#multiverse of madness review

[californiannostalgia]

Things They Could've Done Differently in Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness

A list of ideas, in no particular order

*SPOILERS FOR MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS*

1. Give Benedict Cumberbatch a Monologue to Act with (bonus points if it's about the million bad endings he had to sort through to find the Endgame option): Instead of a short convo in the benches, have the doctor who got dusted come up to Stephen at the afterparty of the wedding. In fact, have several people ask for his autograph or talk to him like he’s a celebrity beforehand, casually questioning him about the biggest call he made with the fate of the universe. When the past colleague questions the validity of his choice, maybe Stephen gets fed up, and the conversation goes something like this:

Doctor Colleague: What if you’d done [    ] before― Stephen: Nope, wouldn’t have worked, [    ] and [    ] goes off too soon, shit gets blown up, everyone dies, try again― Doctor Colleague: Then what if you’d [    ]― Stephen: Again, no, [    ] and [    ] means [           ], everyone dies! Doctor Colleague: But what if― Stephen: No, no, it doesn’t work! I looked through a million other choices we could’ve made, and we lost every single time. You think I made that call based on, what, personal preference? I saw the universe die more times than you can fathom, I saw galaxies crumble, why does everyone think― My opinion had no sway in the decision I made. I made the only choice I was supposed to. (etc.)

2. Show at least one way Stephen's disability impacts his daily life: Maybe his hands shake too much to steadily hold a glass. Maybe he can't get a key in the lock at the first try. It's either his hands or his magic, and Stephen chose magic. Show us the consequences.

3. I feel like the scariest villain should've been an Alternate Strange: We can keep the creepy chase scenes and all the emotional scenes with Wanda, Elizabeth Olsen’s performance was phenomenal and I love her. But everyone was talking about how Stephen has the potential for great evil. I feel like we should’ve gotten payoff on that.

4. At least One Alternate Christine should die in front of Stephen: I loved what they did in What If (tv series), we should’ve gotten to see Stephen’s grief on live-action too. Especially since it creates a direct parallel between him and Wanda. (They each only have the one love interest over countless timelines, yet they still can’t hold onto them, huh. Cruel fate.)

5. Elaborate on the Scarlet Witch Prophecy Thing: We needed a set-up of the prophecy in the movie before the actual reveal of the temple.

6. Wanda destroys the Big Bad Strange's universe (fulfilling the Prophecy―no one said anything about which universe) and seals the both of them in eternal combat: This feels like a better idea than what happened in the movie. Also it’s a cool parallel with an Alternate Stephen from the What If series.

7. More dreams about Alternate Stephens Fucking Up: Stephen should’ve just been constantly dreaming about instances where he makes the wrong choice and destroys the world. Drill it into his head that if he strays from the path, the world is done for.

8. Let Stephen complain about how apparently the only path for him is the straight and narrow one: If divergence from the Path guarantees certain destruction of the world by his own hand, how much freedom does he truly have? Show us what's so special about this superhero who sees everything that could go wrong with him every night he dreams, then wakes up to not do those things. He's tempted, he's afraid, and he Chooses not to do wrong.

9. Put more focus on Stephen giving Wanda a Second Chance: If he fucks up, it spells the end of universes, so he Can't fuck up; he has that pressure on him. But Wanda's fuck-ups don't automatically destroy universes. Wanda's fuck-ups can be recovered from. Let Stephen give Wanda what he will never be able to have across so many thousands of timelines: a second chance after a grief-stricken fuck-up. Trust her to help him fight the Big Bad Evil Strange.

10. Let Stephen snark and whine about his difficult life and still unfailingly do the Right Thing: We must remember that he is a smartass. Maybe he still gets jealous of practicing surgeons. Maybe he gives life-saving advice to doctors of alternate dimensions who are trying to save an Alternate Christine, whilst wishing he could do the operation himself. Let him complain about how everyone is hounding him about Turning Evil all the time. He rolls with the punches, accepts the madness that his life has become and the hard choices that are asked of him, but he can still complain about them all the way.

(I'm just choosing to focus on the two main characters here. I think a lot of the side characters deserved to be written better, but elaborating on that would make this post really long.)

TL;DR: Stephen and Wanda are characters with so much potential. They’ve got backstory, they’re morally complex, they’re uber-powerful and nigh impossible to keep in check. The only one that can stop them is themselves, apparently. Isn’t that interesting? Morality, power, corruption, accountability, grief, and sacrifice. When you’re faced with the physical manifestation of your choices, right or wrong, how do you grapple with the consequences?

#doctor strange #multiverse of madness #doctor strange multiverse of madness #stephen strange #wanda maximoff #my reviews #my thoughts #multiverse of madness review #doctor strange 2 #doctor strange 2 review #scarlet witch #fix-it #doctor strange spoilers #multiverse of madness spoilers #marvel #doctor strange in the multiverse of madness #character study

[astral-crab]

multiverse of madness SPOILERS below:

and ANOTHER THING: a big piece of what bothers me about this movie is how they just instantly discarded wanda. other characters in the mcu get corrupted or controlled by evil things, and people try to save them. we just had an entire spider-man movie about trying to save all these villains, people mcu peter never even met before, ffs. but in this movie, dr strange is just like, “she’s corrupted by the darkhold. wanda’s gone.” and that’s the end of it. no one tries to help her. no one tries to remove the corruption. no one tries to save her. they just instantly consider her a lost cause. she’s evil now, oh well! they tossed her out like trash.

you can really tell how the writers of this movie feel about women.

#doctor strange in the multiverse of madness spoilers #doctor strange in the multiverse of madness #multiverse of madness review #multiverse of madness spoilers #scarlet witch #wanda maximoff

[luwe21]

Multiverse of Madness Review

I have collected my thoughts about Multiverse of Madness. Watched it yesterday in cinema.

So the movie was insane. I would give it a solid 8/10.

My highlights:

-Full extent of villain Wanda including insane and impressive fights and show off of her powers.

-America Chavez was a great addition to the movie and universe. She can travel through the multiverse and is the only person that does not dream. Dreams are a way to look into the multiverse and see your other mes.

-The Cameos. Expect to see Captain Carter (What if), Richard Reed/Mister Fantastic (Fantastic Four, sadly no Ioan Gruffudd), Mister X/Professor Charles Xavier (X-Men). Also Christine Palmer and Karl Mordo return. But no Iron Man, just discount robots.

-Doctor Strange gets the chance to show off his powers and knowledge. Also the teamwork with Wong is impressive.

-The Fights. Wanda vs. Kamar-Taj was awesome, Wanda vs. The Illuminate was insane. The end fight was also impressive.

My dislikes:

-Some of the shots/editing were weird and out of place. Some of the pacing or cuts weren't as clean. Some scenes are over a bit too soon and needed more room to breathe, and some of the 'horror' / 'jump scares' were maybe a bit over the top.  It was far more comic horror than I expected andit ain´t that scary like all say.

-Strange was not really allowed to move on and make real character progress. The marriage scenes were downright cringe but so typically MCU. Superheroes are allowed one love interest only and that forever. "I will always love you in every universe". Corny and yeah the mid credit scene says otherwise. His happiness depending on his love life is another classic and overused trope.

-Wanda does not have her redemption arc from Wandavision. The director outright said I only watched one episode of Wandavision and that was it and that was clearly shown in the movie. Wandas motivation and ending was not very clear because of that and in the end it was basically the same thing as in Wandavision. She dies in the end to protect all the universe from the darkhold. I don´t believe she is really dead.

-Mid/Endcreditscenes. Midcredit Scene was weird and confusing and I understood nothing because I don´t know the character. The Endcreditscene was downright insane.

So basically the plotline was not as great as expected. And it was not really about multiverse like expected. It was a solid movie and it was fun to watch. Not gonna lie. Don´t have your expectation to high through and watch it like it is. A insane Doctor Strange Movie.

8/10.

#multiverse of madness #multiverse of madness spoilers #multiverse of madness review #mcu #mcu wandavision #wanda maximoff #doctor strange #doctor strange 2 #spoiler #mom spoilers #doctor strange 2 spoilers #this is spoiler

[misalpav]

*Spoiler Warning* Dr. Strange Multiverse of Madness Review

AGAIN A REMINDER TO FILTER YOUR TAGS IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY!!!

MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS IF U CONTINUE READING FROM THIS POINT

OKOKOKOK I HAVE SO MANY FUCKING THOUGHTS I CAN’T EVEN BEGIN TO EXPLAIN BUT LET’S DO THIS

I’m going to start with the positive stuff cuz that’s the majority

First off being the main movie hype woman was such a vibe. I’m usually a loud commentator for Marvel movies but there’s usually somebody else over me. This time it. was. me. I was the main bitch and that was def a proud moment of my life. I somehow managed to beat @janetsnakehole02​ with my reaction game, provided I was always the slightly louder one, and also was probably more emotionally affected by the stuff that happened compared to her for once but hey, there’s a first time for everything

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCHHHH I loved Strange and all his variations. I loved the depth they gave to his character and tbh the way they showed him getting closer and closer to America. However I do feel like they could've spent more time on him.

Lowkey also LOVED how for the majority of the movie he was all about finding The Book of Vishanti as the solution to Wanda and then ACTUALLY USED THE DARKHOLD HIMSELF. HOW DOES SOMEONE COME UP WITH THIS GENIUS

Not just that but the full circle of him first burying the first Dr. Strange variant they show ONLY TO HAVE MAIN DR. STRANGE TAKE OVER HIS DEAD BODY AND USE THE FUCKING DARK SPIRITS TO BEAT WANDA

AMERICA RUNNING TO STRANGE AND HUGGING HIM I FUCKING LOST IT

America and the Latino representation!! It wasn’t huge or anything but seriously it was something AND HER PARENTS WERE LESBIANS GTFO RAIMI UR WINNING

The scene where What-If Strange and main Strange fight with musical notes was so fucking aesthetic and ngl funny

The moment when they were running in the tunnels of like the futuristic realm and then they closed that big door that Wanda didn’t cross AND THEN THEY J FUCKING PAUSED. I had a moment shouting things that essentially sums up to wtf, stfu, are we seriously trusting these people with the multiverse, yeah then we’re fucked, etc. And ofc this was that golden moment I got this other dude in my theater to turn around and give me a thumbs up which gave me a major confidence boost

Can we just talk about Steven’s maturity in the romantic sense? The way people kept asking him if he was happy without Christine and then built up that beautiful beautiful realization that he had so much to be happy about and even after being with the futuristic realm version of Christine, they both gained the confidence to a) admit they loved each other but b) respect the fact that they had responsibilities to their realms that neither could give up.

