Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness (2022) (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

 

[Jake Lipson]

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will stream on Disney+ June 22:



This is a 48-day theatrical window between Thursday, May 5 and Wednesday, June 22.

 

[Edwin-S]

Not a terrible film, but I found it rather convoluted and somewhat exhausting. I didn't really find the characters engaging and really couldn't invest into caring about what happened to them and their situations; although, Wanda going all grimdark was kind of nasty. Visually striking in a lot of places and the 3D was good; although, I found the 3D in the AVATAR: Way of Water trailer more interesting. Cameron may not be the greatest storyteller, but I think he understands how to use 3D effectively compared to most other directors.

 

[Museum Pieces]

Big fan of the first movie. If you had told me I would watch this once and have no desire to see it again, I am not sure I would have believed you. I didn't care about America (I didn't know her). I resented the movie making me hate Wanda. I never believed she would kill all those living creatures for two kids. Surely she learned her lesson. I thought all the cameos were fun...all the match ups and fights were amusing. But that doesn't make a worthwhile movie. I didn't really care. The movie is basically about stopping a crazy woman (who I once loved) from killing a bunch of people to steal two kids. The death toll is never even talked about. Wanda's motivation just never convinced me. I didn't believe it. A pretty big letdown after waiting all this time to see it. I will always believe things would have been better if Dickerson had remained at the helm.

 

[jayembee]

I resented the movie making me hate Wanda. I never believed she would kill all those living creatures for two kids. Surely she learned her lesson.

It wasn't really Wanda doing that. She'd been corrupted by the Darkhold. I thought it was rather obvious from the tag scene in the finale of WandaVision that her studying the Darkhold was not going to end well.

 

[Museum Pieces]

It wasn't really Wanda doing that. She'd been corrupted by the Darkhold. I thought it was rather obvious from the tag scene in the finale of WandaVision that her studying the Darkhold was not going to end well.

You make a valid point. But here's my point. When I potentially have to remember every scene in every movie and TV episode to understand the main motivation of a character in a motion picture that comes out months or years later, that's asking too much.

If that had been Vision that had to stop her, I would have been glued to my seat, probably in tears. But I felt no connection between her or Strange or any of the other characters except for Strange and Christine, but that was all coming from the previous movie.

So many of these MCU movies and TV series make so many allusions and winks and nods to one another I feel like that has too many times become more important than telling a story. Even if I forget Wanda's motivation, it simply wasn't an emotionally engaging or satisfying movie to me. It was all convoluted. Some nice things I had never seen before, like the musical notes being used as weapons--and the universe where they were paint--fun, imaginative stuff to be sure. But that doesn't give a movie a heart or a soul.

 

[Joe Wong]

You make a valid point. But here's my point. When I potentially have to remember every scene in every movie and TV episode to understand the main motivation of a character in a motion picture that comes out months or years later, that's asking too much.

If that had been Vision that had to stop her, I would have been glued to my seat, probably in tears. But I felt no connection between her or Strange or any of the other characters except for Strange and Christine, but that was all coming from the previous movie.

So many of these MCU movies and TV series make so many allusions and winks and nods to one another I feel like that has too many times become more important than telling a story. Even if I forget Wanda's motivation, it simply wasn't an emotionally engaging or satisfying movie to me. It was all convoluted. Some nice things I had never seen before, like the musical notes being used as weapons--and the universe where they were paint--fun, imaginative stuff to be sure. But that doesn't give a movie a heart or a soul.

While I agree that in general, Multiverse of Madness is a lower tier MCU film (for me), I would have to say the fact that the MCU is so interconnected is one of the draws for me. I understand it can be hard to remember stuff from a film or TV show from a while ago (I know I miss a lot of stuff!) but the content is there if one wants to refresh their memories. I enjoy things like a scene/event from a previous entry which might have seemed innocuous at the time come full circle during a current entry.

But I also understand that if one prefers more "standalone" type entries, the MCU has evolved so much and grown so big it can be difficult to appreciate each entry.

It's happening in the Star Wars universe now... where there are events in Obi-Wan Kenobi (the TV series) that have greater meaning if one has seen, for example, Clone Wars (which I haven't seen). I accept that I may not connect the dots, but the content is there if I wanted to, or I'll read some article that would give me some insight.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will stream on Disney+.June 22:



This is a 48-day theatrical window between Thursday, May 5 and Wednesday, June 22.

Anybody know when the Assembled documentary for this movie will be available? I think I might enjoy that more than the movie itself.

Watched the "IMAX Enhanced" version on Disney+ tonight; I'd only seen the scope version before, on a regular screen in theaters. Presentation was excellent; the additional picture information the top and bottom made the various worlds they hopped into a little more immersive, and the HDR was top notch with excellent contrast.

