Warning: Full spoilers follow for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the 28th entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but there’s no sign of creative exhaustion or bankrupt imagination. Scott Derrickson’s departure from the director’s chair left a massive hole to be filled, and with three uber-successful Sony Spider-Man films under his belt, Raimi was an obvious second choice. Although, he’s no scrap heap filler. There’s a reason Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness still feels fresh more than a decade after 2008’s Iron Man kickstarted the MCU, just like there’s a reason why Mr. Raimi was the perfect visionary for Doctor Strange’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) multiversal travels. After countless subgenre explorations — ’70s political thrillers, operatic cosmic oddities, heist comedies — the MCU finally capitalizes on making an MCU-safe horror film (unless you’re one of the voices arguing that Multiverse of Madness should have been upgraded to an “R” rating due to superhero violence and “intense” horror sequences; certainly I do not agree with that argument, but that’s a different article entirely…).
Sam Raimi’s experiences on the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man films undoubtedly helped earn him his first MCU gig, yet there’s more of Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy or Drag Me to Hell sprinkled throughout Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Raimi’s specialty is blending slapstick humor with ghastly horror depictions like Deadites (Necronomicon Ex-Mortis creatures) and unholy possession — something more applicable to the MCU than Derrickson’s hardcore-scary Sinister or Black Phone. Raimi’s love of The Three Stooges colors his horror films with goofish entertainment even when blood is raining from the heavens, and he mastered the art of selling physical comedy and making people laugh while dragging cursed women to hell and morphing vacationers into ugly, festering minions of the underworld.
If anyone understands how to tell a gruesome horror story while putting a smile on viewers’ faces, it’s Sam Raimi.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits that impeccable tone of a being more Sam Raimi movie than “Marvel Factory” product. Every ounce of Raimi’s horror catalog is honored through shaky camera cinematography, impactful violence, and comedic leanings. Wanda Maximoff’s (Elizabeth Olsen) pursuit of Wong (Benedict Wong), Strange, and America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) through Kamar-Taj’s temples reverently uses the “Demon Camera” viewpoint made famous by Evil Dead like a trip back to the Knowby cabin of those films. When Strange Dreamwalks the corpse of his alternate-universe self, there’s so much Army of Darkness DNA present as Undead Strange argues with cackling skeletal wraiths and fights Wanda atop Mount Wundagore. Raimi’s allowed to be zany and let a zombified Avenger battle a possessed spellcaster while still working within Marvel production expectations.
If anyone understands how to tell a gruesome horror story while putting a smile on viewers’ faces, it’s Sam Raimi.
There’s less self-seriousness to Sam Raimi’s horror catalog than in most films of the genre, which allows his command over Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to shine. The Sam Raimi we know and love indulges pseudo-childish laughter and extreme on-screen visuals, all of which are present here. Maybe we aren’t allowed the R-rated excessiveness of medieval gore in Army of Darkness or bodily mutilation in Evil Dead II, but that’s not what makes or breaks a successful horror film. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is incontestably scarier than any Marvel movie, includes nods to classic horror as Wanda embodies her witchy villain in Carrie or crimson occult-esque moments, and still manages to “play ball.” Raimi’s talents are always about entertaining audiences within the means at hand, no matter if that’s a PG softball or hard-R depiction of Hell upon Earth.
The Illuminati sequence on Earth-838 is where Raimi best showcases his trademarks and where Multiverse of Madness proves directors can still show off their individuality under MCU conditions. Reed Richards (John Krasinski), Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart), Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell), Maria Rambeau as Captain Marvel (Lashana Lynch), and Black Bolt (Anson Mount) waltz on screen for a knockout introduction. Wanda crashes the party while Dreamwalking in her Earth-838 Wanda. We’re accustomed to Marvel’s onslaught of cameos, which are designed to score nostalgia points and also boost IP for the studio, and to Marvel’s credit, to also test which characters are most viable for spinoff potential.
Cue another Marvel altercation where costumed heroes fight a superhuman foe, and there’s lots of landscape destruction with no consequences. Right? Wrong.