And with that I also need to plug Christine cuz she was such an interesting character from seeing the way she passively moved on from main Steven to seeing the futuristic realm Christine have moments of her own closure with main Steven after everything

Now Wanda. She had such a perfect story arc that flowed so well from WandaVision. I think it’s always been her thing to obsessively chase after a perfect life between mind controlling an entire village to be with Vision and then willing to kill another child to be able to be with other realm versions of her kids but this time I think she finally got the fact that she really can’t change her reality. I do feel like her ending was kind of left in the air and a part of me hopes she didn't actually die?

She lowkey looked so badass hot too

Mordo damnnn the arc they got between calling Strange his “brother” and that final realization that Mordo was, is, and will always be jealous of Strange was brilliant and I think all of us trusted him to some extent after that initial hug so were mildly shocked when the tea actually was spiked.

I say mildly cuz listen it’s still Mordo, I was still pretty suspicious

I FUCKING SCREAMED WHEN REED RICHARDS CAME IN I COULD NOT BELIEVE MY EYES THERE WAS SO MUCH JOY IN ME IT IS INDESCRIBABLE

Him AND Professor X!!!! I can’t anymore I love life

BENEDICT WONG SIR I LOVED YOU, LOVE YOU, AND BELIEVE I WILL FOREVER LOVE YOU. The way he covers for Steven all the time and even when they aren’t together physically they somehow manage to work together. The final scene between them where Steven was just like “I’m so glad I didn’t have to go through all this alone” MY HEART

The mid-credits scene??? Oh my god??? Pls don’t tell me I was the only one with so many questions

AND THE POST CREDITS SAM RAIMI U FUCKING GENIUS HOW DOES ONE SET UP A POST CREDITS SO PERFECTLY

Ok there’s def a lot more that should be in the liked list, but here’s a very short list of things I didn’t like/wanted but didn’t get cuz tbh I rly can’t think of many things rn

The pacing felt a bit off? Idk but it went by so quickly. It made sense in the moment but afterwards I was like it’s only been 20mins tho??

I hoped we’d get to see some Loki for this movie (without sylvie pls) but at the same time I feel like it was fine without them? idk

yeah that’s all lmao

Just some other final thoughts

I rly can’t compare this movie to NWH just because they both were absolutely amazing in two completely different ways. MoM fucked with my brain made me think a lot about the plot as opposed to NWH which was a lot of doing what the fans wanted neither of them being bad but they just aren’t things that I can fairly compare on any scale imo

So many things came full circle in this and I’m honestly in love with that

I loved the Wandegore temple and was low-key kind of disappointed when it was destroyed. It was honestly so pretty and I had a moment when I noticed Sanskrit inscribing on the walls ngl

One more plug for Sam Raimi cuz why the fuck not. Sir I love you <3

Overall Rating: 8.5/10 

#mom spoilers #multiverse of madness spoilers #doctor strange spoilers #doctor strange multiverse of madness spoilers #doctor strange in the multiverse of madness spoilers #doctor strange multiverse of madness review #multiverse of madness review #movie reviews #mcu spoilers #multiverse of madness #shri's movie reviews #shri's posts: mom

[starcookiechu]

So wait they really go on "the darkhold corrupts the reader" So Strange should get more trouble than the souls of the damned right?? They bothered him for possession of a corpse but not dream walking. And I've been told the extra eye is more of a good thing. A power up if you will.

So are you telling me that Wanda destroying the darkhold suddenly erased Strange's sins?? So it doesn't affect him in any negative way?? Thats kinda cheap.

Anyways if this is really how Wanda dies- its super shitty.

#multiverse of madness review #mcu multiverse #multiverse of madness #multiverse of madness spoilers

[mustnotbenamedblog]

Movie Review: 'Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness'

Movie Review: ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, the latest instalment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, blows the doors to the multiverse wide open – with director Sam Raimi taking the franchise in a scarier (and bloodier) direction. I just got back from a late-night screening of Marvel’s latest, so let’s get into my spoiler-free review! Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness delivers exactly…

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#Doctor Strange #Doctor Strange 2 #Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness #Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness Review #Doctor Strange Review #Marvel #Marvel Cinematic Universe #Marvel Movie #Marvel Studios #MCU #Multiverse Of Madness #Multiverse of Madness Review #Sam Raimi

[elennemigo]

Benedict Cumberbatch´s year in review ✧ 2022.

"... your support (Sophie's) , your honesty, searing at times as it is, your style, your grace, your beauty, your generosity, and your love are extraordinary. And I’m just, I’m really enjoying this, but it wouldn’t be half the ride if I was on my own without you, that it is with you together, we’ve created an amazing, amazing family of three extraordinary little human beings. ... they’re amazing. They’re amazing...So thank you for keeping me grounded boys. I love you so much... you are my little stars and I adore you... I should say thank you to the fans as well. I thank you all for following me on this journey.... Lots of love. Good night. Goodbye. Au revoir. “

#benedict cumberbatch #benedictcumberbatchedit #2022 review #the power of the dog #doctor strange in the multiverse of madness #the electrical life of Louis wain wain #Saturday Night live #baftas 2022 #Oscars 2022 #letters live2022 #choose love #marvelcastedit #dailymarvelkings #mcuchallenge #userbbelcher #userrobin #userelysia #userliliana #noalook #elegifs #HAPPY NEW YEAR!!🥂

[ankle-beez]

#my letterboxd reviews #angel.post #doctor strange in the multiverse of madness #mcu #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #dr strange in the multiverse of madness #doctor strange #dr strange

[doctorofmagic]

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness complete review (with spoilers)

See you on the other side of the cut o/

Just a quick disclaimer, I still do not have high quality screenshots (obviously) so I’ll try my best between pics from the trailer and leaked scenes.

So. Of course, I’ll be starting with none other than Stephen Strange. And by that I do not mean the other other Stephen, I mean the original one. Stephen grows SO MUCH in this movie, and this is exactly what I always wanted and been waiting for since the release of his first solo movie. After all, six years is not an easy period to endure. I was beyond sick of seeing so much arrogance and no development whatsoever. But FINALLY, FINALLY Stephen allows his vulnerability to show and, from that, heal and grow. There are two key elements which are intrinsic to make him question his entire subjectivity: love and happiness.

He begins his journey trying to understand why he failed to be with Christine. It’s really hard to see someone you love with another partner, but I can see in his eyes that Stephen is glad for her, even though he can’t help but investigate why they didn’t work out. Once more, Stephen’s need to be in control (something that is not that strange to comic book readers either) gets in the way because yes, he’s an insecure man, and this is where this toxic behavior comes from. He accepts that Christine can’t love this part of his self and he isn’t willing to change, thus sealing the fate of their relationship. And it’s perfectly fine. I know the MCU tends to portray Christine as Stephen’s ultimate love but stay with me. We’ll talk about love for sure. I simply love how Stephen is like “Okay, I blew up and she deserves happiness, even though I still love her. She still means the world to me.” He’ll get there. He will.

In addition, there’s this question that keeps popping here and there. “Are you happy, Stephen?” Of course, he isn’t happy. He lost the love of his life (or so he assumes), he lives alone in the Sanctum, saving Earth didn’t bring the fulfillment he needed either. Yes, he found another way to save lives, which is his purpose since he decided to be a doctor. Is it enough, though?

Throughout the movie, Stephen slowly learns that his variants may not be all that altruistic as he belives himself to be because of his need to be in control. Supreme Stephen made mistakes and accepted his execution as part of his guilt for allowing himself to be corrupted by the Darkhold and bringing an incursion upon his Earth, even though he indeed saved the world in the process. Defender Stephen died after trying to take America’s power when left with no choice. Sinister Stephen couldn’t prevent the incursion and was also corrupted by the Darkhold, becoming a murderer out of jealousy in the name of his love for Christine. I could go further and mention that What If?Stephen also ended up corrupted because death was not in his control, and he only realized his mistake when it was too late. All these Stephens have the same core issue, so what makes our Stephen different? He saw his variants’ mistakes and decided to take a different path (just a bit though). This is why he ends up reading the Darkhold anyways BUT he allows America to explore her full potential, finally letting someone else decide the fate of the universe for a change. This is controversial in some regards because, well, some expect the main character to save the day. But, taking into consideration the way I perceive Stephen personally, I am way more satisfied with his character development than settling a fight to measure wands and power. He wins by trusting America, he overcomes his trust issues, he IS better after this fight as a whole. I’ve always been here not for power but for his cunning, inherent altruism and growth.

Other important elements that allowed Stephen to grow that I’d like to point out: his relationship with Wong, not only the usual banter but Stephen actually bowing to him in the end of the movie, showing Wong that he learned humility (and their relationship is one of my favorite things about this movie); his trust issues which he gradually overcomes thanks to his relationship with America, allowing himself to be vulnerable and relying on others; his constant attempt to reach out for Wanda, never truly initiating the fight and giving her a chance and a choice; his acknowledgment that Wanda is indeed powerful and he may not be enough to save the multiverse. Really, in advance, I will say that I hate the plot deeply, but Stephen’s characterization and growth are absolutely magnificent and at least I can breathe in relief knowing that my character was treated with respect (and honestly, I don’t think it was the writer who made this possible based on the rumors on set. I think it was Benedict being extremely passionate about him, and the director following his directions).

Magic is also better, as I previously stated. Not perfect, though. Still no incantations, and yet better for a fact. I may have recognized some, like the Chains of Krakkran and the Flames of Faltine, yet it’s hard to establish such spells with accuracy when they’re not officially invoked. Still, there is diversification, from summoning monsters to manifesting physical... I dunno, stands? If you’re  curious about my favorite scene, I can tell in advance that, after the post-credit scene, my favorite one was the bard fight between Stephen and Sinister Strange. And speaking of which, I really wish Donna’s demise had more importance instead of being just a mention to show Stephen his vulnerability and fears as a person (like, say, the animated movie), yet I can understand we can’t have it all and the plot sadly wasn’t meant just for him.

