Dr Strange: Multiverse of Madness, directed by Sam Raimi, is the long-awaited Doctor Strange sequel with some great new additions to the Marvel universe and a few surprises along the way. A forewarning; major spoilers ahead.  

Off the bat, WE ARE introduced to a new character, America Chavez. Her sporadic powers guide Dr Strange through the multiverse throughout the film, largely making her a one-dimensional plot device. However, as a character she seemed great and I would love to see more of her and where she goes as a big player in the multiverse and potentially as the first Young Avenger. . .  

One of the highlights of the film was undoubtedly Elisabeth Olsen, who was superb in her role as Wanda. If you’ve seen WandaVision (I really hope you have before seeing MoM), you’ll know that Wanda in her grief, mind controls a whole town and reincarnates Vision, building the life she dreamed the both of them would have together. She discovers at the end of the show that she is the Scarlet Witch (dum dum dummmmm), and in Multiverse of Madness, she uses the Darkhold to develop her powers. The evolution of Wanda’s powers leads us to a love-hate relationship with her character as we learn she is the main antagonist of the film. All she wants is to be with her kids, but what is she willing to do to get to them? Is it too much? One would think though with the multiverse and the infinite possibilities it provides there would be a universe where her kids exist and her other self has died, and she could simply step into that universe. . . Wanda is also involved in numerous scenes which can only be described as horror, clearly at the direction of Sam Raimi and depending on whether you like it, this movie will leave you wanting more or wishing you hadn’t see it at all.  

Let’s talk about Dr Strange. Post Spiderman No Way Home, which effectively crucified Strange’s character, we see Strange return as his calculated self, struggling with his inner turmoil surrounding his past love life. In this film, we see Dr Strange take on the job of protecting and guiding America (or really America guiding Steven) through the multiverse and fleeing from Wanda, who pursues them in all sorts of weird and wacky ways. I don’t think Strange gets an appropriate character arc in this film but there are some lessons he appears to learn.  

There was this one scene, with the cool music notey stuff, and the dead body with an ominous warning to Dr Strange from well, Strange. This scene was a 10/10. The film ended with an “OMG, is this actually real moment”. I was shook, mouth wide open, eyes popped out. But with the Marvel universe if it is not shown in detail, with emotion and real depth, did it really happen? There was also an interesting post credit scene, with insinuations of a future Sorceress Supreme and potential future love interest? That is the question all of us are asking after the Multiverse of Madness.  

Overall, Dr Strange: Multiverse of Madness was pretty good film, really developing Dr Strange and Wanda’s characters and introducing us to America Chavez. I really enjoyed some of the scenes with amazing direction from Sam Raimi. But it was a bit of an underwhelming film, don’t get me wrong it was amazing, but I think it was slightly over hyped. Wanda’s role in the film was interesting and I can see where it came from but all that build up for her character just to accept this ending. Also, that surprise appearance from the Illuminati? Interesting. But “I could do this all day,” as if – (I’m not very accepting of a few of the appearances, some I LOVED, others not so much). The revelation of rock (granite) also being the strongest element in the MCU, not only killing a version of CAPTAIN MARVEL, but also the conclusion of the film, it appears that rock can now take out some of the most powerful characters. . . 

So maybe I have a few controversial opinions, and it was a good film but could have been better.  

7/10 bin chickens