If I had been told 15 years ago that a movie like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would be released, I simply would not have believed it possible. I would have been sure that the cinema was too far from accepting something like the proposed idea.
Its impossibility would have responded to the way in which this production drills, like a t-130 drill, in aspects of history that are very typical of comics, such as the multiverse.
In the past, in a field plagued by more conventional adaptations, the idea of the variants of a character, parallel worlds disrupted to the central canon, and all the most typical factors of crises and secret wars, was seen almost as a chimera, an impossible, something cartoon fans could only dream of seeing adapted.
At the same time, and following this line of thought, if they had told me that the film would work more narratively, I would have called it crazy. In fact, he would have called the shrink, requesting that they lock up the insane diffuser of such an illogical proposal.
But Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will not only exist from its premiere this week, but it also works when it comes to unfolding his story. And that makes it an unlikely movie, only possible to be made because of the way this superhero universe has progressed.
The first striking detail of this sequel is that the narrative manages to defend itself beyond the sequences designed so that the Marvel Studios audience screams with the cameo on duty and enhances that virtualization that makes this film a new unmissable event of this endless serial narrative of the MCU.
In its development, there is a base story that emerges with an adventure, in which the young América Chavez is persecuted for her innate ability to jump between universes, and it is Doctor Strange’s task to defend her, accompany her on a cosmic journey and face a threat too powerful enough to face her without the help of a magic book.
In this scenario, and although it is possible to make a series of questions, especially in weaker aspects of the narrative, since a kind of checklist that concatenates the events comes to light, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness still finds the constant light from the hand of its director, Sam Raimi.
Despite the fact that more than one voice may also arise that suggests that the director is in any case with his own moorings that mark a terrain as delimited as this, especially for what must happen to put together the next chapter of this cohesive universe, Raimi’s talent flows with a steady camera that not only shakes hands with what defines the MCU, excessive green screen sequences and all, but also infuses it with doses of terror, body humor typical of the director of Evil Dead 2 and, in a very striking way, sequences that break down the barriers between the imaginable and the visualizable.
Now, is there a sequence in this sequel to Doctor Strange as good and horrifying as the birth of Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2? No, but the task of Sam Raimi and his team to take advantage of the story is constantly present in doses that are not far behind exploring such unexplored terrain in the MCU as terror. And that it comes to light here, instead of remaining as a mere promotional promise, is worth noting.
As for the story, which has a fairly concise script that does a lot in just over two hours of footage, there is not much to address in detail for now, since from its first arc a striking twist is installed that is better not revealed. . Most will simply be surprised by the way the antagonistic threat unfolds, how it connects to the multiverse and the doors that open for a series of cameos.
But the beauty of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is that the surprises and guest appearances don’t matter in the long run, as the film never loses sight of the importance of scrutinizing Stephen Strange, Wanda, and the new addition that they are. represents America Chavez. And in that area, Benedict Cumberbatch is better than ever in the role, because they manage to find the void that marks a character who always wants to control and do everything on his own, while the great star of the film is undoubtedly Elizabeth Olsen because at last, they bring out The Scarlet Witch. All of the above is what matters in the long run, since the development of its mechanics is at the service of what is ultimately at stake.
Finally, perhaps there are people who did not see WandaVision and will see this movie after skipping that segment of the series story. Perhaps there will be another segment of people who have not even seen all the parts of the great puzzle that Marvel Studios has been putting together in film and television. But what they achieve with this film, whether capturing the possibilities of the multiverse or exploring the most magical corners of these superheroes, is not only possible to be understood, but above all else to be enjoyed. And that this is achieved is what 15 years ago I would never have expected.
Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness will have a preview this May 4. Its official premiere will take place on May 5.