Lastly, let’s talk about love. I was kinda YIKES about Stephen falling in love with other Christine because it gives me the impression that people are fated to be together in the multiverse, leaving them no choice when it comes to fall in love with other people, an immutable point in time and space that repeats itself over and over. Thank the Vishanti it was not the case because SHE appeared. I AM VINDICATED, FINALLY. HER EXISTENCE CURED MY MENTAL ILLNESS, IT’S OVER FOR THE MCU. THE QUEEN IS HERE. Clea had 10 seconds on screen and she’s already the girlboss I always believed her to be. The chemistry they share is unbelievable. I cannot describe my happiness and relief after SO MANY EXHAUSTING YEARS of MCU fans telling me Christine is Clea. Why was it so hard for people to envision two different female characters? Christine in this movie isn’t even the Night Nurse, she’s a scientist and a technomancer, of sorts. She’s her own character, as is Clea. And I’m vindicated. You all know me, you know how much I love and simp for Clea, and how I don’t get tired of stating how hopelessly in love Stephen is with her. I will come back to this when I talk about the plot, I just want to conclude my train of thought here about love. So, overall, I’m really glad that Stephen recognized his fear of feeling vulnerable, and scientist Christine is really important for his journey. Because yeah, it’s cute that he loves Christine in all universes because he is a being of love (which is not the first time we talk about it on this blog). Love to Stephen is fundamental because it’s hard for him to love himself, despite all the apparent narcissism. Stephen may be confident and proud of his skills as a doctor and a sorcerer, yet he’s aware that he lacks skills in social circumstances and relationships. On the top of that, Stephen will have to allow himself to trust and love again, which is a very difficult process for someone who strongly believes he deserves to be alone. To open up again, especially for Clea, will be a blast.

And this is AMAZING because it’s been years that I’m trying to say that this character right here has TONS OF LAYERS, and we finally managed to see some of the deepest ones, which makes me extremely happy.

We saw how dependent on love he is, how his narcissistic self is a facade to hide his fears (being vulnerable; not being enough; not being in control; failing people - especially Donna; coping with loss and pain and loneliness; admitting to himself that he hasn’t found fulfillment and happiness etc). STEPHEN IS FINALLY BEING PORTRAYED AS THE CHARACTER I FELL IN LOVE WITH and I couldn’t be happier. This is why I loved him in this movie and I’ll not get tired of praising his characterization. He’s so on point. He’s just... perfect.

And this is also a double-edged sword for me because the plot is... terrible. In advance, I need to state that 1) I’m not an MCU!Wanda stan, 2) I do not stan actors in general and 3) this is my opinion as someone who is constantly rooting for 616!Wanda to have a proper representation and move past her terrible portrayals in so many recent runs. Feel free to disagree but please understand where I’m coming from, a comic book reader who deeply loves the magic community and defends the fact that this group is one of the most significant and strong bonds in all the Marvel Universe. On the top of that, I also defend how Wanda and Stephen are friends in 616.

In two words? Character assassination. I dunno, most of her stans are quite infamous and I’ve seen so many of them rooting for her to be a psycho villain and kill everyone. This is not the Wanda I wanted to see in the MCU. First of all, I cannot stress how much it’s problematic for me to see a female character who was supposed to be a hero, a freaking nexus being that protects magic and reality, reduced to... Samara with magic. Second, I really dislike how witchcraft has been reduced to an evil kind of magic, ESPECIALLY knowing that Wanda was supposed to be a WOC and her magic is deeply rooted in Roma culture. Third, mental health stereotype. I remember watching Cinema Therapy’s episode on Wandavision (and I do love them), but they talk about grief and how Wanda tries to cope with this pain by deceiving herself. They point out it’s an unhealthy mechanism and she does hurt people in the process, but she embraces the mourning and runs away in order to heal. They do not mention she’s sorry for the things she has done. Because she isn’t. I can’t help but wonder now if she can get away with all that to justify her pain, even though she was influenced by the Darkhold. She tortured and killed innocent people, she was willing to murder a teenager with the exhausting excuse of being a mother (and I really hate how so many people use motherhood as an excuse to be abusive, harmful and manipulative). Don’t get me wrong, I think that, overall, she’s one of the most interesting villains so far in the MCU, although I can’t pretend I’m not bothered by all the previous elements I just pointed. I will not endorse a redemption arc even though she “opened” her eyes at the very last second. Because the only thing that made her realize her wrongdoings was the fact that her children were scared of her. It didn’t feel altruistic to me. And according to rumors, we’re heading to Children’s Crusade, which is a book that YIKES... Rip my Victor von Doom. Rip Wanda as an empowered woman. I’m sorry, it’s just really hard to love Wanda in the MCU when I know she’s nothing like the hero I root for in comic books. I can understand why people love her but, again, in my opinion, this is not the character I’d waste my energy on and invest myself in. But enough of Wanda, let’s get into America *breathes in*

Ah, yes. I really love America in general. She’s sweet, funny, she has potential to be part of one of my favorite tropes (daughter adopted by dysfunctional dad), she’s strong and empowered, she’s latina which is amazing for minorities to feel represented. So what is my issue here? The issue is that absolutely nothing of her afro Puerto Rican heritage was represented as far as I can tell (there is also the issue of going for a Mexican reference, which basically confirms that Hollywood sees us as interchangeable). I’m not Mexican or Puerto Rican, despite living in South America, so please feel free to correct me on this one. Also I’m glad her mothers made an appearance but listen. After watching Eternals (and, not related but OFMD), I cannot be satisfied with lukewarm LGBTQIA+ representation anymore. This is really hard personally because unlike Wanda, whose portrayal is really bad in general according to my perspective, America is an amazing character. Yet I feel it’s my duty to listen to people who want to have their voices heard, be seen and represented properly in media. Again, feel free to disagree, but I do believe these aspects matter. I don’t want to spoil people’s excitement and joy, I just feel that pointing these things out is the bare mininum I can do as a human being, especially when it’s not my place to talk about it. Despite all that, America is really amazing and I deeply want to cherish for her. Her daughter/father relationship with Stephen is so on point (pretty much what I envision for Illyana, for instance). I was kinda hhhhhh when I saw her learn magic (because she’s not really a sorcerer) and I really need her to have more skills, but that will be definitely be explored (I have inside info that Wong and America will have a special so yep, daughter confirmed).

Now let’s move to other characters. I’m just SO glad Wong remained as the Sorcerer Supreme and the fact that he holds knowledge that Stephen doesn’t, which is GOOD because that’s how their dynamics are supposed to be according to the magic hierarchy. I’m relieved to know that he didn’t die so Stephen could take the mantle, that would be problematic af and I don’t want that either. I do think he could have performed more spells but I understand that the movie is basically Wanda and Stephen. I already mentioned how he was a wonderful comic relief with the right amount of comedy, but also a wonderful leader. A thousand years of Wong supremacy!! also they’re super married

Now, what really BOTHERS me is how both Sara and Rintrah were forgetable. I talked to two different friends and they both couldn’t remember Sara’s name, because, yeah, she died. And I still do not know who she is. Is she Mordo’s mother? Is she Sara Wolfe? Is she an entire new character that only existed to give a hint about Wong having a relationship with someone? And Rintrah was supposed to fix Cloakie!! I’m very disappointed concerning these two, they deserved so much more. And I was also baited and led to believe Mordo would have a more significant role but no, he was just part of the Illuminati. Glad he didn’t die, all things considered.

But yeah, speaking of the Illuminati... I SCREAMED SO MUCH NOT ONLY BECAUSE REED AND XAVIER BUT BUT BUT LISTEN, REED TALKED ABOUT THE INCURSIONS!!! SECRET WARS!! DOCTOR DOOM IS COMING, PEOPLE!!!!! THE HYPE IS REAL!! ;-; But I’ll get there as soon as I talk about comic book references *holds my own horses*

Just a quick mention about Christine. I loved her alternate version and the fact that she managed to apply magic to technology. I also adored that she didn’t end up with Stephen - and maybe I’m biased here because I’m team Cleaphen all the way up, but listen. They wouldn’t work out, and that Christine is just a projection of what he lived with his Christine. She knows she’d be loving an idea, and Stephen is just too hopelessly in need of love to notice that so of course he’s willing to try. Poor little meow meow...

Mmmm, what else am I missing? Probably a few things, there are too many details so let’s review the comic book references that I was able to notice before I forget them. (there might be more, though, so feel free to check other sources!)

1. Darkhold, Chthon and some Wanda’s lore

As I stated previously, no arc was adapted in this movie, except the few times Wanda was possessed by Chthon. Chthon was indeed mentioned (and I immediately thought of Super Hero Squad’s Chthon, if you know, you know), but he was not directly involved in this plot, which was LAME imo. If Chthon was indeed involved, that would still grant an opportunity for Wanda to redeem herself. It was not what happened. Go read Darkhold Alpha/Omega, a recent comic book about Wanda overcoming Chthon and absorbing the Darkhold into herself (Victor is terribly portrayed in this but it’s fine, it’s fine). Wundagore is of course deeply related to Wanda but that’s it. It’s also fair to state that the Darkhold isn’t just about dream walking but it also contains a spell that extinguishes all vampires on Earth (the Montesi Formula). Stephen used it once and survived the Darkhold’s influence (the same can’t be said about MCU!Stephen though...). This is as far as I can go about this matter so feel free to dig more about these subjects.

2. Artifacts

The book of the Vishanti was an obvious one. The Sands of Nisanti were used to poison Stephen and America and also prevent them from using magic and powers (you can check this spell in The Oath and also Cates’ run during the Loki: Sorcerer Supreme arc). And well, the Evil Eye was not the Evil Eye as we first assumed since 2016, despite having the same design (I’m immensely sorry but I totally forgot its name). Once more we managed to see the Wand of Watoomb. Clea’s weapon shares a deep similarity to Stephen’s scalpel in v5, being able to cut rifts between dimensions.

