WARNING ⚠️ SPOILERS FOR MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS BELOW!!!
So I wanted to post my review of this movie as i see others are so I want to join.
So to start, I'm rating this movie a 5/10. Why you might be wondering? I'm going to list off each pro and con of the movie below. Please note these are my views and opinions and shouldn't reflect if you should watch this movie or not.
The acting was INCREDIBLE. Every actor/actress did a fantastic job of playing his/her universe and alternate universe selves. I have no complaint over what they brought to the screen.
My only complaint would be seeing new characters for the first time on screen- only to find them brought in to die so their true talent can never be fully appreciated. More on that later.
The story started out interesting. Strange and Wong come across Chavez, who's power is to open entrances between universes, being chased down by an alien monster. She appeared in a dream to Strange, along with an alternate version of himself, and brings the concept that all dreams that one universe character may have is actually about another version of themselves, and is indeed real.
However, this is where things started to get...predictable.
Strange seeks out Wanda to help protect Chavez and get her home. Instead, it's revealed- this early on in the film- that it was Wanda who had sent the alien monsters to hunt Chavez down. Immediately she's portrayed as a villain, which I don't personally like. She's so desperate to reunite with her kids in another universe that she is willing to kill Chavez for her power.
I know WandaVision dealt with Wanda in her grief state and showed us she is not the most stable when it comes to accepting things, however, this entire movie was focused on her hunting Chavez down like a true villain would. She continues to claim she doesn't want to hurt anyone but brutally murders anyone in her path. This creates an all out war between her and the other sorcerers, including alternate universe heroes trying to stop her.
Also this entire movie, Chavez has no idea how to use her power. In the comics, it is shown that she is fully able to control it as she wishes. However, it's not until the end of the movie that she finds a way to use her power the way she wants. This is extremely predictable in the term of "finding your power" and how "you could do it all along" and "just needed that one little push" trope. It bored me really, because all she did was scream and run and wait for someone to save her (mostly Strange), until she becomes frightened enough to use her power (the movie portrays her that only in her deepest state of fear can she open the multiverse, but she can't control any of the paths taken, supposedly, which goes against the comics).
Ultimately, when Wanda figures out she can't get what she wants without truly hurting those she cares about (her kids), then she simply is on the verge of despair again. She is seen bringing down the temple of the Scarlet Witch onto herself to protect anyone from using the darkhold ever again (despite Strange having to use it to zombify a dead version of himself, thus actually inflicting himself with the power of the darkhold, yet it isn't shown yet until the end credit scene). So her sacrifice could be for nothing. To me, it looked like a cheap way to write her out of MCU. I'm very disappointed with this decision not even for the fact that I love her character, but all the progress she made by the end of WandaVision just got thrown down the drain. I wasn't the only fan walking out unhappy either.
We get introduced to the Illuminati in one universe that Strange and Chavez end up in. That was cool to see for the first time on MCU screen: Black Bolt, Reed Richards, Professor X, an alternate Captain Marvel, an alternate Mordo, and Captain Carter. When Wanda enslaves an alternate version of herself to get a hold of Chavez first, they leave to fight her. Well, you can guess how it ends.
Yep. They all die. Every single one of them Wanda kills. Really was liking to see fresh faces. Just to die. Such a waste.
Just like every alternate Strange we get introduced to is also killed off shortly after. This movie really thrived on murder, all at Wanda's hand due to her obsession (that's how the movie portrays her).
There was a ton of it. All kinds of magic and spells used from Strange and Wanda, then Strange vs Wanda. It was cool to see the very maximum strength every character could go to.
There was an extreme amount of violence. I love action in MCU and I don't mind the shootings and some blood, but this movie was excessive when it came to gore. Yes, gore. The alien monster chasing Chavez? Strange harpoon the giant eye and /ripped/ it out of the socket, thus spewing blood everywhere. Black Bolt had his mouth sealed by Wanda so the back of his head blew open and spilled blood out from his self destruction. Captain Carter was severed in half. Captain Marvel was crushed. Professor X had his neck broken in an inhumane way. Both alternate Stranges were impaled- and it showed the corpses afterwards. Wanda, enslaving her alternate self, had blood splattered on her head and was chasing Chavez, Strange, and alternate Christine down the halls like a possessed monster would. It was...gruesome to say the least how much they let slip through.
It's not the worst movie I've seen, however, it's certainly not the best either. Acting is on point, plot was predictable, the gore was a little heavy for my liking, new characters were introduced to be killed, and Wanda was a villain through the entire movie- just to sacrifice herself in the end.
I thought this movie was going to be Chavez needing help from Strange and Wanda helps, and maybe down the road she would maybe show signs of turning to villain or fully turning, but I didn't see the death as necessary. I thought the villain would be Strange Supreme (from What If...?) and that's what our heroes would be focused on destroying once and for all. If not that, then they would be focused on sealing the multiverse for good so that no more villains/creatures could get through and attack their universe.
Instead I was ...disappointed.
Doctor Strange is my 4th favorite MCU character so for me to only rate this a 5/10 hurts. But I do not blame the actors/actresses, no this goes to the director and screenwriter. They clearly didn't research the characters well enough and seemed to throw us a movie that in the end changes nothing except erases a few fan favorites names.
So that's my review. Thanks for reading if you made it down that far and let me know how your experience went.
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