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Doctor Strange 2 opens many portals to a fun and exciting film but doesn’t stay in most of them long enough. After the fun and intrigue of the first entry, there was a lot of hype and curiosity for the sequel that saw original director Scott Derrickson leave and be replaced by horror veteran Sam Raimi. Both are fine directors that have managed to bring superheroes to the big screen but as I sat watching the spectacle of Multiverse of Madness, I couldn’t help feeling like something was missing.  The Marvel Cinematic Universe is basically a religion at this point, with Doctor Strange 2 picking up after the events of shows and movies from years past but, regardless of one’s previous experience with the franchise, you can still follow along. A young girl named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) falls through dimensions into our world where she meets Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). She’s being chased by monsters and needs help. Strange, already worrisome after the help he’s given others, soon discovers that former avenger Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) is behind it all, desperate to harness America’s power so she can reunite with her children in a different reality. All of this is set up quite well with Strange and his boss Wong (Benedict Wong) mounting a defense that Scarlet Witch has great fun picking apart. There’s nothing left but for Strange to take America through dimensions to find an object that may help. This is where the movie began to have problems. For a movie discussing multiverses, most of the second act takes place in just one alternate dimension that has a series of fun cameos but still is dragging its feet. It doesn’t help that Disney revealed most of these cameos in trailers. If ever there was a company that has the money to trust its audience it would be this one and yet at my opening night screening, most of the reveals were met with little reaction because they forced the magician to reveal his secrets too early.  Putting that personal complaint aside though, there’s a lot of exposition and a fetch-quest vibe that really isn’t doing the movie any favors. What holds it all together are the horrific visuals Raimi conjures up and some fun performances; the most enthralling being Olsen. As a villain she is truly menacing, conveying rage and twisted grief flawlessly. The best moments invoke the “show don’t tell” mentality instead of many moments discussing various objects of power or debates on what the newest phenomenon means. Doctor Strange confronts a past version of himself at one point and their exchange of words doesn’t have nearly the bite that you’d hope for but the moment when they send musical notes flying at one another is one of the film’s highlights. It is a shame that all the potential questions and dilemmas of a multidimensional film feel like check marks.  No doubt many comic book fans loved the film and on an aesthetic level it’s among the best in the MCU. There are moments that feel like they were extracted straight from comic book pages. However, its story, while complex, isn’t as compelling as one would hope. Follow HorrOrigins on Social Media
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