I'm still lukewarm on the movie itself, though. I wasn't enticed at all by Charlize Theron pulling him into another adventure in the last scene. It just felt like the MCU machinery grinding forward.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Anybody know when the Assembled documentary for this movie will be available?

I haven't seen anything about that. But Disney has a tendency to announce release dates for those and then move them. Hawkeye and Moon Knight weren't up when they were originally supposed to be, and just typing that out made me realize I haven't watched those documentaries yet. I've given up trying to track the logic behind when those things get put up.

 

[Citizen87645]

The Pitch Meeting nails most of my problems with the movie. The video contains spoilers if anyone reading this still hasn't seen the movie yet.

This covers a lot of them for me, too. My main issue was it big screen re-hashing Wanda's trauma from WandaVision, and then it being wrapped up in these two kids with whom we have very little connection (and who don't come off as particularly endearing -- that ice cream song definitely did them no favors ). This complaint reminds me a bit of the feeling I had following Star Trek: Into Darkness (coincidentally also starring Cumberbatch), where at the end, I basically thought, "Oh, now they are going to start on the star trek..."

 

[Jake Lipson]

The Honest Trailer is here.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Xochitl Gomez who played America I enjoyed and I kept wondering who she reminded me of. Then I remembered the series Bones and Michaela Conlin who played Angela. The biography of Xochitl on IMDB is sparse and doesn’t mention her parents and Colin’s biography doesn’t mention a daughter. The ages seem right for them to be mother and daughter but apparently they are not.

What a resemblance. They could sure play mother and daughter on screen.

 

[Jake Lipson]

How It Should Have Ended:

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Colin’s biography doesn’t mention a daughter.

Correct. I have no kids!

 

[harleyquinn]

I liked the way the actors played off of one another. I loved those stylistic touches that only Raimi can bring to this type of film. I also really loved that fight towards the end that involved sound. I thought that was really well done. I would have liked the film more if it picked a side. More horror or more comedy. It tried to straddle that line, and I think that was to the film's detriment.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Anybody know when the Assembled documentary for this movie will be available? I think I might enjoy that more than the movie itself.

In case you haven't already noticed it, the documentary is up now.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

In case you haven't already noticed it, the documentary is up now.

Watched it tonight while I was doing some house cleaning. Some observations:

• This one is hosted by Bruce Campbell, playing a version of himself that is a cross between Robert Osborne introducing movies on TCM and Jonathan Frakes on "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction".
• One thing that was very clear to the people making the movie, but less clear I think to the audience, was the extent to which the Darkhold had corrupted Wanda. The difference between the Wanda who released her hold on Westview and the Wanda of this movie is the difference in Superman III between Superman just after he's received the knockoff Kryptonite and when he's fighting Clark Kent in the salvage yard. They took the costume from the end of "WandaVision" and covered it with black mold and dulled the shimmering qualities of her tiara to try and visually represent that.
• The production was really scrambling after it cut ties with Scott Derrickson. Michael Waldron was brought in to write a new script from scratch in a couple of weeks, and the plan had been to polish it as they shot it. It's only because the pandemic pushed back the start of principal photography by months that they even had a finished script at the start of shooting.
• The original plan was to have Wanda as an ally for Doctor Strange, and only break bad in the final act, setting her up as the villain for a future MCU movie. As frustrating as I found her villainous turn here, if they were going to do it I'm glad they got it over with. Dragging that story out over another picture wouldn't have helped.
• The decision to use this movie to introduce America Chavez to the MCU was made very early on, and the plot choices to justify it came later. I like the character, and I think Xochitl Gomez was perfectly cast in the role, but some of that tail wagging the dog does show through in the final film.
• Kevin Feige's role as a junior staffer on Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy established a bit of a relationship between him and Raimi that helped bring Raimi on board this movie.
• For better or worse, I think Sam Raimi made the movie he wanted to make.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Some new interviews with Xochitl Gomez.





Even though I didn't love the movie, I think she was great in it in a very underwritten role, and I look forward to seeing more of her going forward in the MCU.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Even though I didn't love the movie, I think she was great in it in a very underwritten role, and I look forward to seeing more of her going forward in the MCU.

Considering Phases 4-6 are now labeled "The Multiverse Saga", and what makes her unique is the ability to travel between universes, I think we'll definitely be seeing more of her at least through "Secret Wars".

From those interviews, it sounds like she hasn't shot anything for any of the other projects yet. That could be Marvel-mandated misdirection. But even if it isn't, most of Phase 5 and all of Phase 6 have yet to start filming.

 

[Josh Dial]

Even though I didn't love the movie, I think she was great in it in a very underwritten role, and I look forward to seeing more of her going forward in the MCU.

I agree she was extremely underwritten. So much so that I really comment on whether I liked her character. I know Marvel certainly wanted me to like her and be invested in the character, but the writing didn't lead me naturally to that conclusion. Definitely the weakest part of the script for me.

Xochitl Gomez is a star, though.