REVIEW: Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Warning! This article contains spoilers.</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">Dr Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) has returned with his flying cape sidekick to save earth - but this time there’s more than one that needs help.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The unshakeable do-gooder, with his grey-winged hair, is pulled into a deadly game of cat- and-mouse.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) is a terrifying witch who chases America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) across different dimensions for her superpower - the ability to jump through the multiverse.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Maximoff leaves a trail of destruction in her path and it falls to Dr Strange to put an end to her madness.</p>
<p dir="ltr">If he fails, then you can wave goodbye to this earth and all the other earths floating out there in the infinite cosmos.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Hollywood is pumping out superhero movies at such a fast rate, it’s almost impossible to keep up with the pace as a viewer.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>The Multiverse of Madness</em> assumes you have watched at least one <em>Avengers</em> film, part of the <em>Wanda Vision</em> series and the first <em>Dr Strange.</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">Oh, and don’t forget <em>Shang-Chi</em> and the <em>Legend of the Ten Rings</em>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">If you haven’t seen any of them, good luck trying to understand who is who.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">There’s plenty of action and exploding heads to keep the unversed audience member entertained.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Director Sam Raimi weaves in elements of horror along with a few jump scares.</p>
<p dir="ltr">His personal touch falls short of making the superhero franchise feel new. At its best, it just adds a fresh twist to an overdone genre.</p>
<p dir="ltr">There is only one annoying little detail in the film. It’s so teeny-tiny, but it hurts as much as a rose thorn stuck in your side.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It’s nothing to get worked up over. Right?</p>
<p dir="ltr">Wrong.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Most, if not all, superhero films are packed with undertones of American patriotism.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Superman wears a red cape and a blue, tight-fitting onesie (the colours of the American flag); Iron Man is held captive in a cave in the Middle East before he blasts his way to freedom <em>(America, f*** yeah!)</em>; and Captain America needs no explanation (his name says it all).</p>
<p dir="ltr">In most cases, at least, these references aren’t screaming in your face. They dwell in the background so you can continue to enjoy the film at its surface level.</p>
<p dir="ltr">That’s not the case with Dr Strange.</p>
<p dir="ltr">America Chavez is a central character who is not only named after the United States, but she is also dressed in a jacket with the stars and stripes printed onto the back of it.</p>
<p dir="ltr">She is, literally, a walking flag of the country.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Every time Dr Strange spoke about saving America, I couldn’t help but cringe as I had a sneaking suspicion he was not referring to the young girl.</p>
<p dir="ltr">When the character needed a dialogue break, his monster-bashing sidekicks were filling in the blanks with their own toe-curling lines about America.</p>
<p dir="ltr">She needs to be saved, her powers could be used for bad if they fall into the wrong hands, with great power comes great responsibility.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Blah, blah, blah.</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">For all its shortcomings, Raimi manages to pull off an entertaining two hours and six minutes.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The action is backed up by strong performances from Cumberbatch, Olsen and Gomez. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><em><strong>Written by Aidan Wondracz.</strong></em></p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Image: YouTube</em></p>
