Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

There is a specific, giddy brand of cruelty that only Sam Raimi can bring to a hundred-million-dollar blockbuster, and you see it the moment a giant, one-eyed octopus starts throwing city buses around Manhattan. It isn't just the scale; it’s the way the camera zooms into the creature’s eyeball with a frantic, slightly deranged energy that feels more like Evil Dead II than a standard corporate product. I watched this film while wearing a pair of novelty socks with tiny tacos on them that were way too tight, and I’m convinced the restricted blood flow to my feet actually made the reality-warping sequences feel more authentic.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrived at a strange crossroads for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Released in 2022, it had to navigate the "homework" era of streaming, where you essentially needed a Disney+ subscription to understand why Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff was suddenly trying to tear the cosmos apart. It’s a film that leans heavily into the contemporary "franchise-as-ecosystem" model, but it’s frequently saved by the fact that Sam Raimi (who gave us the original Spider-Man trilogy) clearly cares more about creative camera angles and rotting corpses than he does about multi-year release schedules.

The Sorcerer, The Witch, and The Slasher Villain

At its core, the film is a chase movie. Xochitl Gomez plays America Chavez, a teenager with the power to punch star-shaped holes between universes, who finds herself hunted by a corrupted Wanda. Elizabeth Olsen is the MVP here; she ditches the superhero tropes and leans fully into a 1970s-style slasher villain. There are moments where she limps through a tunnel, covered in oil and blood, that feel genuinely unnerving for a PG-13 film.

Benedict Cumberbatch remains perfectly cast as Stephen Strange, though he is often the straight man in his own sequel. Michael Waldron’s screenplay forces Strange to confront his own ego through various alternate versions of himself, but the real fun is watching Benedict Wong (as the long-suffering Wong) try to keep the mystical world from collapsing while everyone else is having a mid-life crisis. The action choreography shifts from the "kaleidoscope" magic of the first film to something more physical and jagged. There’s a musical-note fight sequence that is so weird and literal—characters literally throwing staves of music at each other—that it feels like a fever dream. It’s polarizing, sure, but I’d rather see a director take a swing at something that bizarre than sit through another gray-colored punch-fest in a parking lot.

The High Cost of Fan Service

In this era of cinema, the "cameo" has become a currency of its own, and Multiverse of Madness spends that currency like a drunken sailor. The middle act takes us to Earth-838, where we meet the Illuminati, a secret society of heroes that includes some massive, internet-breaking surprises. The Illuminati sequence is essentially a high-budget way of telling fans to be careful what they wish for, as Raimi proceeds to dismantle them in the most gruesome ways the Disney lawyers would allow. It’s a bold move that mocks the very concept of "fan-casting" while it’s happening.

Behind the scenes, the production was a bit of a juggernaut. With a staggering budget of $290 million, it’s one of the most expensive films ever made. Much of that went into the seamless CGI and the incredible sets, but it also reflects the chaos of filming during a pandemic. The film underwent significant reshoots to tighten the story and add more of those multiverse-hopping thrills. It’s also notable for its score by Danny Elfman, who stepped in for Michael Giacchino (the composer of The Batman). Elfman brings his signature gothic whimsicality, which pairs perfectly with the cinematography of John Mathieson, who previously worked on Gladiator. They give the film a texture that feels more like a dark fairy tale than a science-fiction movie.

A Landmark of the Franchise Era

While the film grossed a massive $955 million worldwide, its legacy is still being debated in the context of "superhero fatigue." For me, it stands out because it doesn't feel like it was made by a committee—at least not entirely. You can feel the tension between the "Marvel Formula" and Sam Raimi’s desire to make a horror movie. There are "deadites," jump scares, and a sequence involving a "Dreamwalking" zombie Strange that is pure, unadulterated camp.

It’s a movie that demands you keep up with the lore, which is the double-edged sword of contemporary cinema. If you haven't seen WandaVision, Wanda’s motivation might feel abrupt. But if you're willing to go along for the ride, it’s a visually arresting spectacle that proves there’s still room for a specific directorial voice in the middle of a billion-dollar franchise. Doctor Strange is technically the least interesting person in his own movie, but when he’s surrounded by this much creative chaos, it hardly matters.

Ultimately, this is a film that thrives on its eccentricities. It marks a moment where Marvel started to get "weird" again, even if the weight of the broader universe occasionally threatens to pull the whole thing down. It’s a fast-paced, spooky, and occasionally heart-wrenching adventure that reminds us why we go to the big screen in the first place: to see things we can't possibly imagine, even if we need a wiki page to explain why they're happening. It's a fun, messy, and loud explosion of creativity that I suspect will be remembered as one of the more unique entries in this massive cinematic puzzle.