3. Incursions, Illuminati, New Avengers and Secret Wars

No one touch me right now, I’m having a full meltdown thinking of my beloved New Avengers and Secret Wars. But for real, hhhhh. I knew Peggy, Xavier and Monica were going to appear because of the leaks, but Black Bolt and especially Reed (!!!) were such a good surprise. And on the top of that, incursions????? Soooo, what about incursions in the 616? Strangeplaining Hickman is hard enough, ngl. But it’s worth the reading. It’s basically the same concept, two worlds colliding, except they don’t merge. They literally collide, and the cause is also different. I don’t suppose incursions will be centered on Beyonders after watching dsitmom. I think it will be definitely related to magic and Stephen will be a key element for that. But we also need our MCU!Illuminati to become a reality (I’ll never call MCU the 616 universe, I’m sorry, Christine, you are just wrong). Also can I just say that I MELTED when Reed talked about Sue and Franklin and Valeria? THEY EXIST, THEY’RE REAL, MY FANTASTIC FOUR IS REAL, HELP ME, I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR SO SO SO LONG, LEMME BE ANNOYING ABOUT IT. AND IF VALERIA EXISTS, IT MEANS THAT DOOM ALSO EXISTS CAUSE HE WAS THE ONE WHO HELPED SUE TO GIVE BIRTH. OH, VISHANTI, IT’S HAPPENING. Also also also if Xavier real, so is Illyana *becomes dust*

Okay so some people were upset about the deaths and Reed telling Wanda about Black Bolt’s powers. I pretend I do not see it. Do not count on me to criticize anything about Reed, he’s perfect. Black Bolt is okay, I didn’t watch the tv show because I do not hate myself to this point. But listen. Reed is kind enough to try and reason with cray cray Wanda. Also the Illuminati are supposed to do shady stuff like lying and manipulating facts, come on!!!! It feels like you guys never read New Avengers v3. So do me a favor and go for it. Also they died fast??? It was convenient for the plot, guys. It’s not like they had 40 minutes to battle and be even more amazing. They were supposed to be fanservice, AND I’M TAKING IT FOR SURE AAAAAAAAAAAA

*X-Men ‘97 theme intensifies*

4. Corruption

So, the third eye. The third eye in comics isn’t *just* related to corruption. It allows the user to see supernatural things that ordinary people can’t. BUT the movie was a clear reference to this New Avengers v3 panel here.

And guess what? In the middle of an INCURSION!! I’m all down for corrupted Stephen, as long as he doesn’t become a Wanda 2.0. I want him to feel guilty and miserable about it, just like New Avengers v3 and Doctor Strange v4. And yes, I do love Stephen, was there any doubt about it?

5. v4 reference detected!!

Stephen is wearing this outfit conceived by Bachalo for v4 in the first post-credits scene.

6. Multiverses

I spotted The Living Tribunal, and my friend said that the Fortnite world was also a thing (I don’t play it so this is why I missed this one haha, but it makes sense assuming Fortnite now is basically a super fandom and Marvel has indeed strong ties with the franchise). More and more we’re seeing cosmic beings and honestly I can’t wait for my Eternity to show up.

And lastly...

CLEA

MY LOVE, MY QUEEN, MY EVERYTHING. I KNEW Marvel was pushing Clea for a while now, it was not a coincidence. And again, I can finally rest. She’s perfect. 10 seconds on screen and she’s the girlboss she’s meant to be. They share such an amazing chemistry, she bosses Stephen around and he immediately goes “yes, mommy”. I NEED THEM RIGHT NOW.

LOOK AT THEM, LOOK AT THEEEEEEEEEM, IT’S MY SHIP OVER THERE, I CAN’T WAIT FOR THEM TO CLEAN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE, IT’S OVER FOR EVERYONE AAAAAAAAAA

*ahem*

I’m probably (definitely) forgetting something. It’s just too much info to process and despite watching it twice, I was too caught up in the fanservice, I couldn’t help but vibrate and scream and feel emotionally full by seeing my Stephen on screen.

SO, SUMMING UP.

Bad plot, not centered around the protagonist because of the fandom. Best Stephen’s characterization in the MCU so far, though. Tons of fanservice. Danny Elfman did it again, I shall love him for that symphony fight alone. Magic is becoming cooler and cooler. Cleaphen is real. New Avengers/Secret Wars next project confirmed. All my dreams are coming true and all my faves shall interact one day *believing intensifies*

If you’re here for Stephen, go ahead and watch this movie. It’s definitely worth it. The post-credit scene alone is enough, I assure you.

Final score: 8,5/10.

#doctor strange #stephen strange #wanda maximoff #scarlet witch #america chavez #wong #karl mordo #christine palmer #clea #clea strange #reed richards #mr fantastic #review #mcu #dsitmom #dsitmom spoilers #doctor strange in the multiverse of madness

[the-haunted-star]

My humble thoughts on

Review (No spoilers.)

I'm sad to say I found it a bit underwhelming. I feel like the trailers were kind of misleading as well as showing way too much (and I only watched the first trailer!) The plot is rather simple with America Chavez essentially being the macguffin of the film whom the villain wants for her power to navigate the multiverse. America is an endearing new character portrayed by Xochitl Gomez and compliments Doctor Strange well in a sidekick, apprentice type of relationship as she helps guide Stephen through the multiverse while he in turn tries to protect her from the pursuit of the big bad.

Speaking of the villain, without spoiling things I can't help but be reminded of Daenerys' heel turn in Game of Thrones and how disheartening that was. Although to be fair I think the motivation of the villain in this film is more understandable than the Mother of Dragon's was which was purely more out of spite and revenge than anything else.

I also felt the potential for the possible multiverse realities that could have been visited was a missed opportunity. Like the first Doctor Strange film, much of the multiversal travel was presented in a quick but beautiful montage sequence. Unfortunately the "838 universe" that the film spends the most time in isn't drastically different visually from the 616 reality.

Overall it's a quick paced film with some excellent action sequences and visual effects. Elizabeth Olsen continues to shine as Wanda and although this is a Doctor Strange titled film it feels more like a Scarlet Witch movie as it continues her character journey from WandaVision. The film is entertaining to be sure and has some great surprises (if you avoided spoilers) but I can't help but feel this film had much more potential that was left untapped. ⭐⭐⭐½

#doctor strange in the multiverse of madness #doctor strange #stephen strange #wanda maximoff #scarlet witch #america chavez #benedict cumberbatch #elizabeth olsen #xochitl gomez #marvel cinematic universe #movie review

[justmenoworries]

MoM Spoilers!!!

Okay, had a good night’s sleep, now I’m ready to yell.

This movie was fucking awful. It had no bearing on the greater MCU, over half of it is figurative and literal character assassination and a very cool character is side-lined for the sake of White Man Pain™.

What was the fucking point of WandaVision if Wanda seemingly hasn’t learned a goddamn thing and has even gotten worse, somehow??? Seriously, why is the woman who was so horrified about Lagos, who broke down in tears after realizing she was holding an entire town hostage and retreated to the middle of bumfuck nowhere without a fight as penance suddenly so gung-ho about sadistically murdering innocent people, one of which is a literal fucking child???? Her going after and dehumanizing America made no sense at all. Wanda said it herself at the start of the movie: If anyone would know what it’s like to be burdened with and hunted down for enormous powers that you never asked for, it would be Wanda. Are you telling me she had this whole arc about facing her grief and learning that she can’t use her powers to force the world into appeasing her in WandaVision just to make a 180 in the very next installment she appeared in??? Whyyyy????? And don’t give me any of that “buT ThE daRkHoLd”-crap, it’s a bad excuse for a motivation and you know it. If it really was the Darkhold, then why didn’t destroying it immediately snap Wanda back to normal? Why were Wanda’s ultimate plans so small-scale overall if a literal Book of the Damned had a stranglehold on her mind??? That’s like saying the Infinity Stones corrupted Thanos. Also, the way this movie tried so desperately to have it’s cake and eat it was embarrassing. On one hand they want Wanda to be a ruthless horror movie villain who cares for no one and nothing but herself and her children (not Vision though, Wanda seemingly completely forgot about him) and who will slaughter millions of people without a second thought or any sympathy to any family members they might leave behind, but then also want her to be a sympathetic uwu victim who constantly cries about how unfair everything is and how much of a hypocrite Dr. Strange is for not letting her murder a 16-year-old girl. Yeah no. If you want me to feel sorry for a character, maybe don’t spend sixty percent of the movie showing her sadistically torture and kill people who did nothing to her. “But Wanda as a villain was so fun!” Surprisingly enough, I agree. Villain!Wanda was badass and made for a very fun antagonist. But if you needed to make a Scarlet Witch the bad guy, why our Scarlet Witch??? I mean, an alternative was staring you right in the fucking face: We know magic users can “dreamwalk”, meaning pilot alternate versions of themselves in other universes. It could have been an alternate Scarlet Witch, possessing 616!Wanda. Wanda didn’t need to be the villain again. I am so tired of mentally ill and traumatized women being made into horrible monsters in narratives. Wanda already had her villain and anti-hero arcs, why couldn’t you let her be purely the hero this one time???? Also, I really don’t know how I feel about Wanda killing herself to destroy every Darkhold in the multiverse. On one hand, after all the shit she pulled in this movie, there was just no feasible way to have it end differently than her performing a heroic sacrifice. You can’t cry the hundreds of people she murdered back to life. You can’t just ignore the horrible things she put America through. You can’t unmake all the gross and vile things she said in this movie to justify her actions. So what’s left? But then again, as I said, I am so fucking sick of the tired old “hysterical, mentally ill woman makes things worse for everyone because she’s traumatized and mentally ill and also female”-trope. Also, her death opens a whole other can of worms concerning the MCU!Young Avengers that I’ll discuss further later on. What makes this worse is that Wanda’s anger at Dr. Strange and the world in general for continually tearing everything away from her and framing her as a villain whenever she makes an honest mistake is somewhat justfiied, but because we can’t have an angry woman be right about anything, boom! Villain Ball. The Avengers didn’t do shit for her. No one but Vision and maybe Clint ever tried to help her through her trauma. Tony wanted her locked away. S.W.O.R.D. dismantled the corpse of her husband and refused to let her bury him. When she had a mental breakdown and caused the Westview-incident, that’s when people finally started to notice that she was not okay and even then the majority of those who noticed just immediately dismissed her as a terrorist that needed to be put down like Old Yeller. Dr. Strange fucking knew about Westview, but didn’t think to help her and only made contact with her long after, when he needed her for something. She had happiness for about a week, before she was forced to tear it all down again. The MCU just loves torturing Wanda and I’m. So. Sick of it.

