It’s hard to put my finger on why “Madness of the Multiverse” didn’t impress me. Granted it gave me a lot of what my fanboy heart desired from the MCU but at the end of the day it’s a fairly mediocre Marvel Cinematic installment.
In Marvel Studios’ “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Maness,” the MCU unlocks the Multiverse and pushes its boundaries further than ever before. Journey into the unknown with Doctor Strange, who, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.
For a movie that clicks right in to “No Way Home,” much of Sam Raimi’s installment in to the MCU feels crowded and clustered all the way through. Raimi has a lot to cover within its time frame and he does so through a lot of running around. The movie rarely ever settles in to let us soak it all in and instead jumps from one place to another time and time again. The inclusion of America Chavez is a great addition to the cinematic universe, but her characterization takes a backseat to most things in the movie. She often feels like a glorified plot device than an actual heroine.
As for the premise, Raimi is in good form here, offering up a dark tale in the MCU that is most welcome. For most people claiming that the MCU is for children, “Madness of the Multiverse” offers up a tale that skirts the R rating with some immensely creepy imagery. It also features the maiming of some characters, which should serve as a jolt to some. “Madness of the Multiverse” doesn’t do much to serve us reasons to like Dr. Strange any more than “Infinity War” made us like Starlord. In either case, it’s a fun movie that needed some major reworking of the script to feel coherent and cohesive. I like it, but can’t see myself ever putting it in my top ten from the MCU.