Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Mehness

(SPOILERS FOR DOCTOR STRANGE AND THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS) I was really expecting to love Doctor Strange And the Multiverse of Madness, but I didn’t. It did contain fun moments of splashy camp horror, but as a whole it sorely lacked soul and emotion, and the pacing was very much off.

Here’s a long-ass post detailing the problems I had with the movie:

1. Previously, in the MCU

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness relied way too heavily on references to previous installments of the MCU in place of genuine plot and character development. Instead using the tools of filmmaking to set up the story and building emotional beats that lead to a pay-off, the movie just sort of vaguely waved its hand at its cinematic past and expected it to be enough.

The problem with this isn’t really even about some of the audience not being caught up (though that is not not a problem). I’ve seen all the previous movies and series, and I was nevertheless annoyed with the way the movie used references to other movies as a substitute for work it should have done for itself. Hence, the movie was missing many of its vital organs.

Example: Instead of taking the time to establish the concept of the multiverse and, most importantly, Stephen’s attitude towards it, the movie just skipped this whole part by quickly referring to the events of the recent Spider-Man movie. It’s perfectly fine for the movie not to pretend like the multiverse is a thing Stephen isn’t already very much aware of, but what the movie ended up throwing away with the bathwater was Stephen’s point of view.

How does he feel about messing with the multiverse with Spider-Man? Does he regret it? Has he learned something? Did this experience warn him against doing it again, or is he even more curious about exploring the possibilities multiverse?

We don’t know. The movie never allowed him to go there and show us what he thinks of his past actions.

2. According to the legends…

I bet that this movie went through many, MANY rewrites because it can’t seem to commit to a plot point long enough to turn it into something that matters. I felt like I was playing a game with way too many time-wasting side quests and a main object that never delivers.

The characters keep running from one mystical thing of utmost importance only to abandon it for the next mystical thing of utmost importance, and all that only ends up diluting the significance and muddying the meaning of these things in the process.

Meanwhile, the movie was sorely lacking in moments that do feel meaningful. Moments when character grow, when they bond with each other, when their conflicts clash, when they make crucial choices that tell us who they are deep down inside, when they just feel their feelings. There wasn’t any time for those, with the next big action sequence or the next magical ritual just around the corner from the previous one.

This is also a pacing issue. The movie had very few peaceful scenes, which also hurt the action and the excitement. It’s hard to remain invested in what’s essentially a two hour chase sequence when you’re allowed no moments to take a breath and reflect. Even Mad Max: Fury Road had pit stops.

3. Quo Vadis, Stephen Strange?

Marvel movies tend to work more often than not because the studio has had the good sense to focus on building strong characters who keep all the spectacle grounded.

Spider-Man: No Way Home, which premiered not long before this movie, is a very good example of this practice. That movie was full of hyped-up crossover appearances, mind-warping dips into the world of magic and multiverses, and maximalist action sequences, yet the movie worked because it was all anchored in Peter’s emotionally resonant character arc and the relationship he had with the people he loved.

Multiverse of Madness lacked that emotional anchor, and it showed. Stephen Strange didn’t have a well-defined character arc of his own in this movie, and his relationships with the other characters in the film were barely fleshed out. There was a hint of a theme in him being sort of unhappy about not ending up with his ex and a highlighted yet disconnected line about his obsession with being in control, but the movie didn’t spend enough time exploring those inner conflicts long enough for them to truly matter.

I do feel like there’s a story to be told about Stephen’s hubris going wild in the multiverse when things don’t go his way, and that story was already told in one of the better episodes of What If…? Somehow, the Multiverse of Madness ended up doing so much less with Stephen than a single episode of a mediocre AU animated series did, and that’s telling.

I’m honestly not sure if anyone in charge of this franchise knows what to do with Stephen. He seems kind of lost and unmotivated in the beginning of this movie and ended up pretty much the same way. What’s his story, where is he going? Why is he the main character of this movie? I know that seems like a superfluous question because the movie bears his name, but being the main character requires more than just standing in the spotlight. We need to know what drives Stephen into what direction and why we should care, and I feel like this movie just didn’t do the work on that front.

Doctor Strange shouldn’t be a stranger in his own movie.

4. Wanda Why?

Wanda’s motivations in this film were strongly established, yet simplified to a fault. She was the best character in the movie thanks to Elizabeth Olsen’s magnetic performance, and because she got to be the centerpiece of the most memorable scenes of the movie. Sadly, it all came at the expense of Wanda’s complexity.

Gone was the layered character Wanda became in the brilliant WandaVision, in which she gained power and learned a valuable lesson about dealing with grief and loss, and in her place was a flattened villain who has completely forgotten that lesson and incapable of thinking past her most primal instincts. This was explained in the movie by her having been corrupted by the Darkhold, but that felt like a lazy excuse to get out of coming up with more interesting a way of turning her into the relentless yet soulless monster the story needed her to be.

What a force of nature she would have made had she been allowed to be the villain of this movie while still retaining the depth, the heart, and the mind she had when we last saw her.

