As in the latest Spider-Man movie, Doctor Strange must save the world by traveling to alternate realities and clashing with new avatars of the series’ most famous superheroes.
This is great news for the marketing department, but casual moviegoers wish popcorn had come with a see-in-the-dark magic guide to help them keep an eye on who and what’s going on. Doctor Strange is an uncomfortable guest at the wedding of his ex-girlfriend Kristen (Rachel McAdams) whom you may remember half from the movie Doctor Strange released six years ago.
He’s sat next to an ancient character without superpowers played by the great Michael Stolberg, who berates a stranger for something he did in Avengers: Endgame.
These old memories are interrupted by a giant CGI octopus chasing a dimension-jumping teenager (separate series hanging) named America (Xochitl Gomez) through the streets of New York.
Although he knocks on cephalopods, America is still in trouble, so Strange seeks help from the super witch Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen). She is haunted by visions of the life she could have lived as a suburban mother of two young children.
Strange remembered her: “They don’t exist.”
But Wanda’s TV drama about childlessness and imaginary motherhood will play a big role in this latest release.
What follows are two hours of digitally enhanced action scenes, and surprisingly serious (and very cool) dialogue.
It is not a complete washing process. Evil Dead director Sam Raimi gives the movie crazy energy and the occasional spark of a horror B-movie.
But franchise commitments do carry a lot of weight. Al Remy drove the modern superhero frenzy with his widely acclaimed 2002 movie Spider-Man. This time around, the comic studio has assigned him a less ambitious task – keeping the money-making machine running.
Doctor Strange’s multiverse of madness is in cinemas now.
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