Doctor Strange 2 is a Wild Ride Through the Multiverse
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is branching out towards a multiverse of genres.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits the ground running and rarely slows down. Oh and If you came for Wanda and the cameos you won’t be disappointed.
Warning. Spoilers ahead!
Doctor Strange 2
This movie opens with a bang.
An alternate universe Doctor Strange and America Chavez trying to escape a demon sent by Wanda to abduct the girl so she can extract her power and use it to cross the multiverse to be with her children she magically conjured up during her time in Westview, New Jersey.
Breathe.
Of course, we learn some of that a bit later.
Doctor Strange
The Doctor himself is great in this movie. Benedict Cumberbatch does a fantastic job portraying Steven Strange as he always does. He spends a lot of time throughout the film reflecting on his place in the world, and now, the multiverse.
Easily one of the best scenes in the film is Doctor Strange reanimating the corpse of himself from another universe. Becoming Necromancer Strange and using that power to overpower Wanda. Unfortunately, he was dreamwalking, basically possessing, a dead body which Wanda thusly takes advantage of later.
I did wish they’d had a bigger fight at the end. Necromancer Strange against the Scarlett Witch. It was a bit of a lost opportunity with the magical display the two of them could have put on. Still awesome to see though.
Strange learns that multiple versions of himself make decisions that have vast destructive impacts on the universes they’re from. The knowledge and power he can harness is dangerous to so many if he makes the wrong decisions.
Much like Wanda.
Wanda
She has so many fans and they may be divided after seeing this film. While many can empathize or have sympathy for her pain over her losses of Vision and her children what she does in this movie should be unforgivable.
I say should be because I’m sure she’ll return later and be accepted as a reformed woman.
After what she did to the people of Westview and how many people she killed across multiple universes I can’t just accept her as a hero. She wasn’t mind-controlled. She wasn’t doing someone else’s bidding under a threat she couldn’t deny.
Wanda decided to do the things she did. She discussed this with Strange before doing it. She tried to use the excuse of being a mother to justify her actions.
A garbage excuse.
How many mothers and fathers did she kill throughout the multiverse trying to chase down and kill someone else’s child?
That said, I loved every minute of it. My second favorite shot of the film was The Scarlet Witch coming out of the mirror in the temple. It was the best mix of creepy and incredible that you could ask for.
She made an excellent villain in my opinion and I wish she’d stay one. The MCU(Marvel Cinematic Universe) could use a villain like her sticking around. However, she’s too popular to go that route with so we won’t be seeing that.
Cameos
Arguably the most comedic part of the movie was how The Scarlet Witch disposed of Earth 838’s mightiest heroes. The Illuminati. Well, now there’s only one left but the cameos were fun.
Notably Patrick Stewart as Professor X and John Krasinski as Mr. Fantastic.
It was very clever how Wanda dealt with Black Bolt seeing as how He definitely could have killed her. That could also be Kevin Feige’s way of letting everyone know how much he hates the Inhumans.
He’ll take from their stories and never give them the spotlight.
I do think it was a bit suspect how Captain Marvel died, however. A statue? That’s all it takes? Now sure you can argue that her powers absorb energy and not necessarily blunt force but it felt a little easy. Well, easy for how powerful Captain Marvels are in the MCU. I still think The Scarlet Witch should win that fight but just in a different way.
The Charlize Theron cameo playing Clea did surprise me in the mid-credits scene. This should take Doctor Strange further off on his own magical path into the dark dimension.
Notable Mentions
This is all Wong’s fault.
I said it.
That girl sacrificed herself to destroy the Darkhold. Catching Wanda mid-channel and severing her connection. Wanda threatens a few red shirts and Wong gives up the secrets only he knows which are Wanda’s only real way to continue her rampage.
Had Wong simply said no and allowed Wanda to kill him and the other few still alive she would have been at a dead end. She couldn’t have traversed the multiverse without a copy of the Darkhold.
Captain Britain getting sliced in half with her own shield is Wong’s fault. Just remember that. Thanks to him she could only do this “another few seconds.”
I’m also questioning the power level of Strange and Wanda going forward.
From the mid-credits scene, we know that Doctor Strange held onto some of the power he gained from his use of the Darkhold. Wanda destroying all the Darkholds throughout the multiverse doesn’t affect the power he already gained from it. That goes for Wanda as well.
They should both be even more powerful going forward.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was thought to close the book on the multiverse. It hasn’t though. America Chavez can now open portals to any universe she wants anytime she wants. Loki is still running around with the TVA, and we don’t actually know where Wanda is.
This movie is a fun ride and worth seeing in theaters. The visuals are fantastic and the magic is wonderfully used within the MCU. Doctor Strange’s next outing in the MCU looks like it’s also going to be a film you shouldn’t miss. Much like this one.
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