We leave Hogwarts and head to the Marvel universe this week with the sequel to Doctor Strange (2016) this is also the 28th film in the Marvel Universe. Much to DC (think Batman) fans chagrin. Marvel has done an excellent job of tying in all of their superheroes and even having ensemble films.
We see a touch of this with cameos I’ll leave spoiler free. I had never been a big Doctor Strange fan and didn’t know a lot about the character until the last film but I’ve always been a Benedict Cumberbatch fan. He was fantastic in Sherlock and have followed his career since. I will spoil this immediately. Cumberbatch excels as Strange. However, would the rest of the cast work.
Onto the film.
We open with an alternative verson of Doctor Strange (Cumberbatch) and America Chavez (Gomez) running from a giant creature. We learn quickly that the multiverse is active (different versions of Earth) and Chavez (Gomez) has the ability to jump between universes which she does here to escape death.
We then cut to the Doctor Strange we known from his previous film who’s attending the wedding of his former lover Christine Palmer (McAdams.) Strange is clearly hurting from this but has no time to dwell as Chavez (Gomez) shows up along with another giant creature attacking the city. Suit off Strange. Time for your cloak. A battle ensues and the pace of the film picks up.
Without giving much more of the story Doctor Strange (Cumberbatch) meets with Wanda Maximoff (Olsen) fans will remember from previous Marvel films and most recently Wandavision. If you haven’t watched that series it would help to do so before this film but its not absolutely necessary. To cut to the chase I will say Maximoff is the big bad of this film. She wants America Chavez powers for reasons you’ll see unfold. The film takes off here.
What I most enjoyed about the Strange sequel was the direction Sam Raimi took. He’s known for horror films and the original Spiderman trilogy but here we see genuine horror elements not normally applied to Marvel films. It was a nice change of pace. The action is impressive and the CGI is top notch as to be expected.
If you’re a fan of the Marvel Universe go see this film! I expect you will anyway. If you are new to it you’ll still have fun. My one complaint is as much as rumored cameos of other villains and superheroes were told…they weren’t as prevalent as I hoped. Also for a film with multiverse in the title, I think we only saw 2. This could have been expanded on but doesn’t take away from a fun, albeit horror-themed action adventure. 4 stars out of 5
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