Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness villainizes Wanda
*Contains spoilers
“Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” follows Elizabeth Olsen’s character, Wanda Maximoff, and her villain origin story as the Darkhold corrupts her, and she becomes focused on reuniting with her two kids no matter the cost.
This film is set after the Marvel show, “Wandavision,” where Wanda creates an alternate reality after Vision, her husband, dies. In this reality, she lives with her two kids who she created through magic. The film also ties into the ending of “Spider-Man: Far from Home,” where a portal to the multiverse is accidentally opened following a broken spell.
Compared to many other Marvel film directors, Sam Raimi took a more horror-like approach to the film “Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.”
It begins with a girl named America Chavez who has the ability to travel through the multiverse but is unable to control her power and can only use it when she’s extremely scared. Wanda, under the influence of the Darkhold, believes Chavez is the key to reaching her two kids in an alternate universe. She plans to steal her powers, which would result in Chavez’s death. Dr. Strange refuses to let Wanda do this, so she attacks Kamar-Taj, the training ground for masters of the mystic arts, killing many sorcerers.
After Wanda corners the pair, Chavez accidentally transports Strange and herself to another universe. Meanwhile, a remaining sorcerer destroys the Darkhold, which stops Wanda from being able to dream walk or project herself, throughout the multiverse. As a result, Wanda forces Wong, Strange’s partner from the first movie, to take her to Mount Wundagore, which is the source of the Darkhold’s power.
Dr. Strange and Chavez are apprehended by the Illuminati and they talk about how their universe’s version of Dr. Strange caused an incursion, or the collision of two universes while messing with the Darkhold, and they believe the other Dr. Strange could turn out to be just as dangerous. Wanda then comes and kills almost all of the members of the group, but Strange, Chavez and this earth’s version of Strange’s ex-fiance escape.
The ensemble then goes to find the mythical Book of Vishanti, the Darkhold’s antithesis, but Wanda destroys it. She then sends Strange to another alternate universe where he battles an evil version of himself while she tries to take Chavez’s powers. Strange rescues her and Chavez is finally able to use her powers and shows Wanda her two sons crying for their real mom in another universe, which breaks Wanda’s spirit. She destroys Mount Wundagore and all Darkholds in the multiverse.
This film was good overall and extremely well made. Wanda’s performance was exceptional and she seemed like a genuine horror villain at times. Especially during the massacre of the Illuminati, when she walks with blood stained on her shirt as she chases Strange and Chavez through an underground tunnel.
Sam Raimi’s influence was clearly seen throughout the movie and many of the scenes were horrifying. The deaths were especially gruesome and there was lots of witchcraft, so the film is not recommended for young kids.
The film did not live entirely up to the hype and left some people unsatisfied, but I was thoroughly entertained throughout the film and I definitely think it is worth watching.
“I was a little disappointed because the preview had a lot of things happening and they turned out to be very small parts of the film, like the Illuminati,” sophomore Erik Austedgard said.
