Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is one of the best movies of the year – and one of the worst. It checks all the boxes like excellent cinematography, stunning sound design and hilarious humor. But much like the rest of the recent Marvel filmography, I cannot help but think of what the movie could have been.

Directed by Sam Raimi, the Doctor Strange sequel follows its namesake – Dr. Steven Strange – in a risky, cross-dimensional adventure that blends science fiction, superheroes and fantasy. The film serves as Raimi’s re-introduction to the superhero genre after his last contribution, Spider-Man 3 (2007), proved to be a critical disappointment. Although many would assume Raimi’s haitus makes him a bad choice for this film, DSMOM definitely caught me off guard (at least initially). Aside from a fun introductory sequence as well as a handful of hilarious moments, the movie doesn’t do much to differentiate itself from other recent Marvel films.

First, I should say that it’s easy to distinguish the Sam Raimi sections from the corporate-Marvel ones. The movie contains many hilarious, self-aware moments and jokes (which I cannot name for the sake of spoilers) that had me dying from laughter. Much like Raimi’s other films (such as Evil Dead and Spider-Man, both from 2002), the film also treads the line between different genres, jumping between comedy, action and even horror. While these moments are fun for the viewer, they all come with a sense of superficiality. Sure, many superhero films center around extremely trivial conflicts – even the original Doctor Strange felt more like a psychedelic trip than an origin story. The difference here, however, is that this movie is infinitely more incomprehensible.

DSMOM has numerous glaring issues in its narrative structure and characters. Although the film delivers on the trailers’ tantalizing tagline, “Enter a new world of strange,” the film itself feels shallow, giving no real method to this madness. It is a spectacle that constantly ramps up the action with no reward. For whatever little plot does exist, it’s practically incomprehensible if you didn’t watch WandaVision. The introduction to the movie – which lasts about five minutes – assumes that the audience already knows the context of the conflict before thrusting them into an hour and a half of inter-dimensional shenanigans. Even if you possess the required knowledge, the movie introduces and establishes things before you have an opportunity to react and then never circles back. It’s almost as if Sam Raimi were trying to craft his magnum opus superhero film, only to be forced to implement obligatory scenes of campiness.

Although there were definitely some great moments in DSMOM, it is undoubtedly one of the weaker entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s definitely refreshing to see Raimi direct another Marvel movie, though. After all, a Doctor Strange sequel probably wouldn’t exist if he hadn’t cemented superheroes as an essential part of pop culture with his Spider-Man trilogy.  
Unfortunately, once you get past the movie’s Raimi moments, it immediately crumbles. It feels like the production team wanted to create an extremely fun and ridiculous film, but was stopped halfway through. Seeing that, as of May 11, this movie has already grossed over $500 million worldwide, I can only hope that a future entry in the Doctor Strange series will tone down the cheesy Marvel-ness and explore more of Strange’s character, Sam Raimi-style.

Thumbnail courtesy of Marvel Entertainment / YouTube.