It’s been five years since we saw the madness of Doctor Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) in his debut movie, “Doctor Strange,” and haven’t heard much from him since he turned into a pile of dust in “Infinity War.” So far, his second film, “Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” has reached the $700 million dollar mark, profiting $500 million dollars since the movie’s budget itself was $200 million dollars. “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness” is expected to pass “Fast & Furious 9” at the $721 million mark, and “The Batman” at a $769 million global box office total, however, the film is not expected to surpass “Spider-Man: No Way Home” $1.8 billion mark. It is now the fourth film to exceed $700 million at the domestic box office since the pandemic.
Madness ensues into a growing monster of grief and horror, creating sorrow and hate which is shown throughout the movie. The film is set after “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” and after that movie’s heartbreaking end, we venture more into Strange’s forbidden spell. As we learn more about the Multiverse, Strange teams up with a girl he sees in his dreams (played by Xochitl Gomez), and they travel through universes, running away from an evil force that Strange himself cannot defeat. It’s an epic mix of horror and thriller, once again proving Disney and Marvel can take high risks and still gain profit and praise.
Jason Torres, a senior at Franklin High School, enjoyed seeing Dr. Strange return to the big screen. “I personally thought the movie was mid, but there were some really good parts that I liked seeing. I really liked the horror aspects of the movie, it was nice seeing something new.” The thriller worked perfectly with the theme of the movie. “I also liked how they introduced America Chavez, it wasn’t too dramatic,” Torres comments. It’s nice to finally see a character entrance without dramatic effect.
Although CGI fights and epic cinematography could improve the entertainment value, it just adds a lot more to the MCU timeline. Some parts of the movie, you had to really think “wait, what does that mean?” And after you try to figure out the dialogue then something else pops up, so I suggest watching it twice to fully understand the story. With a heavily crafted villain, who was nearly six years in the making, it had many possibilities of a good-to-bad character. This was my main critique of the movie: it had lots of potential for the villain, but limited possibilities of further character development.
The movie was not the best, nor the worst, but it shows what directors can do with superheroes. More than one genre can make a superhero movie, or any movie in general with the right blend and themes. This film proved that Marvel can be so much more than daddy, mommy, anger, and abandonment issues. They successfully took a character’s grief and created a very powerful character with a clear motive. “Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” having an action packed thriller approach could be the start of more creative blends of genres.