Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

I’m a big fan of director Sam Raimi, especially his earlier movies. I love Darkman, Evil Dead II, The Quick and the Dead, Spider-Man and the brilliant Spider-Man 2. I’d heard this film was flawed but I still wanted to see it. I mean, I’m a huge comic book fan, too. I’m also an eternal (foolish) optimist who is a sucker for some fancy visuals.

Wakizashi’s Thoughts

Yes, this film is flawed. The basic plot premise is ridiculous. It shows obvious signs of its reported 50~80% of reshoots. But you know what? I enjoyed it. There, I’ve said it. Unleash your rotten tomatoes. I have been honing my ninja skills for the last twenty years, so I’ll probably dodge most of them in slo-mo Matrix style.

I went in with fairly low expectations and came out smiling. People seem to be forgetting what this is: a comic book movie. I went looking for magical battles between sorcerers and a mad-as-hell Scarlet Witch and that’s exactly what I got. There are some spectacular on-screen depictions of magical moments that could be ripped right off a comic book page. And I was happy with that. Easily pleased? Perhaps.

#ReleaseTheRaimiCut

There are also some truly eye-opening Sam Raimi moments in here. One example is a genuinely creepy visual scene depicting the villain slowly emerging from a polished shield upside-down and on all fours, a bit like Sadako crawling out of your TV screen. Another scene shows two of the heroes fleeing through universe after universe, one universe a cubist’s nightmare, another where everything is made of coloured paint. I wish there were more scenes like these and wonder how many have been swept up off the cutting room floor, as they say.

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Summary

Here is a comment I just posted on dear old Film Authority’s REVIEW of the film. It’s a nice summation of my thoughts:

“I went for Sam Raimi and enjoyed what Sam Raimi was left in the film. I do wonder how much Sam Raimi was left on the cutting room floor though, especially after hearing talk of between 50% to 80% of the film being reshot. And didn’t it feel like it! This is said to be due to the success of Spidey: No Way Home and all the “cameos.” I think it’s also due to the big title card in the credits: “A Kevin Feige Production.” If only he’d retired after Endgame. Ah well, perhaps he did in Universe 666. No wait, that’s our universe, isn’t it? I’d give it 4 stars for the Raimi moments and 2 for the film.”

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Here is a link to a 90-minute discussion and review of the film I did on my YouTube channel yesterday. It’s *Spoiler-Free* for the first 40 minutes.

Discussion / Review of Doctor Strange 2 with Salty Texas C

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Thanks for reading!

-Wakizashi, *Listening to the Danny Elfman score to the Movie as I type this. It’s very good, very Elfman*