Raimi’s play-nice bubble bursts in seconds when Wanda magics Black Bolt’s mouth closed, which causes his head to explode from the inside, blood pooling within his blank eyes as his skull crushes inward on itself. Reed Richards is pulled apart like a toddler unraveling the twine of a baseball with no cover. Captain Carter is bisected at the abdomen when Wanda flings her Vibranium shield like a discus thrown by Zeus. A statue crushes Rambeau, and, during a telepathic shocker, Wanda snaps Xavier’s neck after emerging from a thick red stormcloud. There’s nothing but the blood left drenching Earth-838 Wanda as she chases Strange, America, and Christine (Rachel McAdams) through a tunnel system where blast doors can’t contain her frightening slasher-like pace.
There’s an argument that none of the Illuminati deaths matter because they’re off-world from the MCU’s main multiverse timeline, but that doesn’t detract from how insanely Raimi the whole brawl becomes. Marvel allows Raimi to disassemble their heroes like a big-brother bully destroying his sibling’s Barbies, finding a middle ground between remorseless stakes and PG-13 execution. The way my theater gasped in pure astonishment when Black Bolt’s head turned to pulpy mush (on the inside) says it all. You don’t need to see Captain Carter’s steamy insides like the lawyer in Thir13en Ghosts — holding the camera on Captain Carter’s eyes as she never stops staring Wanda down is arguably the more harrowing frame. Raimi’s devilishness finds ways to brutally slay the Illuminati while squeaking past Marvel’s approval board. The MCU is better for allowing its heroes to be eviscerated the Sam Raimi way.
Then again, Raimi’s funny-horror flavor doesn’t need to be toned down to fit Marvel’s canon. Everything about Zombie Strange has Raimi’s thumbprint, from Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance picking up Bruce Campbell’s tics as Ash to the gallows humor of America working together with a rotting body. It’s down to the tiniest details, as the camera cuts back-and-forth from Strange to America on tightly pulled facial close-ups in a manner very reminiscent of the Evil Dead series; America needs encouragement, Zombie Strange delivers, America clenches her fist, Zombie Strange winks. It’s the wink that’s so Raimi in such a quick burst of cuts. The allowance of his characters to be a bit hammy and on-the-nose, yet wholesomely so. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is campy without denial — Christine blows a soul-sucking demon away with a fireball while quipping, “Go back to Hell” — but it works thanks to Raimi’s sense of hardy-horror humor. Characters are allowed to rock these egregious hero lines that Raimi uses to earn silly giggles of joy.
Having now seen Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it’s hard to picture another director helming the film. Raimi’s ability to coax that extra level of weirdness from his performers makes their efforts so memorable. I’ve never cared about Strange as much as I did Cumberbatch’s Dreamwalking via Zombie Strange because Raimi allows Cumberbatch to embrace madness within his appropriately bonkers approach. Cumberbatch walks like a Deadite, talks like an almost Sorcerer Supreme, and meets Raimi’s vision pound-for-pound in ways I’m not sure any other filmmaker could mold. The classical music duel where Prime Strange and Incursion Strange (a.k.a. Sinister Strange) hurl sheet music notes at one another like glowing projectiles is just one of many instances where Cumberbatch’s Strange performance becomes more akin to the character’s name. I’d argue it’s a more captivating look.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ushers in a new horror era of Marvel that opens cemetery gates like portals to new worlds. Michael Waldron’s screenplay does have to wrestle with massive MCU implications — post-WandaVision Wanda, Doctor Strange and Christine Palmer, America Chavez, and more — and while it’s another overstuffed story, Sam Raimi finds a way to make this almost-30th MCU entry feel brand-spankin’ new. Who knew all it would take were some lessons learned from the Book of the Dead and a Bruce Campbell cameo where Pizza Poppa punches himself in the face until the final credit rolls? Maybe there’s more to it all (there is). Still, these absurd touches prove that Marvel cares about promoting and supporting the identities of the filmmakers they hire. Sam Raimi’s personality-filled MCU debut is just the latest, a creepy-and-crazy example — and certainly will not be the last.
For even more on the film, check out our Multiverse of Madness ending explained, dig in on the details of who Charlize Theron's Doctor Strange character is, ponder some of the biggest Doctor Strange WTF questions, or read our review of the movie!
