Direction: Sam Raimi
Country: USA
Despite the relative success of his Spider-Man triplet (2002, 2004, 2007), director Sam Raimi seems more tailored to craft horror movies (The Evil Dead, 1981; Drag me to Hell, 2009) than superhero adventures. His Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is pelted with references to other Marvel flicks and looks like an animated movie on arrival. We realize it was a dream but then the parody keeps going with a visually overwhelming one-eyed octopus attack followed by a series of stone-heavy action scenes loaded with too many colors and overcrowded with special effects. It’s coarse in the texture and maladroit in the storytelling when it should have been stylish and creative, respectively. A grossly handled debauchery of computer-generated images makes it a throwaway feature with a lot of manic surface activity but no particular style.
The enigmatic sorcerer Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who was portrayed with much more craft in the latest Spider Man installment (directed by Jon Watts), feels compelled to protect the young America Sanchez (Xochitl Gomez), who has the uncontrollable power of moving from a universe to another. For that, she’s wanted by evil forces.
The multiverse is packed with uninteresting characters, strained parallel realities, a bunch of foolish situations, and long action sequences that fail to thrill… There is only the mess, without the fun. And we are bored!
