Film Review - "Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness"

Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness

Directed by Sam Raimi

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Xochitl Gomez, and Elizabeth Olsen

It's been six years since Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange made his MCU debut in the film of the same name. He's become a constant ever since, from being a key player in the last two Avengers films, to having supporting roles in Thor: Ragnarok and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Needless to say, the character has been through a lot, and there's no way in The Multiverse of Madness he's going to catch a break anytime soon.

As Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) attends the wedding of his former flame Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), a young girl named America Chavez (Gomez) falls into New York City, being chased by a demon part-cyclops and part-octopus. After being rescued by Strange, and his mentor/friend/Sorcerer Supreme Wong (Benedict Wong), Chavez explains she is being hunted for her power to travel the multiverse. Strange's decision to help Chavez leads him to seek help from Wanda Maximoff aka The Scarlet Witch (Olsen). This brings Strange down a path to learn much more about the multiverse and himself.

The film is a wild ride, and one of the most unique chapters of the MCU. That is no small credit to Director Sam Raimi, whose history with horror films is clearly on display here. This is almost the first MCU horror film, complete with jump scares and ghoulish sights. The film also has a bit of gore, and quite an impressive body count...If you're not big on horror this might not be your cup of tea, and parents might want to have younger MCU fans hold off or skip this one. 

While the film has the thrills and chills turned up to eleven, it's also very restrained in its multiverse madness. Don't expect hundreds of cameos peppered throughout the film, although there are plenty of surprises. The story is much more concerned with servicing its two primary characters, Stephen Strange and Wanda Maximoff, which is a good thing because that's what the film needs to do.

Everything each character has been through has led to this, especially Wanda, who practically steals the whole film. She outshines our lead hero for a fair amount of time, but that isn't to say Doctor Strange gets the short end of the stick. He gets some much-needed character work in this film beyond being the guy who knows everything (or at least thinks he does), and it builds off not just what he went through in the first Doctor Strange film, but in Infinity War and Endgame as well. He becomes a much more sympathetic and vulnerable character.

Despite all the good work the film does for The Scarlet Witch and would-be Sorcerer Supreme, the screenplay does lack a little focus, and pacing does become an issue. The film comes out guns blazing, then hits some speed bumps as it transitions from act-to-act. Though like I said, the film is a wild ride, and incredibly entertaining. There are some really distinct visuals in and out of the multiverse, and the creative styling of the magic users' powers are a sight to see. A highlight is a battle that uses notes off of sheet music. Speaking of music, props to Danny Elfman as this is probably one of his more unique scores for a film, meaning I didn't even recognize his typical style throughout the film (maybe he saves that for Tim Burton...)

Benedict Cumberbatch remains a perfect Doctor Strange, again getting to go more in-depth and personal with the character. Elizabeth Olsen, as always, is amazing as Wanda. Her performance is both a treat and terrifying, and just in case you're worried your lack of a Disney Plus subscription will leave you in the dark, this film gives you enough of a clue to what happened in WandaVision (but you should still watch it because it's great). Xochitl Gomez makes her MCU debut as America Chavez and holds her own well against the likes of Cumberbatch and Olsen, but isn't given that much to do. Hopefully we'll see her again soon. Rachel McAdams is given significantly more to do this time as Christine Palmer. She gets to play to her strengths of portraying a character that's equally sweet and snarky, and her chemistry with Cumberbatch is put to much better use. Benedict Wong as...Wong, once again proves he's one of the best supporting players in the MCU, perfectly weaving between the role of stoic moral compass and dry-witted comic relief. 

Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness has its shortcomings, but is still one of the most unique MCU films to date. It's highly entertaining, though viewers with a low threshold for horror films should err on the side of caution. It's full of unique visuals, wonderful performances, and plenty of crowd-pleasing moments. I definitely can't wait to see it again, and see where the MCU takes us next in this vast multiverse.

Film Review Throwback - "The Grinch"

The Grinch
Directed by Scott Mosier and Yarrow Cheney
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Rashida Jones, and Kenan Thompson

I've been a pretty big critic of the animated films of Illumination Entertainment in the past, as well as discussed the "success rate" of films based on the book of Dr. Seuss. Here, I get to talk about both!!

I don't think Illumination will never reach the heights of Disney or Pixar. Their films, while they have great animation, are mostly aimed at younger audiences. These aren't films that both kids and adults will enjoy equally. More style than substance, the Minion Factory appears to be more concerned with slapstick humor and visual gags than a solid script.

