(The Disneycember logo is shown, before showing clips from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
Doug (vo): It's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. That's right, all three of them. I'm not gonna lie, I'm in the middle of watching Everything Everywhere [All] at Once, and, yeah, it is a little weird that an A24 movie has a lot more multiverses than a Marvel movie does. I'll be honest, I was focusing on a lot less of that and more on Sam Raimi directing a Doctor Strange movie than anything else. And as that concept goes, I had a great time with this. I should give a head's up, I'm gonna go into spoilers in this review. If you want to know my thoughts without the spoilers, you can watch my Untitled Review episode, because this film, not surprisingly, does have a lot of spoilers to talk about.
Story[]
Doug (vo): A teen from another dimension named America Chavez seems to be traveling from dimension to dimension trying to find someone who can help her out. She thinks it's Doctor Strange, but the only thing is, the last Doctor Strange in the last dimension tried to kill her off. She's hoping the one we're familiar with can help her out, but unfortunately, Wanda is back and likes the idea of traveling to a different dimension where maybe her kids are still alive. She gets taken over by the Scarlet Witch, dark magic, something...doesn't matter...and doesn't care who she hurts or even kills to get back her happily ever after. Doctor Strange vows to protect Chavez by any means necessary, and when I say "any means", I mean any Sam Raimi means. Yes, he turns into a zombie at the end, has to fight off demons, has to go into a haunted house where there's a dark version of himself, has to stop Wanda from blowing people's brains up.
Review[]
Doug (vo): Yeah, this is PG-13, but it is a hard PG-13. This is a Sam Raimi PG-13. Oh, screw it. (An image of Spider-Man (2002) is shown) Even his PG-13s are kind of PG-13s. This is, like, Drag Me to Hell PG-13. It's practically an R.
(Several clips focusing on the Illuminati are shown, along with a clip of America Chavez and a clip of Wanda Maximoff's final scene in the film)
Doug (vo): While I think a lot of fans were hoping for different universes to be utilized in this and different characters from different Marvel properties to finally be introduced, and, yeah, they are, nothing too important is brought up in this. Yeah, you do see the leader of the Fantastic Four, you do see Xavier, and...yeah, I did kind of go insane when I saw the yellow wheelchair and the Danny Elfman music go... (Hums the famous notes of the theme from X-Men: The Animated Series) Why is that so cool just hearing Danny Elfman reference that 90s theme? The only major things that are probably important to know in this film is the introduction of Chavez, who can jump into different universes, and the fact that Wanda is killed off in the end, even though, yeah, they can probably bring her back in some way.
(Several clips focusing on Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch are shown, as well as a few clips from WandaVision)
Doug (vo): On that note, it is a little weird that Wanda has to learn the exact same lesson that she learned in an entire TV show. If you saw my review of that, though, you probably know I wasn't that huge a fan of the TV show and kind of thought this could've been delved into a lot better, honestly, in a more dark and twisted way. And, well, this is definitely a more dark and twisted way. When she sees her kids in another dimension, they're afraid of her, like, they see her as this terrifying abomination. It is so like a monster movie. I just immediately thought back to Bride of Frankenstein, when she sees the Frankenstein monster and screams. It's so eerily similar to that, and I love that. Sam Raimi clearly loves monster movies and the themes of monster movies.
(Various clips resume showing, with some focusing on the cinematography and the visual style)
Doug (vo): And, yeah, probably goes without saying, but if you're seeing this movie just to see Sam Raimi's take on a Doctor Strange film, you're gonna get what you're looking for. All the fun camera angles are back, all the creepy but also goofy imagery is exploited to no degree, his weird obsession with eye shit is all over the film. Even the first big fight kind of has a Spider-Man vibe to it. I was really having a good time. But as a lot of people have pointed out, that's kind of where it ends. It's just kind of a good time. And even then, I don't think everybody had that great a time, they were kind of asking questions like, "Hey, where did Chavez go? She kind of just disappears in the third act. Oh, there she is. Huh. Guess she didn't leave that big an impact, even though it's supposed to all be about her. Why is Wanda learning the same lesson? How could these characters not take her out earlier?" Did I think too much about it? No. 'Cause I was just having too much of a good time watching Sam Raimi do a Doctor Strange film. But I get not everyone's gonna be won over by that.
Final thought[]
Doug (vo): So I guess a lot of it does depend on what you're looking for. Me personally, I got exactly what I was looking for. Weird visuals, creepy imagery, some trippy ideas...hey, did you know that when you go to sleep, your dreams are happening in a different universe? I love shit like that. I even kind of love the fact that the Boner joke in WandaVision now... (An image of Ralph Boner from WandaVision, who looks and acts like Quicksilver from the X-Men franchise, is shown) ...is kind of justified. It really was just a troll joke, because, yes, they are acknowledging they can go into different universes where cast members from X-Men movies play the same characters. And I'm not gonna lie, I think that justifies this cameo, and the fact that everyone got upset about it makes me laugh at it even more. But, yes, I guess from a storytelling level, there are issues with it that some people are not gonna be able to see past, and rightfully so. But I definitely think there's a lot of people out there like me that says, "Who gives a crap? It's Sam Raimi and Doctor Strange being the most Sam Raimi and Doctor Strange they can." So take that for what it's worth. On that note, did you think this being a Sam Raimi film was enough to say it and you had a good time, or did you find that distracting and found it took away from a lot? Let me know your thoughts, and maybe I'll see you in the eye of another universe.
(The film's final scene, showing Doctor Stephen Strange unexpectedly developing a third eye on his forehead, is shown)