Why was Dr. Strange here? No, I’m serious, what impact did this movie have on anything in his character arc? He’s still arrogant, he’s still forever pining after a woman who just isn’t interested in him anymore and he’s still messing with powers he shouldn’t and justifies it by citing “the greater good”. Nothing about him changed. He’s not actually challenged on his moral beliefs, because everyone who is against him and his methods is either wrong or killed or both. As mentioned before, we learn nothing more about his character, other than that he’s still hung up on Christine, which oh my fucking god, can we drop the Christine story-line for Dr. Strange already???? She’s not interested, let him move the fuck on and deal with other things! Also, I fucking hate that they made him a “mentor” to America and the Marvel-stans of course jumped on it, because they just love Found Family, even if it’s executed as shitty as it is in most MCU-things. Strange should have been the one to learn new things beyond basic multiverse-stuff in the movie. Strange should have been the fish out of water trying to keep up. They introduce a bunch of alternate Dr. Stranges and none of them matter. The fight with evil!Strange is creative, I’ll give it that, but it felt like padding. All it really establishes is that Stephen’s obsession with Christine is unhealthy, only to backpedal and frame Stephen telling Christine that he can only love her in every universe as romantic and heartwarming. Y’Know, despite the fact that we just got done kiling a version of Stephen hat literally only existed to show us why that isn’t a good thing. He can’t do jackshit against Wanda in any of their confrontations and his powers are massively downplayed for most of the movie, so he can’t really act as a bodyguard to America either. He ends the movie with a third eye like evil!Dr Strange had, as a consequence of using the Darkhold, but it doesn’t even bother him and the after-credits scene has him dive into multiverse-shenanigans all over again like nothing’s wrong and nothing happened. This did not need to be a Dr. Strange movie. At all. Also, love how the movie pretended Strange moping about not getting to date Christine was remotely comparable to America dealing with the trauma of being separated from her moms and stranded in the multiverse when she was a toddler. Can you tell this movie was written be a white man?

America Chavez was one of the few saving graces in this movie (besides the visuals, Elisabeth Olsen’s performance and the Illuminati). Xochitl Gomez owns this role and the way they portrayed her powers was amazing. That being said, why oh why did she have to play second fiddle to Dr. Strange??? Why did we have yet another tired instance of the “insecure female hero can’t control her powers until an older male hero tells her to believe in herself”-trope????? America should have been a lead character, not a Living Macguffin who needs to be protected and is unable to fight for herself until the climax. Also, why exactly did she have to go to Kamar Taj? She’s not a sorceress, her powers have nothing to do with the mystic arts???? This is just the most transparent excuse to shove her off to the side-lines and I hate it. What I also hate is how the MCU-fandom is already clamoring for Dr. Strange (and sometimes Christine, because just like Stephen, stans have learned nothing from evil!Strange) to be her “adopted parents”. Um, guys, i don’t know if you forgot, I wouldn’t blame you, it was a really short scene, but: America has parents?! She has two loving mothers somewhere in the multiverse that she would very much like to see again. They’re not dead, the movie makes it a point several times that they’re probably alive out there and that a reunion with them is more than possible, now that America has control over her interdimensional-travel powers.Why the hell are y’all always so quick to replace a poc-character’s loving parents with random white people they barely know??? More importantly, I hate how, instead of whooping her abuser’s ass, America had to appease her to “win”. That’s a horrible message. “If you can’t beat/escape a person hurting you, just give them what they want and hope they come to a heel-realization.” America shouldn’t have been forced to open that portal. She should have beat Scarlet Witch’s ass and then dragged her into that universe by the hair to show her alternate children what a monster she’s become out of spite. This movie’s Wanda deserved no sympathy after all the shit she put everyone and especially America through. This is the second time that a woman of color was forced to be Wanda’s therapist after being treated like a punching bag by her. Speaking of, wonder how Monica Rambeau will react to the fact that not only was she wrong about Wanda not being dangerous apparently, but that Wanda killed an alternate version of her mother in cold blood. Boy, won’t that be an awkward thing to address when they inevitably bring Scarlet Witch back? America travelled the multiverse for over ten years, she shouldn’t have been nearly as helpless as she was in this movie. She should have had more knowledge of alternate universes than “traffic lights are different” and “most universes have free food”. She should have been a way more savvy character by the time she met with 616!Dr. Strange. This should have been her movie as much as his. Also, she shouldn’t have been dropped off at Kamar Taj. She should have gone on a search for her moms. She has control now, she is, like I already said, not a sorceress, so why does she need to go to sorcerer-school??? That way you even have a good set-up for her showing back up to help the MCU Young Avengers. She’s found her mothers, but realized the multiverse, and especially universe 616, could need a hero like her. So she comes back and joins the team. Speaking of which...

The way this movie went above and beyond to drill in the point that Billy and Tommy Maximoff do not exist in our universe 616. Dr. Strange repeatedly says that they’re “not real”, because Wanda made them out of magic, like the mere existence of Vision isn’t proof that artificial beings are just as much alive as organic ones. Also, just to twist the knife further, Billy and Tommy exist in every other alternate universe, despite it being just as impossible for Wanda to have children with Vision in those as it is in universe 616. (They never really do resolve that plot-hole, huh?) If that isn’t the MCU showing their entire ass, I don’t know what is. For those of you who don’t know, Billy, a.k.a. Wiccan, and Tommy, a.k.a. Speed, are incredibly important characters for a lot of LGBT+ comic-readers. Billy is possibly Marvel’s most iconic gay character, together with his boyfriend Teddy, a.k.a Hulkling. Their relationship and they themselves are crucial to several story-lines in the Young Avengers-comics. Tommy is canonically bisexual and, while not as much as Billy, still important to several story arcs. I really cannot understate how much seeing these two on the big screen would have meant to me and so many other queer comic- and superhero-fans. But that’s very unlikely to happen now, because Wanda is dead, so she can’t restore them to life in any way. Dr. Strange sure as hell won’t do it, we already know where he stands. And White Vision probably doesn’t even remember or really care about them. The most we can hope for is that their alternate versions will show up somehwere down the line to do a quick 5-second “See? We have gays!”-cameo, before being banished to the aether again. Cool. Moving on. Why even have that after-credits scene in WandaVision with them screaming for help if you’re not gonna do anything with it?

The Illuminati. Oooh boy. Are you seriously telling me that nobody saw any kind of issue with introducing an alternate version of the Avengers that consisted of poc, disabled and female characters, as opposed to the all-white only one woman team of universe 616, and then not only have them all be portrayed as tight-assed, self-absorbed jerks, but also have them killed in the most gruesome manner by a white woman? Aside from Mordo, the black guy in charge, he gets to be portrayed as a vengeful dickbag and then humiliated by his white counterpart. Having 838!Maria Rambeau show up as an alternate Captain Marvel only to have Wanda squash her under a statue is just so many levels of gross. What the fuck is your issue with non-white characters being powerful, Marvel? Don’t actually answer, we all know. Also, of course the only other member of the 838!Avengers-team who gets to live and be portrayed as heroic is Christine, the white woman our also white lead is still simping for. Color me shocked. This is my shocked face. Such a promising cast of powerful characters. Introduced to be a speedbump and prove a white man’s moral superiority. Thanks, I hate it.

For a movie named the Multiverse of Madness, we didn’t really get to see all that much of said multiverse. (Though it did succeed in making me mad, I’ll give it that.) The only alternate universes in this movie are our universe, Earth 616, the Illuminati-universe, Earth 838, and the destroyed universe evil!Strange lives in. That’s it. The multiverse, ladies, gentlemen and non-binary readers! We get so many glimpses of the other worlds in the first jump-scene and only explore one percent of them. Though I suppose “Doctor Strange and the Two Alternative Universes that Kinda Suck” wouldn’t have made for such a snazzy title, huh?

I think I’m done. In more that one way. I’m gonna retreat into my corner now and try to purge everything about this movie that wasn’t America Chavez or the Illuminati from my mind. This movie could have been so great. But the MCU couldn’t help itself, it seems. I should have listened to the dozens of people telling me the MCU was going down the shitter, but noooo, I had to have faith and watch this dreg.

MCU-stans don’t @ me. I sincerely do not give a crap about your opinion and probably vice-versa, so trying to convince me this movie was good will lead to nothing but frustration for both sides.

#mom spoilers #multiverse of madness spoilers #rant review

[astral-crab]

my thoughts on the multiverse of madness movie below the cut. obviously, SPOILER WARNING. spoilers spoilers spoilers all the spoilers. SPOILERS.

overall, this movie was so disappointing. i was really hoping for better but i can’t say i’m surprised by what we got. (and i knew when stephen said, “wanda’s gone” that i wasn’t going to like the rest.) that said, it’s hard not to get your hopes up after wandavision was so fucking amazing. anyway, here are my semi-incoherent feelings about why i disliked this movie. fair warning, i’m gonna rant a lot, so if you liked the movie and just want to keep liking it in peace, this post is not for you lol. if you are also feeling sad and let down by this movie, read on.

the wanda we saw in this movie might as well have been a completely different character from the one we saw in wandavision and the prior movies. the darkhold corruption was just shorthand for “she’s evil now.” she has no agency, the darkhold is running the show. wanda maximoff was effectively erased by it.

there are ways to write villains, especially female ones, that aren’t boring and don’t remove their agency. this was not that. it was a slap in the face to anyone who loved wandavision and what it did with her character. it felt like marvel decided “oh we’ve got a female who’s too powerful now so we’re gonna make her evil and get rid of her.” because what else could they possibly do with a powerful woman amirite??????

make her do bad things for a reason. make her complicated and fucked up and horror-movie terrifying and murdery for a reason. an actual reason, not just “the darkhold made her do it.” agatha read the darkhold too. she got more substance from like a two-minute origin scene in a half-hour episode of wandavision than wanda did in this entire movie. agatha might have been corrupted by the darkhold too (idk), but she was still agatha. her personality still mattered, her backstory still mattered, and she was still making her own choices. wanda in this movie was just a two-dimensional mustache-twirling villain. she wasn’t a person.

the writers for these movies really love their heteronormative stereotypes and gender roles too. and look, like, if you don’t want to pay to have the actors for vision and pietro and wanda’s parents in the movie, that’s fine, but don’t act like they don’t exist. all the wandas in this movie cared about were her westview children. where was vision in the multiverse? you telling me he didn’t survive in a single one? what about pietro? what about her parents? why didn’t 616 wanda/scarlet witch care about them at all? vision got like one single mention in the entire movie. but noooo she’s a mom now so that’s her entire identity. news flash, it’s possible to be a mom and still care about things besides your kids! you are, in fact, still a person!!

also, how did multiverse wanda’s kids even come to exist? either a) she created them in the other multiverses the same as or in a similar manner to how she did in westview and was living happily ever after with them, or b) she got pregnant and gave birth to them non-magically. if it’s the first one, why doesn’t 616 wanda do the same thing?? she’s the scarlet freaking witch! she created vision and the boys once. why not do it again? she can study up on how to do it without enslaving a town in the process! how would that be any different/not as good as stealing her multiverse self’s kids? they’re not even the same kids she lost! she could just bring the boys back like she did with vision, only now she’s super powerful and can figure out a way to do it without creating another westview. you’re telling me that’s impossible but stealing america’s powers and killing her and traveling multiverses isn’t? at least stick a throwaway line in there saying something about how she tried other options first and failed. and if it’s the second one, whoooooo did she get pregnant with (or not, i guess)? if it was vision, how?? can he do that? where did the kids come from? where is vision or whoever their other parent might be in the multiverse? why isn’t the other parents in any of the photos in 838 wanda’s house?

another thing i didn’t like was how they handled 838 wanda. she had powers, but she barely used them until the very end. she barely even had any lines in the movie. and toward the end, when they’re in the in-between space or whatever where the book of ashanti is, the second she’s released, all 838 wanda cares about is getting back to her boys. because apparently the only thing a mother is capable of caring about are her kids? not, like, multiversal destruction or saving america’s life or helping strange fight off evil!wanda or anything. i mean, okay, i guess, that could be what 838 wanda is like, but then if that’s the case, why is she suddenly so compassionate toward evil!wanda in that cringey “they’ll be loved” (BARF) scene? evil!wanda TERRIFIED tommy and billy! she put 838 wanda through hell! 838 wanda should be all guns blazing, powers on full-blast, trying to get that woman the fuck away from her and her kids. again, you can have this scene if you give us a fucking reason for it, but the movie did not. not even close.

and you’re telling me that evil!wanda, willing to murder anyone who got in her path, willing to kill an innocent teenager to steal her powers, suddenly stops it all when 838 tommy and billy are afraid of her? that’s not how people like that work (and not how they wrote her at all in this movie up until that point). wanda wants to control literally everything. she wants to control the world and the multiverses (allegedly so she can protect tommy and billy but whatever). she’d think she could convince tommy and billy not to be afraid of her. or she’d mind-control them. or any number of other things. she wouldn’t just have one minute of them freaking out and be like “oh shit i guess i am a monster after all, never mind, i will stop my evil ways.” after killing all those other people and repeated attempted murder of america didn’t have any affect on her at all? IT MAKES NO SENSE. and no even slightly logical person would assume the boys would be fine with her replacing their real mom. did evil!wanda consider this at all? if not, why????? that makes no sense! but i guess the darkhold corruption just makes it so she’s evil whenever the plot needs her to be and then not evil when it’s time to wrap things up at the end.

so yeah, then that’s all it takes and suddenly evil!wanda decides to kill herself (presumably) and destroy all the darkholds in every multiverse? that is an extreme sudden reversal after she was willing to go to all the lengths she did. why is she suddenly capable of “good” now? i thought the darkhold corrupted her and made her evil. did she overcome its influence somehow? they sure didn’t fucking show even a hint of that. but now because it’s convenient to the plot, she’s suddenly capable of sacrifice. sure.

and if this is really the last we get of 616 wanda, i’m going to be even more pissed off. not an onscreen death, so i’m hoping she’ll be back and that she’ll be, you know, a PERSON, and not an evil cardboard cutout. i guess with the darkholds everywhere destroyed that’s possible. but uhhhh dr. strange sure seemed like he was still having some kind of darkhold-related issue during the mid-credits scene, so presumably the darkhold corruption over 616 wanda would still exist too.

other things i didn’t like:

dr. strange is boring af. he’s arrogant and full of himself, and he’s been that way from the start. i’m supposed to care that he was an asshole to christine back in the day and now he’s lonely and sad about it? too bad. that’s what happens when you treat people badly. also, fucking move on. it’s not healthy when you’re still hung up on someone like that. but the movie treats it like it’s this ~*~tragic~*~ one-that-got-away sob story. you know what, i’m so sick of media expecting us to feel bad for powerful men who behaved like assholes. hawkeye who vigilante-murdered a bunch of people gets a pass and a redemption and a life, we’re supposed to feel bad for stephen, and then wanda gets what she gets in this movie.... you’ve got to be kidding me. and dr. strange is the same person at the beginning of the movie as he was at the end. no character growth. how am i supposed to care about someone who doesn’t even change or grow as a person? who doesn’t even try? stasis = death. that’s like one of the basic rules of storytelling lol.

america can’t control her powers the whole freaking movie, then suddenly at the climax, a MAN tells her to trust herself and that she can do it, and suddenly she’s got complete and perfect control over her powers. yep, she just needed a dude to tell her she could do it. sure.

and why, now that america’s got control of her powers, did she not immediately start looking for her moms????? what the fuck is she doing at kamar-taj learning magic? why would she care? why would she need to? why would any of that be more important to her than finding her moms?????

the writing of the female superheroes in 838 was crappy. you’re really telling me captain carter and maria marvel were cool with executing 838 strange, their fellow team member, because he fucked up and did some dreamwalking, even after he stopped doing the bad stuff and helped them defeat thanos? and they’re then like, “yeah but you’re dangerous, so we’re gonna kill you.” and also you’re trying to convince me that any version of dr. strange would just be like “yeah okay that’s cool, i’ll just sit here and let you kill me and not try to fight it at all.” yeah right. gimme a break.

and if agent carter and maria marvel get to be such vastly different versions of themselves across the multiverses, why are all the multiverse wandas living the same happy domestic life with her two kids? what about x-men wanda? (i haven’t read the comics but i’ve read a few wikipedia articles about mutants and house of m and how she’s magneto’s daughter, etc.) what about multiverses where wanda’s parents didn’t die? where she never encountered the mindstone? the premise that literally every other multiverse has carbon copies of wanda and her boys living happily together is ridiculous and goes against the movie’s own logic (and i’ve only seen the movie once so maybe i’m remembering wrong, but i’m pretty sure that’s what evil!wanda said in the beginning, that literally every other version of her gets her kids).

also where were tommy and billy’s powers? they were just normal kids in this movie. they threw random objects at evil!wanda to fight her. no super speed, no mind-reading magic-y stuff? why? why are they different than they were in westview??? it’s fine if they are, but give us a friggin reason???

and why the fuck did evil!wanda need to threaten to kill people to get wong to tell her what he knew? wanda is a telepath. she is a mind-reader. she fucks with people’s memories as her primary technique. that’s her whole bag, as darcy said. she could just go into his brain and get what she wanted and be done in two seconds flat. again i say, she’s the scarlet fucking witch. given everything else she’s been doing, this would be a cakewalk for her. lazy fucking writing. and wong wouldn’t give in that easily anyway.

ultimately, this movie just felt empty of any depth. a paint-by-numbers marvel movie with a bit of a horror twist. wandavision makes me cry multiple times, across multiple episodes, every time i watch it (and i’ve watched it a lot), for a host of complex reasons. every character in it, down to the nameless background characters, feels like an actual person. i care about them deeply. but i didn’t come close to crying in this movie, or even feeling excited or satisfied or worried for anyone. it was just empty.

anyway. i was so disappointed. because you can see all the ways in which this movie could have been great. you could have a fucked-up evil wanda who is an actual person with reasons (no matter how convoluted and disturbing) for doing what she does. (for starters, look at catra from she-ra. or look at mcu agatha harkness!) there were some incredibly cool visuals happening, some creepy and fucked-up concepts, some great cameos and multiverse characters. that’s the thing that hurts the most, is that the threads of something incredible were there. but marvel gonna marvel.

and some lazy writing moments that just made me roll my eyes: america literally is like “you told wanda exactly where you’re hiding me?” and they were just like “yep, don’t worry, it’s fine” and didn’t even try to hide her somewhere else??? come on. that’s idiotic. one of your primary forms of magic is portal teleportation!! it would take you two seconds to stick her somewhere else just as a basic precaution! and wanda fucking up and saying america’s name and thus giving away that she was the one hunting her down. like. i could give that a pass if it were the only issue i had with this movie, but jesus christ. you’re just trying to make her look inept or are you lazy?

things i liked:

some of that creepy imagery. wanda’s arm shooting through the reflections like a corpse trying to rise out of the grave. the dreamwalking bit where 838 wanda sees a photo of herself turn and look at her. great creepy shit there. there’s more but i’m blanking at the moment.

america chavez as a character, generally. she could have been more developed, but the actor playing her was incredible, and she’s just super cool and she had a gay flag pin.

america chavez having two moms onscreen. could it have been better representation/did it feel a bit token-y? absolutely. but i’m happy they were there at all

the wanda/scarlet witch visuals in general. loved how creepy and horror-y it got. i don’t do outright horror, but this toed the line and was just the right amount of creepy horror without it being too much for me. (i weep for how good this aspect of the movie could have been if the writing/character development hadn’t been such trash.) also loved her creepy scary scarlet witch look and the creepy possessed-838-wanda look. i will be editing the actual events of this movie out of my mind and recreating a better version using these visuals thank you very much

loved seeing maria rambeau again, especially as a version of captain marvel. god i want an entire movie of her.

same with captain carter. fantastic costume. loved seeing her, wish she hadn’t been written so terribly. so much potential there

so yeah. i’m going to be grieving the loss that was this movie for a bit.

and for the record, any reblogs i do of gifs from this movie are not endorsements of the movie. just of wanda looking hot or america chavez being a badass. lol.

#doctor strange in the multiverse of madness #doctor strange in the multiverse of madness spoilers #multiverse of madness #multiverse of madness spoilers #multiverse of madness review #wanda maximoff #scarlet witch #spoilers #did i mention spoilers? #this is full of fucking spoilers! okay??

[aelaer]

Multiverse of Madness: Spoilerific Review Ahoy!

It's all going under the cut! Everything! All the thoughts about everything in this film! It's very long.

So I'm going to likely see it again on Saturday so my thoughts may change between now and then. I'll just reblog and add more thoughts if they do, as part of my brain throughout the first thirty minutes was just processing the fact that OMG I'm watching a Doctor Strange film again after so many years!

A video on YouTube that someone on Discord posted, by ComicBookCast2, said it perfectly: this movie is a stepping stone, an Iron Man 2, an Age of Ultron, a movie that has to exist in order to expand the greater universe. Those two movies are usually panned as not being some of the greatest, but I'd say of the three there, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is definitely the strongest stepping stone movie we have. And I understand why Feige would want to use Doctor Strange as a character to open up this immense concept. Considering the importance of Iron Man and the Avengers in the overall MCU, that speaks to good things regarding Doctor Strange's future (especially as Benedict seems to continue to want to play him).

I'll start with all the side characters first:

America: I really liked America's arc in this film, how she basically started as not knowing how to control her powers to being forced to take control to save herself, and then getting a pep talk from the Best Strange to show Wanda what she was actually doing. That was a powerful climax, and a hugely emotional climax for the character. And in Kamar-Taj in the MCU, I think she has the capability to grow into the powerful comic book character that she is, and gain all the skills that she has as a young adult when we first meet her in the comics.

Christine: One of the first rumors I read about this film that completely bummed the hell out of me was that Christine was going to die on her wedding day, presumably from the creature that the toy companies call "Gargantos" but that really looks like a "Shuma-Gorath" but dies as easily as your Monster of the Week. As this didn't happen, I was bloody thrilled. I have no idea if that scene was actually filmed or not. I wasn't expecting to like her multiversal version as much as I did, though that she was also betrayed by her Stephen was definitely something else. It put Stephen in the same position as he was with his Christine, in a way. It made their last scene together all the more precious, I think.

Wong (and Kamar-Taj): I loved seeing Sorcerer Supreme Wong really lead the defense of the entire society, and I couldn't blame him breaking under pressure by seeing people he knew and cared for being tortured like that. In terms of who was Sorcerer Supreme, I think Wong really worked having the title here, because it let Stephen's job open to protect America (and explore the multiverse) as opposed to needing to stay with the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj to regroup once it fell.

It was also very enjoyable to see Wong's own badass moments, though I don't blame him at all for falling to Darkhold!Wanda. We got a good look at just how OP the Darkhold made someone who already had huge amounts of power. RIP Sara though, existing for just a couple lines only to burn to a crisp. Just like the London Master, Sol Rama, in the first DS film xD

I enjoyed the cameos by Hamir and Rintrah and I hope they survived the attack. It was also great to see the London and Hong Kong Sanctum masters. The little bowing joke was fun, as was that little payoff at the end!

Mordo: One of the earlier spoilers I read from this film was that Wanda killed our Mordo, and I was really happy to see that if it was filmed, it didn't make the cut, because our Mordo has the history with Strange that's important. I was totally tricked with Mordo. Like, I knew that he looked like the one that was sword-fighting him in the trailer, but then he was so nice and all and I figured "oh, this must be a different universe", and I honestly thought that the Illuminati universe was going to be another one.

Then nope! Here's Mordo and the Illuminati. His hand-to-hand fight with Stephen was just *amazing*. I didn't get Stephen's comments to him though, about him always hating him. That was part of the comic lore, but I definitely didn't get that feeling in the first DS film. It feels like something that happened behind the scenes between DS1 and IW, maybe things Mordo said to Wong, or if Mordo left behind writings--or something. Definitely seems like it's something untold that someone should write a fanfic for. Was very happy overall with his character though, even if I didn't get our Stephen's comments in the context of the MCU.

Loved Stephen's reaction to his first name lmao. Also found it very interesting that he called himself Baron here! I wonder if that will be the same case for our Mordo?

The Rest of the Illuminati: I'm glad they were just cameos and that they were the only cameos serving basically as obstacles for Wanda. I'm really glad. The only other cameo I'd have been fine with is Deadpool, and that's just because Deadpool's super amazing. I don't think it'd fit with the tone of the rest of the film though, so it makes sense he wasn't in it, despite rumors. Illuminati!Strange definitely fit with this gang, being about "end justifies the means", and them making the "hard decisions" that don't necessarily mean good ones. Illuminati!Strange in the comics, too, destroyed an entire Earth, though that was a "kill or be killed" type of situation the Illuminati dealt with in the comics. I like that this variant of superheroes exist, all with people who've made insane decisions somewhere in the comics or the MCU as part of it.

Black Bolt's death is one of the most gnarly deaths on screen ever, and you won't change my mind. That was insane.

Wanda: I don't remember where I said it--probably in a Discord chat--but I basically said that if the trailer of her attacking Kamar-Taj killed innocent people, that they really could not redeem this version of her as a hero in the MCU. And because she was so brutal and corrupted, because she hurt so many people, her destroying the Darkhold and (potentially?) dying was probably the best end that they could have given her.

I think I would have preferred a plot where she fought against the Darkhold's power earlier on, that someone had caught up with her earlier and that this movie was a path of redemption for her. But since they didn't go that route, I think the original MCU!Wanda staying supposedly dead is probably the cleanest exit they can give her because she at least realized the monster she had turned into and kept it so that others would not fall to the same fate ever again across the Multiverse. It gives her tragic fall a noble ending.

I do find it interesting that the Scarlet Witch is singular in the Multiverse (IIRC), but that Wanda Maximoff is not (as we saw). I'm not sure if they'll have people travelling across universes into the MCU to take the place of the dead characters we have if the actors still want to portray them, but that may be what we see with Wanda, especially since White Vision still exists out there.

I was very happy to see an non-corrupted Wanda too. I think it showed a great contrast of who Wanda was before the Darkhold (combined with her grief) corrupted her. My brother, who apparently really liked WandaVision (and went to see the film with me), said he really didn't like corrupted Wanda himself, and I wonder how many people were looking for redemption arcs in this film after that show, or how many were looking for Wanda to embrace the evil of the Darkhold.

Stephen: The one and only--only, not the one and only. I could see one of the re-shot parts immediately within the first few minutes with Defender!Stephen repeating nearly word-for-word what Stephen told Peter in NWH. And, honestly? Fucking brilliant. I was shocked he would be like that, but at the same time, he's had to make the hard calls before--especially in the name of keeping control. So seeing Defender!Strange look at America as, ultimately, a threat? Yeah, I see it.

But in having all other three Stranges--Defender, Sinister, and Illuminati Stephen--make the decision to sacrifice others for their own need for control was a great way to juxtapose how different our Stephen is. There was some loss of control with using the Time Stone, out of necessity as he saw no other way. But he continues to learn that he cannot control everything in NWH and even moreso in MoM, until we get to the finale where he goes against Wong's order and uses what he's observed, his cleverness, to tell America what no one else has told her. And his wisdom leads to the end of the conflict.

It wasn't an ending I was expecting, to say the least--but damn, it's satisfying that both the ending of DS1 and DS2 were not Stephen beating an enemy by hitting magic at it, but by using his head. Magic was still used (the Time Stone and the Darkhold, respectively), but the solution would not have come if Stephen wasn't clever about his creative thinking. And that's one reason he's so unique as a superhero--and more unique than his counterparts, who simply go for control and power.

So many other Stephen details and plot points I liked:

I'm glad we got clarification of Stephen's status amongst the normal people now. I feel like this happened after Infinity War in particular, when the Avengers had to tell people what happened and he started getting known. Then after Endgame it got really known.

The film seemed to clarify that Stephen was never Sorcerer Supreme because he never learned about the Book of Vishanti being real. That was a very, very appeasing fact to me. Yes, I love being right.

I loved that dreams were glimpses of alternate realities, because I have written this concept in fanfic (the Sherlock/Strange crossover). IMO it's not all dreams though, and I think some people are more likely to have these types of dreams than others.

I love that incursions (convergences in the comics) are a thing. I also love this because I have an unpublished fanfic that is leading up to this, so now I gotta really get working on that so I can publish it already.

I adored what little we got of Sinister Strange and could easily have an entire film about our Stephen and Sinister Stephen just outwitting each other in this epic adventure. Like, replace Wanda with Sinister Strange and there's a new favorite film xD But I get why they didn't do that lol. Still, it was great to get a glimpse of this unhinged, corrupted character. He's not the tragic, fallen hero of What If?; he's simply unhinged.

I'm still torn on the musical fight scene. My logic brain that has written thousands upon thousands of words of meta on magic and its inner workings went "this make no sense" but my visual brain went "omg look that's so cool and pretty!" So what I'll likely end up doing is writing that scene in fanfic with so much technical magic explanation that people won't know what to do with it. But that's not happening until the film's out on streaming so I can watch it over and over and over again. (And I get other pieces done first).

All the shots we have now of Stephen in everyday wear and formal wear makes me so so so happy. So happy.

So the film wasn't about Stephen- it was definitely more a film about watching things unravel from Stephen's POV. But I'm glad we got to know more of his character (DONNA FINALLY GOT A MENTION), and that he had a solid character arc and definitely an impact on the climax and ending. And that it wasn't a cameo-stuffed CGI monster battle. I'm happy it wasn't- I was worrying about that.