Continue reading...
Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the 28th entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but there’s no sign of creative exhaustion or bankrupt imagination. Scott Derrickson’s departure from the director’s chair left a massive hole to be filled, and with three uber-successful Sony Spider-Man films under his belt, Raimi was an obvious second choice. Although, he’s no scrap heap filler. There’s a reason Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness still feels fresh more than a decade after 2008’s Iron Man kickstarted the MCU, just like there’s a reason why Mr. Raimi was the perfect visionary for Doctor Strange’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) multiversal travels. After countless subgenre explorations — ’70s political thrillers, operatic cosmic oddities, heist comedies — the MCU finally capitalizes on making an MCU-safe horror film (unless you’re one of the voices arguing that Multiverse of Madness should have been upgraded to an “R” rating due to superhero violence and “intense” horror sequences; certainly I do not agree with that argument, but that’s a different article entirely…).
Sam Raimi’s experiences on the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man films undoubtedly helped earn him his first MCU gig, yet there’s more of Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy or Drag Me to Hell sprinkled throughout Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Raimi’s specialty is blending slapstick humor with ghastly horror depictions like Deadites (Necronomicon Ex-Mortis creatures) and unholy possession — something more applicable to the MCU than Derrickson’s hardcore-scary Sinister or Black Phone. Raimi’s love of The Three Stooges colors his horror films with goofish entertainment even when blood is raining from the heavens, and he mastered the art of selling physical comedy and making people laugh while dragging cursed women to hell and morphing vacationers into ugly, festering minions of the underworld.
If anyone understands how to tell a gruesome horror story while putting a smile on viewers’ faces, it’s Sam Raimi.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits that impeccable tone of a being more Sam Raimi movie than “Marvel Factory” product. Every ounce of Raimi’s horror catalog is honored through shaky camera cinematography, impactful violence, and comedic leanings. Wanda Maximoff’s (Elizabeth Olsen) pursuit of Wong (Benedict Wong), Strange, and America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) through Kamar-Taj’s temples reverently uses the “Demon Camera” viewpoint made famous by Evil Dead like a trip back to the Knowby cabin of those films. When Strange Dreamwalks the corpse of his alternate-universe self, there’s so much Army of Darkness DNA present as Undead Strange argues with cackling skeletal wraiths and fights Wanda atop Mount Wundagore. Raimi’s allowed to be zany and let a zombified Avenger battle a possessed spellcaster while still working within Marvel production expectations.
If anyone understands how to tell a gruesome horror story while putting a smile on viewers’ faces, it’s Sam Raimi.
There’s less self-seriousness to Sam Raimi’s horror catalog than in most films of the genre, which allows his command over Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to shine. The Sam Raimi we know and love indulges pseudo-childish laughter and extreme on-screen visuals, all of which are present here. Maybe we aren’t allowed the R-rated excessiveness of medieval gore in Army of Darkness or bodily mutilation in Evil Dead II, but that’s not what makes or breaks a successful horror film. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is incontestably scarier than any Marvel movie, includes nods to classic horror as Wanda embodies her witchy villain in Carrie or crimson occult-esque moments, and still manages to “play ball.” Raimi’s talents are always about entertaining audiences within the means at hand, no matter if that’s a PG softball or hard-R depiction of Hell upon Earth.
The Illuminati sequence on Earth-838 is where Raimi best showcases his trademarks and where Multiverse of Madness proves directors can still show off their individuality under MCU conditions. Reed Richards (John Krasinski), Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart), Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell), Maria Rambeau as Captain Marvel (Lashana Lynch), and Black Bolt (Anson Mount) waltz on screen for a knockout introduction. Wanda crashes the party while Dreamwalking in her Earth-838 Wanda. We’re accustomed to Marvel’s onslaught of cameos, which are designed to score nostalgia points and also boost IP for the studio, and to Marvel’s credit, to also test which characters are most viable for spinoff potential.
Cue another Marvel altercation where costumed heroes fight a superhuman foe, and there’s lots of landscape destruction with no consequences. Right? Wrong.