That falls in line with the impression I got from the first trailer for their Seuss remake, The Grinch, and my heart sank. The trailers showcased a version of The Grinch melded with Despicable Me humor (Despicable Grinch?). It came out last November, my curiosity got the better of me, and I went to go see it…and I liked it. I just watched it a second and third time this week, and I really like it.

Don't get me wrong, this third-version of The Grinch is not perfect and still carries the usual Illumination tropes but…well let's start the review.

You know the classic Seuss story. The Grinch (Cumberbatch) is a big, green grouch living alone on the outskirts of Whoville, the home of the Whos. The Whos love Christmas, while The Grinch hates it due to his traumatic past. When he can finally take it no more, he begins to form a plan to steal Christmas away from The Whos. Meanwhile, little Cindy Lou Who (Cameron Seely) is forming a plan of her own to catch Santa Claus on Christmas Eve and ask him to grant a very important Christmas wish.

The original Dr. Seuss book was about 70 pages,  and the first film adaptation, the Chuck Jones animated special, clocks in at just under half an hour. The 2000 Ron Howard live-action adaptation starring Jim Carrey was just shy of two hours. The Grinch is just a little under an hour and-a-half. The reason I bring all this up, is when you're adapting a children's book into a feature film, chances are you're going to have to expand the story a bit to make a full screenplay. While there have been films that have done this successfully (Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, Captain Underpants, Shrek…), there have been plenty that have failed, like the majority of previous Suess film adaptations…and The Polar Express-YEAH I SAID IT. I hate that film…

Ron Howard's How The Grinch Stole Christmas is a guilty pleasure of mine and many others. I won't say it's a great film, but it does have entertainment value, mostly credited to Carrey's performance. That film does devote a lot of time to give The Grinch a detailed, convoluted backstory. The Grinch keeps it simple. He doesn't hate Christmas due to a shaving incident that everyone at school teased him for. This time he hates it because he was always alone in the orphanage at Christmas. He's anti-social, would rather stay at home with his dog Max, and eat his feelings, but he still feels empty inside. That works a lot better, and makes The Grinch more timely and relatable. In a way it sort of updates him for modern audiences. Even Cindy Lou Who's relationship with her mother (Rashida Jones) is given a fresh take.

However, a smaller backstory (and really a thinner script) leaves room for more of Illuminations' typical humor. There's a lot of Looney Tunes-ish slapstick and gags. But most of it works! Let's not forget the original animated Grinch was directed and co-produced by legendary Looney Tunes animator Chuck Jones, and that production padded the story with visual gags and slapstick. So Illumination's unique visual style of storytelling works for the Grinch. All the different contraptions he creates for his plan to steal Christmas, and the sticky situations he gets into, definitely are in the same spirit of the 1966 classic. I called it a thinner script, but I don't think that's a bad thing. It somehow does less than the 2000 film, but achieves more.

I do need to take a moment to sing the praises of the new character, Fred The Oversized Reindeer. All the advertising made me think he was just another Minion proxy, but no, he serves an actual purpose to the story and The Grinch's character arc, so yeah…Go Fred.

One small gripe I had with the film is that it replaces the classic narration, the original words written by Seuss, for newer "pseudo-Seuss" narration, with a voice actor that does not fit. At all. When you see who it is you'll realize it was clearly an Illumination executive's move to choose him. But anyway, even the 2000 film used the straight up Seuss text to bridge the scenes together. It's not badly written narration, but it doesn't hit like the classic Seuss text. I don't know, I'll give them credit for trying to do something new…and you know what I can take or leave the new songs from Tyler the Creator.

The animation is gorgeous as one would expect from Illumination. Their style really emulates the Dr. Seuss illustrations, and the world they built here oozes the Christmas aesthetic. The tech is really impressive, I mean when you see the snow caught in The Grinch's hair as the winter breeze blows, cutting edge. From a cinematography standpoint, there are a lot of beautiful shots throughout the film.

Benedict Cumberbatch as The Grinch is probably one of the best casting decisions ever made. I was initially kind of sad he decided to forgo his British accent, because it would have been perfect for The Grinch, but his whiny, Dr. House like voice really grows on you. It fits for this version of The Grinch. The rest of the voice cast is stellar. Cameron Seely is an adorable Cindy Lou. Rashida Jones is lovely as her mother. Kenan Thompson is hilarious as The Grinch's neighbor Bricklebaum, and while he doesn't talk, Max is one of the best dogs ever in an animated film.

