multiverse

Review: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

a reel of film

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a film in the Marvel Cinematic universe from 2022. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch. It also stared Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez and Rachel McAdams as Dr. Christine Palmer.

One hazard for Marvel Studios is the risk of requiring context from earlier releases to understand more recent movies. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness falls prey to this monster. There are a few Marvel Cinematic Universe feature films that would be helpful to understand. This includes the first Dr. Strange and Avengers: Age of Ultron. However, Multiverse of Madness also has the Disney+ series WandaVision as an almost obligatory prerequisite because it introduces the Scarlet Witch character and develops her story in ways essential to Multiverse.

The Marvel multiverse concept is explored further in this movie. The Disney+ TV series What If…? is a good introduction to the Marvel Studio understanding of that idea. One idea added by this film is that, in dreams, you are experiencing the life of a different version of yourself in another part of the multiverse.

The “canon events” of Doctor Strange’s story (to borrow an idea from Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse) are assumed to be familiar. The movie begins with the wedding of Christine Palmer and is the film’s first reference to their failed relationship. Their misaligned love affair is an important detail throughout the movie. (See the Disney+ show What If…? for a detailed demonstration of their disconnection.) These beats aren’t difficult to explain, but for someone coming to the film unprepared, they are puzzling situations.

The film had luscious visuals of the many different environments traversed through the film. America has a really interesting power that motivates the story: she can provide access to different parts of the multiverse. Having her superpower be a star shaped portal makes sense considering her name, America, as it alludes to the United States’ flag.

The story has some characteristics of a classical tragedy where one character has a fatal flaw that leads to their downfall. It’s unfortunate that WandaVision is the foundation that explains that part of the story. It is the whole motivation for most the film’s events. The movie doesn’t have a shortcut to understand the Scarlet Witch and her family dynamics.

When I was looking around for links for this review, I found a Dr. Strange TV movie from 1978 that might be fun to watch. It is available for streaming. There is also an animated Dr. Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme from 2007 that is available through my library.

I watched the movie again because it jumped in front of me at the library. It’s not a great movie but I didn’t regret watching it a second time, so it’s not awful. I think the number of threads in the movie coming from pre-requisites make it indecipherable without some background in Marvel Studio presentations.

Review: Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

A movie reel

Everything Everywhere All at Once has an intriguing title. The story seems simple, a family that owns a laundromat needs to organize their business. Diedre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis) is investigating the family’s documents for their tax filing. She becomes a menacing monster terrorizing Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) throughout the multiverse.

Out of that simple nugget of a story, Evelyn is distracted by her tangled life. She can’t pay attention to what’s going on but denies her wandering attention. Through the film she finds what her life could have been.

Threaded through the story is humor and the ridiculous possibilities of life. Evelyn finds a way to lighten up each situation. She draws strength from the universes that she visits. Her ability to bring silliness is disarming. The film shows flashes of Evelyn in the different lives that comes from alternative choices. She can switch realities that are linked together so that Evelyn acquires new skills or memories.

When the action stops abruptly, there’s just the emotions of the Evelyn and her daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu). Their chase ends in a stalemate, and they try to sort out what life means. They sit on the edge of a canyon watching the peaceful beauty.

The energy of the film grows out of control with montages of rapid cuts. The screen flits between brief views of Evelyn in many universes. She speeds through possibilities until she has found the resource that the current quandary needs. Googly eyes are used to represent mischief, inner sight and traversing life’s complexity.

The film balances humor, terror and sentimental feelings as the situation turns dangerous and then ludicrous and then emotionally difficult. A path through the multiverse is not easily mapped out. An app on the phone that the universe jumping version of her husband, Waymond Wang (Ke Huy Quan), helps find the right path. The red pill is pressing a green button on the earpiece of a Bluetooth headset. Evelyn learns there she has so many possibilities because of her imagination and flexibility.

Eventually, she still can’t pay attention but is willing to come “back to earth” and acknowledge her quirks. The changes might not stop, but her zany character is game to find a way through them.