Now, this is also a problem I have with the way the character is sometimes written in the comics, but it just really annoys me that Scarlet Witch falls victim to the sexist tropes of a) the woman who goes crazy because she has too much power for her pesky female emotions to handle, and b) the woman who goes crazy when she loses her children because motherhood is apparently an all-consuming identity that leaves women no other reason to exist.

I was kinda hoping that the MCU version of Wanda would not go there this hard. Wanda could still struggle with her mental health, love her children fiercely, and do very questionable things without being this unhinged.

There’s also an ableist angle here: this whole concept of “going crazy” and what it entails. As a personal with a long history of mental health issues, I care a lot about how all sorts of mental health struggles are portrayed in popular media, and one of my biggest annoyances is the way they are often treated as something that inevitably turns people into unhinged murderers. Even if this movie is just a bit of light entertainment, it still shapes the attitudes towards mental health issues, and I would rather not see yet another piece of media that equates “going crazy” with becoming a violent killer.

5. And Why Are They Here?

The other characters of the movie felt also more or less empty.

America Chavez was allowed to be little else than a passive plot device who spend way too much time standing around and looking scared instead of making conscious choices or emotionally resonant contributions to the story. We barely got to know her personality and she never developed a meaningful bond with Doctor Strange, which hurt the climax of the movie. They ended up being just co-runners-away-from-scary-things with no personal relationship.

This was no fault of actor Xochitl Gomez, whose performance left me looking forward to seeing her character again. In fact, the cast was overall very good, and they all felt more or less wasted in thankless parts that either gave them nothing to do or too little depth.

Rachel McAdams is way too good an actress to be here just as Dr. Generic Love Interest. I am eternally confused about why the movie kept putting such an emphasis on the importance of her relationship with Stephen while also having zero interest in exploring it the slightest. Chiwetel Ejiofor returned as Baron Mordo and once again gave too much to a part that gave him nothing in return.

As for the parade of Marvel cameos, it was a mixed bag for me. Live action Captain Carter made me weak in the knees, and just a few minutes of Lashana Lynch as Captain Marvel convinced me that Maria Rambeau should have the title in the 616 universe as well (sorry, Carol). I don’t usually care about Black Bolt, but the two scenes that showed off his power were some of the highlights of the whole movie for me.

Meanwhile, I wish that Sir Patrick had not walked back his previous decision to let his appearance in the tremendous Logan be his last round as Xavier. As much as I love seeing him, I just feel like his presence here was unnecessary and not good enough a reason to bring back his beloved Xavier. I hesitate to use the phrase “this cheapens the legacy of the character” in a world where Wolverine: Origins exists, but yeah, that.

John Krasinski as Reed Richards was the biggest bummer for me because I was still hoping that Marvel was going to cast someone other than him. I am always happy to see Charlize Theron, but her mid-credit scene was probably the laziest and least exciting mid/post-credit scene to date. Seriously, guys, if you’re not even going to bother, just cut the scene and grant her the dignity of getting a proper introduction scene in another movie.

Even though I really enjoyed seeing some of these characters on screen, this aspect of the movie just seemed like the worst kind of audience pandering. Marvel cameos and crossovers are great when they lead to fun team-ups or emotional reunions. This didn’t work (beyond Captain Carter and Captain Marvel getting to kick some ass together; petition for a new Disney+ series plz) because Strange doesn’t have and didn’t end up developing a meaningful relationship with any of these characters. He didn’t care, so I couldn’t care either.

6. Some Credit to Sam Raimi

I’m not sure who to blame for the failings of this movie, but I have a feeling that it’s not director Sam Raimi. Whenever the movie did work, it worked because it felt like a good old Raimi movie.

Raimi is at his best when he gets to deliver dark humor, campy horror, and inventively gruesome imagery. He turned Scarlet Witch into a spectacular movie villain and made her seem truly terrifying whenever she got creative with her deadly powers. My favorite scene in the movie was Scarlet Witch’s first dreamwalking scene, which conjured up psychedelic images reminiscent of trashy horror movies from the 60′s and 70′s.

Raimi allowed Strange to have his moments, too. There was some real magic in the sight of him entering the haunted house version of his home inhabited by his darkest alternative version, and the image of Zombie-Strange wrapped up in the souls of the damned was nothing short iconic.

But all those cool images and atmospheric moments were not enough to save this movie from the weak story and undercooked characters. It’s just garnish on the top of a heap of hot air.

There are directors who are all style and no substance, but Raimi isn’t one of them. His Spider-Man movies are great examples of superhero movies that manage to find a balance between character development and action (yes, even the third one; it’s not good, but at least an attempt was made).

That’s why I am wondering whether this movie is yet another victim of studio interference instead of a failure on Raimi’s part. Disney tends to hire visionary directors with bold visions and then tying their hands because they’re too afraid of taking creative risks, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that explains what went wrong here.

7. Summa Summarum

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness is far from the worst MCU movie to date, but for me it’s probably the biggest letdown so far. I feel like it failed to live up to the promise it had, and it fell victim to the worst patterns this franchise has.