Things are about to get really Strange.
The last time we saw Doctor Strange was when he was making bad decisions in Spider Man No Way Home. In this new MCU movie we find Steven at the wedding of Dr Christine Palmer swearing that he's happy with his life. No surprises here but that's clearly not the case. He may be a god when it comes to the mystic arts, but when it comes to committing to other things such as relationship's, he's surely lacking. But there's no time to dwell on that as the wedding is interrupted by a large tentacled monster is attacking a young girl in the streets of New York. From this point were on a roller-coaster ride through the multiverse, engaging with many, many different versions of characters that will send cheers through the audience. The multiversal threat which I wont reveal here is a familiar one, but one that will which makes the audience wonder how far they would go if they were in that same position.
The action by original spiderman director is breakneck, but still finds time for emotional moments with Doctor Strange, Dr Christine and especially Wanda, which really ground what could otherwise be a by the number comic movie.
Rami truly brings a sense of horror to the MCU that we haven't seen before and sometimes it actually feels like your watching an comic horror movie. While being great fun there are a few things that stop this movie dropping into the upper echelons of the MCU. The movie is really out there, but perhaps it could be even crazier. It seems a shame that we have ventured in to the multiverse but we don't get to see how truly crazy it could be. There is of course a wonderful scene where America and the Doctor plunge through various universe's that has to be seen to be believed. I know that Marvel like to keep it simple, that's their business model, but some more visual insanity (and a few more surprises) when it comes to the other universes would have been welcome.
Doctor Strange 2 is a great sequel which really stets up the MCU to go to some crazy places with no limitations. Lets just hope it can live up to the promise. Bring on Thor: Love Thunder!
Movie Rating 8/10
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