After almost six years since his first film, Steven Strange and his mystical world of magic is back. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,”  the newest PG-13 Marvel movie was released on May 6 and takes place across multiple dimensions in different universes.  The movie begins with Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange at his ex-girlfriend’s wedding, where he saves a girl from a monster. This girl, America Chavez, is played by Xochitil Gomez.  She has a magical power to jump between universes, and she is being hunted by a demon for access to her powers.  The demon is later revealed to be controlled by Wanda Maximoff, or Scarlet Witch, played by Elizabeth Olsen.  She has seen an alternate reality in a different universe where she has children, driving her to go across the multiverse in order to have them for herself.  Strange tries to protect America, with an adventure that takes them across the multiverse.

For starters, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is an extremely aesthetically pleasing film. The special effects, even though they were kinda creepy, were super well done and looked very realistic. The sound effects were also very well done. They fit so well with the movie and made you feel like you were inside the movie. The shots were visually stunning, and the cinematography was incredible. The scenes where characters jumping between the universes looked aerial and cool. The special effects of the film were also extremely well done, especially the special effects in relation to the magic of the film. To those who are Marvel fans, the introduction of new characters, such as America Chavez, will probably seem pretty cool. You will most likely be more engaged with the movie than I was, though, since I am not much of a Marvel fan. 

When it comes to the plot, the story leaves a lot to be desired.  For one thing, the story is pretty complicated. The multiverse is something I found hard to wrap my head around. If you are not a Marvel fan and have not seen all the latest installments, the idea of a multiverse is confusing.  

The character development also seemed kind of cliche. The movie constantly hints about Doctor Strange’s arrogance, but you hardly see any growth or change on his part because of it. America Chavez almost had no personality at all, other than a tragic backstory of losing her parents and having a special power that she can’t understand.  She was just there, and was more of a plot device than a character. I feel as though that would be pretty disappointing for fans who were looking forward to Chavez making her debut on the screen. 

Even with all of the action happening in the movie, it just felt so underwhelming. Other than the cool special effects, it was pretty forgettable.  Not to mention, the film was pretty creepy. Wanda’s body contorts pretty disturbingly and Strange has to possess a dead and decomposing body.  This may have been to add a spooky or scary factor, but it felt cheap considering the plot of the movie. Everything happening felt very unimportant or uninteresting, at least to me. 

“Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” had some enjoyable moments.  It managed to keep my attention, as something was always happening.  The movie did manage to tell a story that had compelling elements, but those compelling elements only seem interesting or noteworthy if you have been following and were invested in the franchise.  It felt forgettable, underwhelming, and not really notable.  Unless you are a hardcore Marvel fan, I don’t know if it would be worth it to see. As an average viewer, “Dr. Strange Mulitverse of Madness” ranks 2 out of 5 stars in my book.