80/100

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness is without a doubt Marvel’s most ambitious and technically challenging film that, dazzling and blowing the mind of the viewer at each and every turn. A big complaint that many have spoken on with Marvel’s more recent projects is that everything is so formulaic and predictable, never doing much to push any boundaries and show things to the audience not seen before. Sam Raimi jumps in the directors chair and laughs wholeheartedly at that opinion, absolutely going for it in every single scene and inserting his beloved and iconic style of horror filmmaking into the MCU. Some of the things that are accomplished by Raimi in this film are things nobody could have imagined in a Marvel film before, or any film in any genre at that. Many will complain about the film not being “kid-friendly” and falsely advertised, but right from the moment it was announced, this film was to be a straight horror film, and that’s exactly what audiences get. Benedict Cumberbatch is very good once again in his role as Stephen Strange, but the real showstopper that will be engrained in the mind of audiences for time to come is Elizabeth Olsen’s devilish and haunting portrayal of Wanda, delving into parts of the complex character that were never even close to being brought to screen before. Xochitl Gomez also really impresses as America Chavez in her debut in the role, and audiences will look forward to what the future has in store for her character in future projects.

Multiverse of Madness has to be one of the most, if not the most, polarizing films ever released in the MCU. Some people are going to leave the film with expectations fully met and satisfied while others may be stunned at what they just watched in a film on as big of a scale as a Marvel property, but there is no denying that the film is destined to go down alongside pretty much Sam Raimi’s entire film catalogue as a cult classic that never has to be at risk of fading away or not being remembered. There are a good amount of other MCU films that I see as “better” than Multiverse of Madness, but I’d be lying to you if I said many of those films are more memorable or worthy of a multiple rewatches.