I've come to enjoy The Grinch more with each viewing, and arguably more than the 2000 film adaptation. Does it eclipse the original 1966 animated special? No but it didn't necessarily need to. I know the film has it critics, and so does the 2000 film. If you like one more than the other it's fine. I'll continue to watch all three as time goes on. But The Grinch is beautifully animated and acted, and captures the spirit of Seuss while also updating it for modern audiences (Sidenote: The ending scene is one of my favorites of any animated film in recent years). So this Christma-…next Christmas, or before New Year's, I suggest you give it a watch. You might just end up being as pleasantly surprised as I did last November...

Film Review- "Doctor Strange"

Doctor Strange
Directed by Scott Derrickson
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Tilda Swinton

The fourteenth film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been in theaters for almost a month now. After seeing Doctor Strange multiple times in theaters, as much as I enjoy and love it, I do find it could have been a better product.

Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) is an accomplished yet arrogant neurosurgeon, who ends up in a terrible car accident, rendering his hands practically useless. After modern medicine fails him again and again, he seeks out the secret compound of Kamar-Taj for other methods of healing. There he learns of things such as multi-dimensions, the astral plane and, in layman's terms, sorcery.

Strange begins to learns the ways of the mystic arts under the guidance of The Ancient One (Swinton) and fellow sorcerer Mordo (Ejiofor). As Strange continues his teachings, the vindictive sorcerer Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) and his army of zealots put into motion a plan to sacrifice the world to the being Dormammu and his dark dimension.

It's easy to compare Strange's origin and character to that of Tony Stark/Iron Man. An arrogant know-it-all goes through something traumatic, is given extraordinary gifts and learns humility, just as a large evil threat-in-the-sky looms overhead. Without giving too much away, I personally saw a bit of parallels between the story of this film and the one of the first Thor film. There's nothing special about Doctor Strange's origin story at the base level, but it's the characters unique setting and abilities that elevate it.

The idea of magic and multiple dimensions is something new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the film spectaulrly skyrockets the franchise into this new territory, displaying some truly amazing effects and set pieces for these characters to muck about through. Michael Giacchino's epic score only helps to bring the film's unique tone and aura to life.

Speaking of characters, this cast might be one of the finest Marvel's ever assembled. Benedict Cumberbatch of course is pure gold as the titular character. A fan favorite since we knew this film would happen, he embodies every aspect of the character, and brings both the proper amount of gravitas and sincerity. Chiwetel Ejiofor gives a biblical fierceness to Mordo, that was a highlight of the film for me. Tilda Swinton is both strong and sweet as The Ancient One. Benedict Wong as...Wong, is a hell of a scene stealer. Mads Mikkelsen, while he does a fine job, is another underdeveloped Marvel villain. Rachel McAdams, while she does a fine job, is another underdeveloped Marvel love interest.

This is where I transition into my problems with the film, and it's not just with McAdams and Mikkelsen. While I can praise the performances of the supporting cast, the background and character development left to them in the script is a lot to be desired. McAdams as Christine Palmer is more a plot device then a character and is one of Marvel's weakest leading ladies. We're given two lines of exposition about Kaecilius's backstory, and they're so cryptic we're left to our imagination to figure out where it all went south with him. It's hinted a few times that Mordo's got a dark background of his own (Those of you comic fans know Mordo is one of Doctor Strange's biggest villains), but we learn literally nothing. "You've no idea...the things I've done" he states in the film, and we're left to reply "You're right. We really don't." I understand that this is Strange's origin story, but if these characters are to be a part of his reigon of the MCU, they need to be as well developed as he is. One can only hope that in the inevitable sequel these characters will get their dues.

Is this my first sign of superhero film fatigue? Fourteen films into this franchise, are the patterns all too clear for me now I can't just turn a blind eye, or am I simply doubting the nerd path I've chosen? No of course not, I'm being dramatic. But the problems in Doctor Strange are problems other MCU films that have come before it have had, and I like many, hope to see these problems rectified going forward. Yes the plot of Doctor Strange is a familiar formula, but it's a winning formula and Marvel manages to give it a distinct mold every turn.

So do I consider Doctor Strange a perfect film? No. Do I still love it, consider it one of Marvel's best, and is it one of my favorite Marvel origin stories since Captain America: The First Avenger? Yes. Will it probably be on my Top 10 of the year, even though Captain America: Civil War will be on there too, and will you all roll your eyes at me for being so predictable? More than likely, but haters gonna hate. Complete with stunning visuals, a tremendous cast and beautiful music, stapled in with the usual tropes and formulas, Doctor Strange is a magnificent addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's pure magic.