We’ve gone almost a month without a Marvel film, believe it or not. “Morbius” premiered on April 1st, and “Thor: Love And Thunder” won’t be released until July. This weekend, though, there will be some fan service. “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness,” says critic Bob Mondello.
Doctor Stephen Strange is at a wedding just after the opening titles, keeping a brave front as his beloved Christine marries someone else. Then, maybe to his relief, more traditional Marvel-style bravery is required on the streets of Lower Manhattan. A one-eyed octopus that seems like it could have escaped from Pixar’s “Monsters, Inc.” if it weren’t the size of a small apartment complex, appears to be focused on devouring a bus. Strange swiftly recognises it’s trying to eat an adolescent on the bus and stops it with a lot of flexing of wrists and the help of Sorcerer Supreme Wong.
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Look out, XOCHITL GOMEZ (as America Chavez)
Strange recognizes the child once she is saved. Wasn’t she last night in his dream? Not a dream, she assures him, but another universe in which he was a less trustworthy Doctor Strange.
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BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH: (As Stephen Strange) Things have gotten completely out of control.
The girl’s name is America Chavez, and she’s a multiverse traveler being pursued by a demon, which means people will spend the rest of the film saying things like, “We have to save America,” and “Is America OK?” – but never mind. The film has larger fish to fry, like that octopus. So Strange seeks out an old friend…
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CUMBERBATCH: Wanda.
…as well as the Scarlet Witch.
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ELIZABETH OLSEN (as Wanda Maximoff): I knew you’d show up sooner or later.
CUMBERBATCH: I need your assistance, Stephen Strange.
OLSEN: (As Wanda Maximoff)
CUMBERBATCH: What do you know about the multiverse, Stephen Strange?
After seeing last month’s immensely innovative “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” I now know a little about the multiverse and how it gives you different versions of yourself. That wasn’t exactly excellent practice for Marvel’s multiverse, partly because it’s planned out, whereas Marvel’s tries hard to appear random, and partly because Marvel’s is governed by a distinct set of laws, in addition to the more mundane ones that have always bothered Wanda.
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OLSEN: (As Wanda Maximoff) You defy the odds and emerge victoriously. When I do it, I become my own worst enemy. That doesn’t seem equitable.
Regardless, she gets to act while the others are soaring past a block-iverse (ph) and a paint-iverse (ph) on their way to a flower-draped New York-iverse (ph). There are even splinter unit end credits, which makes sense after seeing Wanda wreck havoc in a hall of mirrors. Anything that can be done with actors gesticulating in front of screens has been done.
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CUMBERBATCH: Are you all right? (As Stephen Strange)
who cut his teeth on the “Evil Dead” trilogy before going family-friendly with the first three “Spider-Man” flicks, will unleash his inner horror freak towards the end of the film. After the filmmaker has dispensed with a full hour or so of explaining things, corpses and wispy black smoke wraiths will go toe-to-toe with lightning bolt-tossing superhero types.
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CUMBERBATCH: (As Stephen Strange) The multiverse is a terrifyingly unknown concept.
That goes double for the dark hold, the Book of Vishanti, and the differences between sorcery and witchcraft. I’ll leave it to you to sort through those. What about the excellent doctor?
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CUMBERBATCH: I never intended for any of this to happen.
In comparison to the unbridled love that audiences feel for, say, Spider-Man, Dr. Strange love appears to be constrained. Not that Benedict Cumberbatch isn’t dedicated; he puts a lot more effort into wiggling his fingers an inch or two as computerized sparks fly than you’d think imaginable. However, his scripts have always felt second-tier in the Marvel universe. And the script for “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness,” the most fun multiverse film released so far in May, is no exception.
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