Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: A Horror-infused Marvel Adventure That Leaves You Wanting More

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is one of the more distinctive entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, largely because it gives Sam Raimi the opportunity to inject his horror sensibilities into a superhero blockbuster. The result is an entertaining and visually inventive sequel that has plenty of ambition, but ultimately feels like it only scratches the surface of what its premise promised.

At its core, the film is about grief, acceptance and the danger of living through “what if?” Stephen Strange and Wanda Maximoff are both defined by significant losses. Strange has to accept that his relationship with Christine Palmer is over as she moves on with her life, while Wanda remains obsessed with the children she created during WandaVision. The difference between them becomes the emotional foundation of the film. Strange learns to accept what he cannot have. Wanda cannot let go.

That makes the film’s themes of acceptance versus obsession particularly effective. Both characters are driven by desire, but they respond to loss in completely different ways. The film asks what happens when grief becomes so overwhelming that getting what you want becomes more important than accepting reality. Wanda’s fixation demonstrates how easily love can become possessiveness when someone refuses to accept that something is gone.

Raimi is the perfect director for this material. His approach gives the MCU a genuine horror flavor without abandoning the spectacle expected from Marvel. Some of the effects and visual choices deliberately recall the look and feel of Evil Dead, while Raimi finds creative ways to move between realities. The camera diving into Wanda’s eye to enter her mind and the use of reflections in water to escape a magical prison are excellent examples of his visual creativity. After his success with the Spider-Man trilogy, Raimi clearly hasn’t lost his touch, and I would happily watch him take another swing at Doctor Strange.

The biggest problem is that the multiverse itself does not live up to its potential. After years of Marvel building toward this concept, audiences were primed for Strange to bounce between countless bizarre realities while trying to escape the Scarlet Witch. Instead, the film primarily explores two alternate universes, with a montage briefly showing several others. The concept is still fascinating, but the execution feels surprisingly limited for a movie with “multiverse” in its title.

Benedict Cumberbatch continues settling comfortably into the role of Stephen Strange. He plays Strange as brash and overconfident while giving him enough vulnerability to make his emotional journey work. His chemistry with Wong remains one of the film’s most reliable strengths, and Wong brings a welcome sense of humor and familiarity whenever he appears.

Elizabeth Olsen is equally committed as Wanda, bringing an almost Terminator-like determination to her pursuit of what she wants. She plays the Scarlet Witch as someone who has allowed grief to completely consume her, making her frightening without losing the emotional motivation behind her actions. Xochitl Gomez is somewhat greener as America Chavez, but the character has plenty of potential.

The action is another strong point. Raimi knows how to make superhero combat feel visually distinct rather than simply throwing characters into another CGI-heavy battle. The music-note sequence is particularly inventive and demonstrates how Strange’s powers can be used in creative ways. The film also understands that horror can make superhero violence feel more unsettling without requiring excessive gore.

The Illuminati sequence is arguably the film’s biggest highlight. Without getting into spoilers, it is the kind of scene that rewards longtime Marvel fans while simultaneously providing significant information about the larger universe. The combination of fanfare, exposition and spectacle makes it one of the most memorable sequences in the MCU’s multiverse era.

Ultimately, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a natural progression from its predecessor and an important piece of the MCU’s larger multiverse storyline. Raimi’s direction gives it an identity that separates it from the standard Marvel formula, while Cumberbatch and Olsen provide strong performances built around the film’s themes of grief and acceptance. But the movie’s biggest weakness is also its greatest missed opportunity: the multiverse should have felt much bigger. What we get is enjoyable and often visually spectacular, but it leaves you wondering how much better this could have been if Marvel had truly embraced the limitless possibilities of its premise.