Another day, another MCU big budget blockbuster to come along and make people go to the movies again. But something about this one feels different. There’s something, dare I say, spooky in the air. That’s right, it's the return of legendary horror and Marvel director Sam Raimi (“The Evil Dead,” “Spider-Man 2”) and it seems that the second solo outing for Marvel’s master of the mystic arts might just let Raimi combine his past works into one super heroic horror feature.
To give the smallest of details so as not to spoil anything, “Multiverse of Madness” has Doctor Strange, played once again by Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Imitation Game,” “The Power of the Dog”), encountering and trying to protect a young girl with mysterious abilities named America Chavez, played by relative newcomer Xochitl Gomez (“The Baby-Sitters Club”), as threats from across the multiverse try to come after her. Throw in the Scarlet Witch herself Wanda Maximoff, played by Elizabeth Olsen (“I Saw the Light,” “Sorry for Your Loss”), and the good Doctor’s best friend Wong, played by Benedict Wong (“Marco Polo,” “The Personal History of David Copperfield”), and you’ve got a game cast for the closest thing Marvel’s made to a horror movie in decades.
Here’s the first thing that needs reconciling: there are two types of multiverses throughout “Madness.” There are the glossy, “What if”-styled sections that are clearly the dream of Marvel Studios executives and then there are the Sam Raimi sections. Raimi and writer Michael Waldron (“Loki,” “Heels”) work hard to make sure these two aren’t at odds with one another, and it’s not as if it's two different films trying to co-exist at once. It’s just two different takes on the material happening throughout. It wouldn’t be surprising to learn that all of Raimi’s wishes for this film had to be met in some way by wishes from the executives, and while that’s clearly the case, Raimi is also a skilled enough director to make it work as best as it can, blending it all into a somewhat cohesive story and even delivering those exec mandated moments in an almost monkey’s paw kind of way.
Those expecting a typical MCU adventure, with big laughs and cameos won’t necessarily be disappointed, but there’s a distinctly darker touch to the entire film courtesy of Raimi. Shots and scenes echo his work on films like “The Evil Dead” and “Army of Darkness” and the embracing nature of it all is a clear hallmark from his time with “Spider-Man.” Raimi knows that it all only works when it's done sincerely, and he does his damnedest to make sure that the film is, at the very least, sincere.
It’s a movie about fears and happiness, in many different ways. Not only is that outright stated as such throughout, but it's clear from the visual storytelling as well. Raimi’s best films aren’t just his most horrifying ones; they’re the ones that are clearly aware of what can and can’t scare its characters and how to manifest that. It’s no small stretch to say that this is the closest Marvel has gotten to a horror movie in all of the MCU, and even if it doesn’t completely go there, its not hard to see some kiddie fans who were terrified of Thanos a few years back crying into their parent’s shoulders at numerous moments.
That’s not to say it isn’t fun, quite the contrary. When the executives lean back and Raimi is allowed to be him, and it's clear when he is, things get big, weird, and horrific in a remarkably goofy way. The same first person camera techniques and use of prosthetic horror makeup that made Raimi an icon decades ago is back here in big budget big swings and it's a delight to see a director so clearly in charge of his vision let free to play. One particular fight sequence doesn’t have any real “logic” behind it, instead going for something that looks insanely cool more than it makes 100% sense. Call it less of "a film by Sam Raimi" and instead "a funhouse by Sam Raimi."
Cumberbatch is turning in some strong work here, once again taking on a parental role to a young outcast hero, and he fits the bill well. This is a softer Strange, but not a weak Strange, and even as the action and multiple verses collide, Cumberbatch still keeps the emotional core centered and his arc in focus. Gomez is a delight; it's always a tall order when a popular comics hero is brought into live action for the first time, but she absolutely nails the character, fitting snugly into the world of the MCU and its cosmic shenanigans.
Olsen has the most emotional material to work with here, and while Scarlet Witch’s portrayal may prove controversial, no one can argue that she isn’t turning in some phenomenal work. It’s one of the strongest performances the MCU has seen in quite a long time and continues her excellent work from “WandaVision” onward. Wong, just as before, is fantastic when the movie remembers to use him and he’s a highlight whenever he gets to strut his stuff and show why he deserves to be the Sorcerer Supreme.
Visually, Raimi’s fingerprints are all over this picture, and he and cinematographer John Mathieson (“Gladiator,” “The Phantom of the Opera (2004)”) work well together. Every camera swing, dutch angle, weird cut, and staggered shot screams Raimi’s fantastical stylings, making it very obvious why Marvel plastered his name across every poster and TV spot they possibly could. It even makes the best use of CGI in a Marvel film in a while. While there are some clear spots of weak green screen, there’s also a large number of practical sets and locations that lend this universe hopping adventure the right kind of tactile feeling it needs to really work. Danny Elfman (“Men In Black,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas”) even strides in to deliver the MCU’s most interesting score to date, capitalizing on some of his weirdest and strongest musical techniques to really deliver the most Danny Elfman-Danny Elfman score in quite a while.
“Multiverse of Madness” is not going to work for everyone. It’s the kind of film where, as opposed to catching up on other Marvel adventures, it almost requires more knowledge of Raimi’s career to really know what you’re getting into. It’s a delightful adventure that’s also terrifying and wonderfully weird, sacrificing some cohesion for just radical coolness. It’s a Raimi film through and through. When you give Raimi a creepy book, some corpses, and an evil doppelganger of the main character, things are gonna get real weird, real fast, for better or worse, and absolutely mostly for the better. 3.5/5
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