Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness Review: Frantic Mess Does Not Belong To MCU Earth-199999
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness is a fancier-messier Spider-Man: No Way Home without the great cameos. Earth 616 is not the Marvel Cinematic Universe - is the mantra to use while watching Doctor Strange 2.
Star
Cast:
Benedict
Cumberbatch,
Elizabeth
Olsen,
Xochitl
Gomez,
Rachel
McAdams,
Benedict
Wong
Director:
Sam
Raimi
Available
In
Theatres
Duration:
126
minutes
Language:
English
Plot:
The
multiverse
is
jeopardised
when
someone
begins
to
send
demons
to
capture
America
Chavez,
a
supernatural
being
who
can
travel
through
the
multiverse.
America
lands
on
Earth
looking
for
shelter
and
finds
Doctor
Strange,
who
then
reaches
out
to
Wanda
asking
for
help.
Alert
for
Mild
Spoilers
Review:
Essentially
the
entire
plot
of
the
film
was
revealed
in
the
original
teaser
that
was
released
with
Spider-Man:
No
Way
Home
and
with
Marvel's
debut
series
WandaVision.
After
Vision's
death,
and
the
Westview
debacle
Wanda
is
left
with
the
book
of
the
dammed
and
she
scours
through
the
multiverse
to
find
her
kids,
which
had
been
confirmed
by
the
show's
post-credit
scene.
Doctor
Strange
in
the
Multiverse
Of
Madness
picks
up
some
time
after
the
events
of
Spider-Man:
No
Way
Home.
The
film
begins
in
a
different
universe,
where
Stephen
Strange
is
on
his
way
to
acquiring
the
Book
of
Vishanti
alongside
America
Chavez.
The
two
are
being
chased
by
a
demon
but
before
getting
caught,
Chavez
manages
to
use
her
powers
and
escape.
Meanwhile,
Stephen
from
a
different
universe
wakes
up
after
seeing
the
same
events
in
a
dream.
He
goes
on
with
his
everyday
life
until
America
lands
right
in
the
middle
of
New
York
wreaking
havoc
in
his
universe.
With
shows
like
WandaVision
and
Loki,
the
hope
for
creativity
was
very
high
for
Doctor
Strange
2,
however,
we
get
the
very
first
plot
possibility
that
popped
into
the
writer's
mind
for
the
story.
With
infinite
universes
in
a
horror
genre,
the
Marvel
film
could
have
explored
the
world
with
characters
that
actually
mean
something
to
the
MCU.
Instead,
we
get
cameos
that
will
possibly
never
return
or
make
any
impact
on
the
storyline.
For
anyone
who
has
watched
the
animated
Marvel
series,
What
If...?
Doctor
Strange
2
may
lose
its
charm
within
the
first
few
minutes.
Doctor
Strange
2
offers
lore,
expands
the
possibilities
and
sets
the
base
for
what's
to
come
in
the
MCU,
but
it
gives
nothing
for
its
main
characters
to
work
on.
Every
plot
point
and
character
in
the
film
can
be
reduced
to
one
line
and
that
is
never
a
good
sign.
Wanda
is
craving
for
her
kids,
Doctor
Strange
is
pining
for
Christine
-
that's
it,
that's
all
the
film
is.
America
Chavez
played
by
Xochitl
Gomez
is
impressive
in
the
first
few
minutes
of
the
film,
however,
very
quickly
her
character
gets
reduced
to
'damsel
in
distress'
status
until
the
plot
needs
her
to
do
something
with
no
space
for
development.
Elizabeth
Olsen
does
her
best
to
elevate
all
aspects
of
the
film,
from
the
thrill,
gore
to
raising
the
bar
for
acting
all
based
on
four
words,
-
I
am
a
mother.
Unfortunately,
she
is
only
used
as
a
plot
point
to
get
the
story
across,
instead
of
giving
her
a
chance
to
live
through
her
emotions.
She
is
thrashed
with
hate
for
95%
of
the
screen
time
and
is
given
nothing
in
return
for
redemption.
The
film
also
offers
visual
stimulation,
enough
that
even
after
watching
the
movie
twice
or
in
slow
motion
you
still
won't
be
able
to
see
everything.
But
it
lasts
only
for
a
few
minutes.
Every
main
sequence
is
set
in
a
still
environment
either
in
New
York
with
little
extra
CGI,
or
in
a
closed
room
which
was
just
a
green
screen
on
sets.
None
of
it
is
enough
to
keep
the
audience
hooked
till
the
end.
By
halftime,
you
will
be
looking
at
your
watch
waiting
for
the
big
twist
to
come,
which
never
does.
Sam
Raimi's
direction
brings
some
life
into
the
film
with
surprising
moments.
Unfortunately,
there
are
very
few
and
very
jump-scary
to
rely
on.
They
will
not
change
your
mind
about
the
126-minute
long
run
time.
We
get
some
much-needed
violence
and
gore
in
the
MCU
but
it
isn't
horror
when
it
is
immediately
countered
with
some
overdramatic
and
loud
comic
feels
(not
comedy-
actual
comic
book
feels
presented
sarcastically).
When
Stephen
says
things
got
out
of
hand,
he
is
clearly
talking
about
the
screenplay.
I
began
watching
the
film
believing
that
the
story
did
not
take
place
in
the
Marvel
Cinematic
Universe.
Earth
616
is
not
the
Marvel
Cinematic
Universe
(Earth-199999)
but
the
original
Marvel
Comic
Universe.
It
is
the
only
thing
that
has
kept
my
faith
in
the
MCU
and
that
Doctor
Strange
will
be
redeemed
as
a
franchise.
Also,
Wong
is
undoubtedly
the
best
part
of
the
film,
but
he
hardly
spends
20
minutes
on
screen.
Overall,
Doctor
Strange
in
the
Multiverse
Of
Madness
is
a
fancier,
messier
Spider-Man:
No
Way
Home
without
the
great
cameos.
Earth
616
is
not
the
Marvel
Cinematic
Universe
-
is
the
mantra
to
use
while
watching
Doctor
Strange
2.