DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS

The few times Sam Raimi brings tangible reality to the CGI overload are the only instances this meek Marvel film comes alive.

The return of Sam Raimi to the superhero fold after giving us some of the finest movies in the genre should have been a reason to rejoice. But even he cannot prevent Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness from being another meek, fan-serving Marvel movie, more invested in click-bait cameos and setting up further adventures than in telling a compelling tale of its own.

The plot sees the once Sorcerer Supreme travel to alternate dimensions in order to stop a familiar foe from destroying every possible universe out there, but this is merely an excuse to stuff the screen with glossy, overwrought CGI, the makers perhaps hoping that this will distract the audience enough to not notice the glaring plot holes and overall blandness of the narrative.

Raimi does bring a tangible reality to several scenes - a first act fight with a tentacled monster even seems like a retooled Doc Ock scene - and he has fun with some schlocky horror elements in the picture's final act, but those are the only instances where Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness even remotely comes alive.

release: 2022

director: Sam Raimi

starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong