Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Doctor Strange 2 is the MCU's latest balls-to-the-wall crossover event, and it's noticeably not as well done as everything else was in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The effects and action are nice, but the story squanders a palpable script in favour of frustratingly fragmented (which multiverses can suffer from when stories don't address all the inherent issues of multiple worlds directly interacting with each other) fan-service and even more sequel-fodder with its abrupt cliff-hanger ending (pre-post-creds mind you, but still).

Doctor Strange 2 covers its concept of multiverses instead of telling a re-inventive character-driven story like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse had. Doctor Strange 2's got splashes of self-aware humour here and there, but it's gonna have to take some magic to become a film comparable to the MCU's stronger entries.

The most notable thing about the film is how many opportunities it squanders with its many supporting characters introduced and then never really getting utilised in the story (except for one). It teases endless narrative possibilities courtesy of the last Spider-Man movie doing so with its lead, but Doctor Strange 2 teases fan service only to deliver shortcomings instead of going all the way with its promise of 'madness' in the title. The good stuff IS there; it just doesn't have enough story-breathing-room in the film.

Doctor Strange 2 is definitely a noble attempt at something 'new' for the MCU, and it's sure as hell more confident than Eternals, but it suffers the same character-squandering issues as it.

With a universe as vast as Marvel's, not every entry in the MCU was guaranteed to work. At least it tried.