Raimi’s play-nice bubble bursts in seconds when Wanda magics Black Bolt’s mouth closed, which causes his head to explode from the inside, blood pooling within his blank eyes as his skull crushes inward on itself. Reed Richards is pulled apart like a toddler unraveling the twine of a baseball with no cover. Captain Carter is bisected at the abdomen when Wanda flings her Vibranium shield like a discus thrown by Zeus. A statue crushes Rambeau, and, during a telepathic shocker, Wanda snaps Xavier’s neck after emerging from a thick red stormcloud. There’s nothing but the blood left drenching Earth-838 Wanda as she chases Strange, America, and Christine (Rachel McAdams) through a tunnel system where blast doors can’t contain her frightening slasher-like pace.
There’s an argument that none of the Illuminati deaths matter because they’re off-world from the MCU’s main multiverse timeline, but that doesn’t detract from how insanely Raimi the whole brawl becomes. Marvel allows Raimi to disassemble their heroes like a big-brother bully destroying his sibling’s Barbies, finding a middle ground between remorseless stakes and PG-13 execution. The way my theater gasped in pure astonishment when Black Bolt’s head turned to pulpy mush (on the inside) says it all. You don’t need to see Captain Carter’s steamy insides like the lawyer in Thir13en Ghosts — holding the camera on Captain Carter’s eyes as she never stops staring Wanda down is arguably the more harrowing frame. Raimi’s devilishness finds ways to brutally slay the Illuminati while squeaking past Marvel’s approval board. The MCU is better for allowing its heroes to be eviscerated the Sam Raimi way.
Then again, Raimi’s funny-horror flavor doesn’t need to be toned down to fit Marvel’s canon. Everything about Zombie Strange has Raimi’s thumbprint, from Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance picking up Bruce Campbell’s tics as Ash to the gallows humor of America working together with a rotting body. It’s down to the tiniest details, as the camera cuts back-and-forth from Strange to America on tightly pulled facial close-ups in a manner very reminiscent of the Evil Dead series; America needs encouragement, Zombie Strange delivers, America clenches her fist, Zombie Strange winks. It’s the wink that’s so Raimi in such a quick burst of cuts. The allowance of his characters to be a bit hammy and on-the-nose, yet wholesomely so. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is campy without denial — Christine blows a soul-sucking demon away with a fireball while quipping, “Go back to Hell” — but it works thanks to Raimi’s sense of hardy-horror humor. Characters are allowed to rock these egregious hero lines that Raimi uses to earn silly giggles of joy.
Having now seen Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it’s hard to picture another director helming the film. Raimi’s ability to coax that extra level of weirdness from his performers makes their efforts so memorable. I’ve never cared about Strange as much as I did Cumberbatch’s Dreamwalking via Zombie Strange because Raimi allows Cumberbatch to embrace madness within his appropriately bonkers approach. Cumberbatch walks like a Deadite, talks like an almost Sorcerer Supreme, and meets Raimi’s vision pound-for-pound in ways I’m not sure any other filmmaker could mold. The classical music duel where Prime Strange and Incursion Strange (a.k.a. Sinister Strange) hurl sheet music notes at one another like glowing projectiles is just one of many instances where Cumberbatch’s Strange performance becomes more akin to the character’s name. I’d argue it’s a more captivating look.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ushers in a new horror era of Marvel that opens cemetery gates like portals to new worlds. Michael Waldron’s screenplay does have to wrestle with massive MCU implications — post-WandaVision Wanda, Doctor Strange and Christine Palmer, America Chavez, and more — and while it’s another overstuffed story, Sam Raimi finds a way to make this almost-30th MCU entry feel brand-spankin’ new. Who knew all it would take were some lessons learned from the Book of the Dead and a Bruce Campbell cameo where Pizza Poppa punches himself in the face until the final credit rolls? Maybe there’s more to it all (there is). Still, these absurd touches prove that Marvel cares about promoting and supporting the identities of the filmmakers they hire. Sam Raimi’s personality-filled MCU debut is just the latest, a creepy-and-crazy example — and certainly will not be the last.
For even more on the film, check out our Multiverse of Madness ending explained, dig in on the details of who Charlize Theron's Doctor Strange character is, ponder some of the biggest Doctor Strange WTF questions, or read our review of the movie!
Continue reading...