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*MacGuffin (noun): A character/episode that is necessary for the plot of the movie or the development of the characters, but is itself unimportant, unnecessary and irrelevant.
After 6 years since the success of part 1, Doctor Strange – The Wizard of the MCU has returned with a journey to uncover one of humanity’s greatest mysteries – the Multiverse. Referring to the Multiverse, this has never been an easy topic for Hollywood to exploit without problems. This time too. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is still commendable for its efforts to bring its own Multiverse platformer, and for the MCU’s deeper purposes. But it is the chaos of the Multiverse that makes our beloved protagonist – Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) – lost and fall behind.
Doctor Strange part 2? It’s better to call it a special episode of WandaVision
Entering season 2, Doctor Strange’s story now has to share time with another character – “Scarlet Witch” Wanda Maximoff. However, Wanda does not appear as an auxiliary, “coloring” the main plot, but on the contrary, “invades” and automatically becomes a key character. Because of the need to balance between the two equally thick and deep plot lines of Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch, the 126 minutes of the film became fragmented, fragmented and as if strung from two different small films.
However, if Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness switches to exploits from the perspective of Scarlet Witch, this will certainly be a special episode worthy of cinema… of WandaVision. Because there is an entire supporting series in advance, the story of Scarlet Witch is easier to motivate, more predictable and worth watching, plus Elizabeth Olsen’s performance, completely overwhelm the “bridgehead” of the Doctor. Strange is predictable.
On the other hand, Doctor Strange was given a very heavy and important task: to explore and explain the concept of Marvel’s Multiverse. Still an attempt to get rid of old love Christine, the character development of Doctor Strange this time is really not strong enough, even lost and there are times when it was almost forgotten in the huge expansion of Scarlet Witch. With a new companion, America Chavez (a character literally *MacGuffin), Doctor Strange weaves through many universes as originally intended, but is the Multiverse really worth looking forward to?
Multiverse is just an excuse for Marvel’s fan-service needs
In fact, Marvel’s view of the Multiverse this time is not new, even has appeared for a long time in other entertainment brands. Unfortunately, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness continues to become a “backyard” for Marvel to freely perform fan-pleasing tricks similar to Spider-Man: No Way Home. But it should be remembered that Spider-Man is a different case when from the beginning, the film is bright, “coming of age” and easily fits into any form of fan-service, and has proven to be true. prove it reasonable.
With Doctor Strange it’s different. Right from the 2016 product launch, Doctor Strange has proven his world apart from the rest of the MCU, not only because he is a Wizard but also because of the eye-catching, serious and aesthetic element. about images, sounds and plot. But the second part of Doctor Strange suddenly returns to a mere MCU movie: the comedy pieces are sometimes effective, sometimes not with a bunch of Easter eggs, cameo overflows, all just so fans can clap and cheer. shout for a few seconds then end quickly, see you next time we meet.
This time, thanks to a “tool” like the Multiverse, the purpose of fan-service is easier to accomplish. A series of unexpected details does its job well – “entertaining” the audience, while that has inadvertently made the wonderful fantasy world of Doctor Strange unfortunately disturbed. Yes, the Multiverse solves every possible problem. Yes, the Multiverse can introduce anyone it might have. But the Multiverse does not help Doctor Strange 2 become a movie that Doctor Strange deserves after 6 years of separation.
Thank you Sam Raimi for all your hard work!
But make no mistake because Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is NOT a bad movie. The chaos and fragmentation of the story this time was at least held and linked at full speed by the “glue” named Sam Raimi. Returning to the horror genre, but under Disney’s control, Sam Raimi still successfully conveys his soul into the work, an effort that is hard to imagine. With the claim of the “first MCU horror” before, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness can be proud because it did!
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness scores in the “noisy” (but positive) music, which softens the horror and scary details throughout the film. The visual part is still eye-catching, sophisticated, showing the ability to “stand at the top” of the indisputable techniques of the Mouse House. The battle scenes of Doctor Strange and even Scarlet Witch are extremely unique and memorable, which is a commendable highlight to help the audience return to focus after a series of data must be absorbed from the film’s content.
Scoring: 3/5
Sam Raimi brought a vibrant, eye-catching, funny party with a horror-comedy style like Evil Dead decades ago. Meanwhile, Doctor Strange is like a “shy child” but has interesting talents, drawn by friends to the party for fun but it’s really not easy to fit in. Sure, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is still a cinematic experience worthy of the most expensive ticket out in theaters, but no matter how cool it is, no matter how intriguing the hidden secrets are, unfortunately, This “child” was never the main character of the party night.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness officially hits theaters on May 6, 2022 in Vietnam.
Image source: Synthesis
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