Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Doctor Strange, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is visually one of the most distinctive MCU entries thanks to Sam Raimi's horror-inflected direction — sharp editing, gothic atmosphere, and genuinely unsettling imagery push cinematography well above the franchise average. Acting is serviceable, with Elizabeth Olsen delivering a committed and menacing Scarlet Witch and Benedict Cumberbatch holding the center. However, the plot is a significant weak point: it rushes through multiverse concepts, sidelines character development for spectacle, and leans heavily on fan-service cameos (the Illuminati) that are squandered almost immediately. The ending resolves tensions too abruptly and conveniently, failing to pay off the emotional stakes built around Wanda. Novelty earns a middling score — Raimi's style is genuinely distinct within the MCU, but the story itself is a fairly standard chase narrative dressed up in multiverse clothes.