity of 90s and early 2000s superhero movies. The script from Michael Waldron has a lot of strengths when it comes to the imagination provided, capturing the craziness of Marvel's multiverse similar to that of the comics, smart in not showing too much of the multiverse knowing it will be expanded on later, the fun references to characters we've seen before, and not afraid to be as dark as the franchise has ever been. Weaknesses, however, are very noticeable such as the length being rather short while giving us so much to take in, certain character decisions that feel off, and how rather simple the plot is considering what it involves. The cast that returns from either the last Doctor Strange entry or other past projects, including Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen, with newcomers, such as Xochitl Gomez all give powerful performances. Olsen, specially, proves how terrifying Scarlet Witch can be whether in the comics or in a live action adaptation. This film's cinematography, provided by John Mathieson, gives us a good mixture of terrifying and light while also looking distinct with each universe that's travelled through. The editing from Bob Murawski and Tia Nolan has some issues in the beginning with the pacing being a little off, but soon after gets better and the unique cuts and transitions really helps fit Raimi's style. Danny Elfman, a regular composer for Raimi, replaces the first film's composer, Michael Giacchino, and gives his own style to the music, and while he does a good job it's not as memorable as Giacchino's work. Despite how noticeable its flaws are, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness takes bold decisions and isn't afraid to be dark in a way that you don't mind and manages to still give a fun experience. Over all: 88%

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