By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
It should come as no surprise with
Sam Raimi helming
"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," that his dark humor and horror is prevalent throughout the highly anticipated sequel. Afterall, this is the "Evil Dead" and "Drag Me to Hell" guy.
It's really the first time too that horror has been introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Maybe that's why I liked "Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness" a tad more than 2016's "Doctor Strange."
"Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness," from screenwriter Michael Waldron (TV's "Loki"), covers a lot of ground and moves at warp speed. There is hardly a dull moment throughout its 126 minutes runtime.
The movie opens with a bang and features a gigantic, one-eyed, octopus-like creature wreaking havoc in New York City and chasing a teen girl named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez, TV's "The Baby-Sitters Club"). America has special powers that allows her to travel through the multiverse, but someone wants to take those powers away.
When Dr. Strange enlists the help of Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch, (a terrific Elisabeth Olsen, TV’s “WandaVision”), who is a master of magic, telepathy, telekinesis and altered reality, he soon realizes she has ulterior motives.
Now, Doctor Strange is staring at his biggest threat yet, along with a familiar blast from his past; Illuminati member Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor, TV's "The Man who Fell to Earth"). This situation will require him to seek help from Sorcerer Supreme Wong (Benedict Wong, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings") and possibly his old colleague and love interest, Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams, TV’s “What If…?”).
"Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness" is a trippy affair that doesn't always make a lot of sense, but has just the right stuff including cameos from Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart, TV's "Star Trek: Picard"), Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, (John Krasinski, "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan"), Captain Marvel (Lashana Lynch, "No Time to Die"), and Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell, TV's "What If...?").
With the crowd-pleasing "Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness," director Sam Raimi has put a bold and creative stamp on the MCU and left the door wide open for another exciting round of "Madness."
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Watch This Trailer For
"DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