I don't know about how I feel with Stephen getting a literal third eye. I always saw it as something a lot more metaphorical, personally. But hey, it led to a verrryyy interesting ending hinting at a lot more Doctor Strange and, of course, a quick cameo by Clea! I am very glad Clea is not being played by Rachel McAdams. I would have liked an Asian actress but I figured that'd be a long shot.

Things I would have liked to see:

I think I would have still enjoyed Superior Iron Man. So long as he wasn't played by Tom Cruise. And knowing that he would die in the end lmao. But I get why they went with Reed Richards instead, new era of Marvel and all.

There was a rumor that one of the credit scenes was going to be RDJ coming back as a cameo as Iron Man and apologizing for having him die, and that Stephen would have been able to make a similar apology. A pipe dream, alas; I don't think RDJ's coming back for any cameos.

WHY THE FUCK WASN'T THE EYE OF AGAMOTTO EXPLAINED? WHAT THE HELL MARVEL? WHY DOES IT SUDDENLY WORK AS IT DOES AND DID YOU FORGET THAT THANOS CRUSHED IT IN INFINITY WAR?

Seriously, I'm still annoyed by this. I have to fix everything myself, I swear.

I think it could have been 15-20 minutes longer with some more downtime between the action, with more scenes between Stephen/Wong and Stephen/America, or Stephen/Stephen. The talk between the two Stephens was freaking amazing.

Uh yeah, actually, not a lot of complaints. I think the biggest one would have been a preference with Wanda not as the villain, but that would be an entire rewrite of the story and it's not that much of a deal-breaker to me since she got her alternate version as well as something of a way to make herself not terrible at the end.

When it comes to a rating, I think I'll need to sit on it a bit more. I think NWH still packed more of an emotional punch for me, but I still definitely enjoyed MoM. Maybe an 8? 8.5? I'll see it again on Saturday, I think, so we'll see how I feel then.

#multiverse of madness #doctor strange #review #stephen strange #mcu #spoilers #ds mom #wanda maximoff #wong #benedict cumberbatch #benedict wong #america chavez #karl mordo

[shenspeaker]

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness Review (Spoilers)

SPOILER WARNING! 

Just got out of the theater and boy do I have thoughts on this movie and what it could have been.

First, I have to say this one really disappointed. 

Let’s put aside the blatant McGuffin-ing of the various “magic books.”

Let’s put aside how underdeveloped the America Chavez’s plotline was, to the point where she’s basically just there to be a plot device and check the box for “people seem to like the spunky daughter meets grumpy dad plot”, without really understanding what makes that plot fun. 

Let’s put aside the way the movie expects us to care about Strange and Christine’s profoundly underdeveloped and underwhelming relationship.

Let’s put aside the way this movie introduces a complicated new multiverse theory that does the exact same thing as Loki’s time-based multiverse theory, but for some reason seems to be different? (So now we can track infinite multiverses on both the x and y axis, I guess, where x is time and y is idk dreams or something. Are spiders z? or another y? Anyways, if you’re not on the x axis the TVA doesn’t give a fuck).

Let’s even put aside the way the movie throws out the complexities of Wanda Maximoff’s character, developed in the profoundly more successful and interesting Wandavision, with the vague handwave of “Darkhold make you Bad.”

EVEN THEN

This movie is middling at best. Strange himself is largely a medium for snark and quips. He’s told several times what a control freak he is, and how that’s a bad thing, but the “prime” Strange we follow never actually demonstrates that flaw, and is less interesting for it.

But Wanda has always been more interesting than him, and the movie is at its most engaging when it’s a horror movie starring her. 

I think the version of this movie I wanted to see, which would not have been difficult to write, could even largely follow the same plot - is not Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, but Wanda Kills the Marvel Multiverse. Doctor Strange can be there trying to stop her if he has to be. I’ll allow it.

Since we’ve already apparently decided Wanda’s going to go “full bad guy,” let her chew the scenery some more. Let her go full horror movie slasher. Sure she mows through the Illuminati. That was cool! Now I want to see her do it again, to someone that matters.

We’ve got infinite disposable universes and heroes now, let Wanda chew her way through all of them in pursuit of Doctor Strange and whatever McGuffin you have to give him to justify it. They can be second long cameos. Let her use the full extent of her weird and psychological reality warping powers. The disposable nature of the multiverse makes for the perfect excuse to remove the usual feeling of invincibility from superheroes so we can actually dip toes into the dread of the horror genre. 

Let Wanda Westview the Avengers, let her Carrie and Freddie Kreuger and Jason her way through whatever disposable otherworld Marvel teams you can throw at her. You don’t even need to hire the big actors, we already know there’s other Spidermen and Thors and Captain Americas and Hulks and any old suit can be Iron Man. Let her devastate old bad guys, roll through Destroyers, Ultrons, Hydra, people with alternate-world Infinity Stones. She can kill characters you want to set up, or homages to heroes or villains you’ll never touch again. Have fun with it. Get wild, that’s what people want from a multiverse movie.

Not only does making the movie about Wanda give us a chance to revel in her power and anger, and the horror of having her as an enemy, but more screentime can give us an opportunity to find a little depth in her again too. On her way through the Marvel catalogues, does anyone resonate with Wanda, or slow her down for a minute? Does Professor X have a cautionary tale about Jean Grey? What happens if she encounters a Vision, or a Quicksilver? Or her own parents? When she stands off against herself, maybe let that play out a little longer?

I think this movie could have its cake (terrifying uber bad guy Wanda) and eat it too (give her some depth) if they were just willing to make the movie about her. Give her space to actually say something. Then if you have to send her off, it won’t feel like it’s for nothing.

Anyways, if this leaves you hungry for a good multiverse movie, with a deadly omnipotent villain who still has some depth, I highly recommend Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. Sorry this was so long.

#Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness #Doctor Strange #Dr. Strange #Stephen Strange #Scarlet Witch #Wanda Maximoff #DSitMom #Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness #Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness #Spoilers #Benedict cumberbatch #Elizabeth Olsen #not shen #movie review #marvel #negative

[tnmeem]

Marvel Sidelined Doctor Strange In His Own Movie

When I watched this movie at the theatres, I was completely entranced. Despite the fact that I do not enjoy horror or gore, it did not affect my enjoyment of the movie at all. The change in aesthetic and shift in genre from what Marvel generally produces also did not faze me. After watching the TV shows of phase 4, I was used to changes in genre, tone and theme. So I was shocked when I heard that many fans did not enjoy the movie.

But after marinating on it for a day, I think I understand why.

Marvel’s Changes In Genre, Tone and Aesthetic

Up until phase 4, Guardians of The Galaxy and Thor: Ragnorak have been the biggest deviations in genre for the MCU. Marvel has built its fanbase by creating conventional superhero movies so it’s no surprise that many fans are frustrated by the sudden changes in genre, tone and aesthetic. I’m sure that even just a few years ago, no one would have expected Marvel to release a sitcom. And so it’s perfectly valid to feel hesitant to accept change.

Marvel is evolving, whether fans want it or not. Phase 4 of the MCU is by far its most diverse collection of stories present (both in terms of the characters and the range of genres). In order to remain an MCU fan, one must let go of preconceived ideas of what a superhero should be.

I think the biggest reason why so many fans have reacted negatively to phase 4 is due to an unshaking loyalty to the movies that built the foundation of the MCU. Fans are so caught up in their own expectations that they fail to enjoy the movie for what it is. To some fans, this deviation feels like a betrayal but it’s not.

The fact of the matter is that the movies that built the foundation of the MCU are generic superhero stories (I say this despite loving them deeply). They lack diversity and you could find countless stories like them. Though we may feel a nostalgic connection to them, if they are all we receive, the MCU will become boring. No one, not even die hard MCU fans, will be happy if every movie is about the same white man who created his own problems through ego and recklessness (Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Bruce Banner, Hank Pym, Thor and so on).

Marvel Doesn’t Slow Down For Anyone

Marvel has created such a devoted fanbase that they now expect viewers to have watched every movie and TV show produced by them. The truth of the matter is that the MCU is just one giant TV show. If you want to enjoy a movie, you have to watch every movie that comes before it. They don’t do recaps or give you time to acclimatise to the story, they simply expect you to know the context.

And so if you walked into this movie without having watched Doctor Strange, every Avengers movie that Wanda has been in, WandaVision, What If and Spiderman No Way Home at the very least, this movie will make absolutely no sense. Without context, this movie is trash. With context, this movie is amazing and the culmination of numerous character arcs.

Without watching WandaVision, you won’t be able to understand Wanda’s motivations. Without watching Infinity War and Endgame, you won’t understand why Wanda calls Strange a hypocrite. You won’t feel empathy for them in the same way I did, having watched everything related to their backstory. And What If will give you valuable context on the multiverse.

This movie will not slow down to accommodate anyone. Parts of it are confusing even for fans who have watched everything related to the MCU multiple times. If you are a relatively new fan, this is not the movie for you. In fact, most of phase 4 isn’t for you (except for maybe Eternals, Shang Chi and Ms Marvel).

Marvel Fans Need To Manage Expectations

A major problem with the MCU fandom is our obsession with theorising. So many of us are so caught up in coming up with theories that we almost feel entitled to watching them be confirmed. We don’t stop to simply watch and enjoy a movie. Fan theories are great but they should never stop you from being able to enjoy a movie for what it is.

People were so caught up in their expectations of events that they were unable to enjoy the actual events on screen. I can almost guarantee that many more fans would have enjoyed this movie if they had spent less time developing and becoming irrationally excited over headcanons and predictions.

At the end of the day, we are not the writers of the MCU. We do not get a say on character or story direction. Even if in our heads, a certain story idea would be amazing, the MCU is not obligated to accommodate us. We as fans seriously need to work on our entitlement.

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#mcu #marvel #doctor strange #doctor strange into the multiverse of madness #multiverse of madness #movie reccomendations #movie review #wanda maximoff #steven strange #scarlet witch

[cherryredmistakes]

I hate when people rate movies/shows 10/10 just because they enjoyed it/liked the actors or fandom

Like baby that is a 8/10 at best I’m sorry

#marvel #thor love and thunder #movie review #film review #film lover #film babe #movie lover #multiverse of madness