Multiverse of Madness: A Film Analysis

Multiverse of Madness, the sequel outing for the Sorcerer Supreme was mostly experimental in its execution and as such, has its fair share of ups and downs. Even though it’s mostly a win for the franchise.

Multiverse of Madness at the time of its release was one of the few projects of this new Saga that was closely tied to exploring what the franchise had teased as its new direction.

With a lot riding on its back, Multiverse of Madness made the tough call of outing prequel director Scott Derrickson in favour of comic book movie (CBM) auteur, Sam Raimi. The movie though bogged down by the weight of franchise demands brought with it some unique creative choices.

The likes of which haven’t been seen in the MCU. Which adds some intrigue to the thought of further explorations.

Below are some positives and negatives that Multiverse of Madness boasts.

Positives

Fast Paced – Multiverse of Madness never settles or allows its story to linger for too long before it resolves itself. While that can also be a problem, in this case it works [mostly]. Because for a film that clocks in at just a little over 2hours, the pacing of Multiverse of Madness certainly makes the runtime less threatening.

Camera Movement – Just like how most directors tend to have signature camera tricks. Sam Raimi of the Spider-Man trilogy fame helms Multiverse of Madness with his signature cinematography skills. Which certainly allows this film to appear more fluid than most MCU endeavours.

Horror Elements – Yet another signature of Sam Raimi. While the horror elements in Multiverse of Madness are no where near some of the greatest horror features to exist. Fans of the filmmaker will be at least pacified that Marvel Studios did let Raimi have a test run with a genre he’s all too familiar with.

Negatives

More Wanda – While Wanda’s arc is an offshoot from the highly acclaimed Marvel Studios Disney+ series, WandaVision. The way in which it is handled gives little room for the title character and his core supporting cast to shine. As Multiverse of Madness felt more like a Wanda-led movie than a Dr. Strange-led movie.

Not Enough – The Multiverse was certainly on display in the feature but albeit only for a little while. Which then raises the question of whether a feature film was the right direction for a Multiverse story. Since there’s only so much one can cram into it, which may not fully deliver the intended effect. Hence, a series would have better served the story. So that a detailed exploration of the Multiverse is given.

What’s with America Chavez – As far as plot devices go, America Chavez’s use in Multiverse of Madness can be likened to a one night stand. Though she is present from beginning to end, even appearing before the main title character. She stills just lingers throughout the whole movie.

Xochitl Gomez does her best but with such shallow narrative, the character is mostly forgettable. Which is such a shame, since her powers are closely tied to the movie’s main discourse, The Multiverse.

With Dr. Strange poised to be a major player [like Loki] as the Multiverse Saga continues. A threequel is all but assured. And as always the hope is for Marvel Studios to deliver an even better threequel.