Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

The emergence of Sam Raimi in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been the best possible news, within the superhero cinematographic context, that we could take this 2022. At Marvel, they are convinced that the authors must be folded to the guidelines of the mother house: policy of producers from title 0 to series n+1. But that has its risks and the latest Disney/Marvel productions: Captain Marvel (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), Black Widow (2021), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), Eternals (2021) and Spider-Man: No-way Home(2021); with all their successes (many) and errors (a few), they did suffer from a lack of authorial character -and that Chloë Zhao came to leave her mark- that was redeemed in the face of spectacularity and, in some cases (like the last Spider-Man), innovation of the proposals.

In Marvel, everything is rethought down to the last comma of the accidental dialogue of the third post-credits scene of the last series broadcast: ergo Feige’s gesture of reincorporating Raimi, replacing Scott Derrickson, into the Marvel world, created as many questions as illusions about. Would they leave Raimi a free hand to unleash his particular coven of hilarious terror in a production line so hermetic to the authorial gesture? Or, on the contrary, would it come to fulfill shot by shot what was marked in the script and make money without saying this mouth is mine?

Having seen and enjoyed the movie, the truth is that I couldn’t be happier. For so many reasons. The basic one is the same as always: Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness (great title, by the way), is not only a great hit of contemporary fantastic cinema with overwhelming images of impossible worlds and terrifying creatures devouring each plane, but it is also entertainment on a grand scale: funny, spectacular, terrifying at times, and deeply dramatic in its treatment of its villain (no spoilers).

The staging of the multiverse in a real image -we had already verified the animated part in the tremendous series What If…-has left room for Raimi to play Christopher NolanOrigin( 2010), crossing impossible worlds in space and time adventures that run in parallel to enhance the adrenaline of the action. With a deep comic base, Raimi plays to invent worlds and multiply characters, turning the pathos of each one without us knowing what we are going to find at each moment or if this will now be a positive hero or a crazy villain.

If in the last Spider-Man the multiverse brought characters from past movies (by, of course, Raimi and Marc Webb ) to Earth 616, in the new adventure of Doctor Strange -that’s what those of us who have gone bankrupt buying comics- it is the sorcerer who travels to other Earths creating the roots of what, without a doubt, will be the future of cinematographic Marvel, which to the delight of fans, will once again have to do with the great work of Jonathan Hickman in his line of comics for Avengers.

Thus, the film presents both future protagonists and old acquaintances, creating a fan service that, far from looking to the past, seems to project a nostalgia for the future that makes us rub our hands at what awaits us.

Of course, the best news is, again, that Sam Raimi has been able to sneak into a blockbuster event with his particular way of understanding the fantastic. That is to say, he has been able to strain part of his horrific imagery and his corrosive humor and inoculate it like a pathogen in the superhero movie with the greatest personality that we have seen in a long time (I think of Marvel, that of DC Zack Snyder, you like it or you hate it, not something else but personality it has to drown you). If you have seen the Evil Dead trilogy: Hell Possession (1981), Terrifyingly Dead (1987), and Army of Darkness(1992), you’ll know what I’m talking about, and if you haven’t, stop reading right now and go see them!

That is why the images of this Doctor Strange… are so irrefutably delicious for fans of Raimi in particular and the fantastic in general. Lovecraft, gore, zombies, crystals, demons… there is everything in Raimi’s imagination and it’s all good. It will be interesting to see how fans respond to such a succulent menu of entrails.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT:

In this new adventure, Doctor Strange will test the limits of his powers and this will lead him to explore a new dimension of his abilities. Like never before, Marvel’s famed wizard will explore the dark corners of the Multiverse, where he must reckon with allies new and old if he is to survive the Multiverse’s dangerous alternate realities and face a mysterious new enemy.