Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness movie review: This journey into the multiverse is packed with surprises but devoid of excitement

After watching Doctor Strange ward off multiversal threats in Spider-Man : No Way Home alongside Peter Parker, the Master of the Mystic Arts is ready to set foot in some new universes himself. While it was enough to leave the fans shrieking with excitement when three Peter Parkers from different universes unite in No Way Home, Sam Raimi’s Multiverse of Madness tries and fails in recreating this formula.

The plot of Marvel ’s latest Doctor Strange movie is pretty straight forward. America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), young girl with the super-ability to travel across the multiverse finds herself being chased by magical beings. Doctor Strange ( Benedict Cumberbatch ) steps in to help and decides to get Wanda ( Elizabeth Olsen ) involved in saving America’s life until he discovers it is she or rather her alter ego Scarlet Witch who actually wants Chavez’s powers to be able to reunite with her sons in another universe. Mind you, this mad plot line reveals itself in the first 30 minutes of the film but it all does get pretty predictable from here.

Now, we have seen two Avengers face-off each other in the past, but here Doctor Strange from any universe stands no chance against the dark power wielding Scarlet Witch. He falls back once again on the ‘only way’ to save America and the multiverse and all I have to say to Marvel for that is, give the guy a few more options we are out of the Endgame now!

Wanda has been practising forbidden magic from the Darkhole has finally gained control of her powers after discovering she’s the Scarlet Witch in the events that took place in Wanda Vision.

As always, Marvel did a fine job of concealing the storyline of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, however, after all the hype as it unravels before your eyes in cinemas, it feels rather disappointing. Despite this universe having faced a multiversal threat before, the new Doctor Strange movie feels oddly detached from the whole experience. Doctor Strange does seem to remember the multiversal trouble his universe went through in the previous film but the experience is not at all helpful in the present scenario as one might have expected.

The two hour long Doctor Strange film is crammed up with surprises, introductions to new faces and new worlds but what it lacks is the thrill of the experience. The film, unlike the previous few Marvel offerings is rather business like even when portaling through various new universes finding other versions of Doctor Stange and Wanda. It lacks laughs and even emotions that could connect you to the plot.

Sam Raimi blends his horror tropes seamlessly with the plot of Multiverse of Madness which is a welcome change. It is also nice to see a new dimension to Wanda’s character.

Not much of America Chavez’s super abilities have been put to use in the film, though it sort of serves as her origin story too. We have to wait to see what this young addition to the MCU brings to the table in upcoming projects but her gifts assure us that this not the last we have seen of the multiverse.

You would not miss Doctor Strange in the Madness of the Multiverse if you are a die-hard Marvel fan. It isn’t as disappointing as The Eternals or Black Widow but the film if I were to answer the recurring question that the film poses, ‘Are you happy?’ I’d say, not completely.