‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Film Review: Sam Raimi Brings Visual Pop to a Less-than-Magical Adventure
thewrap.comMadball designed by H.P. Lovecraft.)America, it turns out, is the only being who can hop from universe to universe, only she has no idea how to control it. (It kicks in only when she’s afraid for her life.) Naturally, it’s the kind of power that should never fall into the wrong hands, so of course the wrong hands are doing everything possible to take it for themselves, leading America and Dr.
Strange to universe-hop until they can figure out how to protect the girl and her abilities. (If this sounds vague, it’s because this review is intended to be as spoiler-free as possible.)The powers of Doctor Strange (as manifested in his first film and subsequent appearances in other Marvel projects) allow filmmakers to create M.C.
Escher–esque kaleidoscopes of collapsing reality, and Raimi absolutely takes advantage of the opportunities to send everyone and everything on screen helter-skelter.
There’s a memorably trippy montage of Dr. Strange and America falling through universe after universe, with different styles of architecture, cinematography (by John Mathieson, “Detective Pikachu”), and even the physical makeup of the characters themselves. “Multiverse of Madness” is at its best in those all-too-rare moments when that madness comes through, with Danny Elfman’s spot-on score offering just the right support to both the heroics and the trippiness.“Doctor Strange” introduced us to a character who is brilliant and arrogant, a man who loses everything he has but reinvents himself, transforming from a legendary surgeon to a master of the mystic arts.
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