It Gets Awfully Strange In The 'Multiverse Of Madness'
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Rachel McAdams
Rated PG-13
Fantasy, Adventure, Action
Run time: 2 hr, 6 min
Directed by Sam Raimi
In theaters May 6, 2022
In the world of Marvel, a standalone superhero movie no longer seems to exist. A character’s name in a title no longer means it will revolve solely around this one incredible being. Ever since Captain America: Civil War, comic book movies have gotten bigger and bigger. In phase four, that’s even more true. The most recent outing for Spider-Man features a strong plot line around Doctor Strange (Cumberbatch), of all people, which perfectly sets up that character’s own next film. And while I can’t get into exactly how this movie pulls in other characters in the effort to remain spoiler free (I promise!), it’s interesting to see how every comic book movie doesn’t just build on previous tales, but pulls them all in. When you throw in the TV shows from Disney+, the MCU is starting to become as sprawling as the print medium it comes from.
While Multiverse of Madness doesn’t refer too much to the events of Strange’s last cinematic outing beyond a couple snarky remarks about being familiar with the idea of other universes, it clearly picks up relatively soon after Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, this film isn’t trying to sort out what an alternate universe is or what it really means, but rather explore them and integrate them into the world we’ve already seen and become familiar with. A young woman with incredible powers named America (Gomez) appears suddenly in NYC, and her arrival pulls Strange - and Wong (Wong) - into an adventure that factors in other worlds in a way we hadn’t seen before.
I know my summary may be annoyingly vague, but one of Marvel’s most impressive qualities is the ability to give us so much footage in a trailer without really telling us anything (which we don’t realize until we are in the theater and see how it all factors in), and I want to respect that. While these films still seem to follow the standard plot outline we’ve come to expect (life is normal, a wrench is thrown into things, hero resists, hero is pulled in, trials and tribulations occur, big battle scene of some kind, triumph), there are more twists than I’m used to seeing in blockbusters, and knowing as little as possible seems to increase enjoyment. That all being said, one of Multiverse’s biggest strengths is how it incorporates all the aspects we’ve expected from trailer snippets and internet rumors. It takes a sprawling, overwhelming world and manages to pull us through it with just enough confusion to keep us guessing, but not so much that we are absolutely lost.
With all that praise about how well Marvel is handling plots, I have to note that the writing of this movie is subpar, especially considering the quality of the dialogue that comes from so many films in this universe. I was cringing or rolling my eyes so many times as lines were said, which is not something that often occurs with these films. There were cliches, clunky deliveries, “telling rather than showing” moments and cheesy conversations. A bad or weak script is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to movies, and this one did not hold up. The plot would have kept it above a 4 out of 5, but my frustration with the dialogue really pulled me out of it and made me drop its rating more than I would have wanted. Thankfully, I suspect the next Marvel outing with Thor will bring us back to the tone we’ve come to love.