'Doctor Strange' enters the multiverse, in what might be the most insanely Marvel movie yet

"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" might be the most insanely Marvel movie ever, for good and ill. Unleashing the infinite possibilities of the multiverse throws open the studio's toy chest, but the anything-goes aspects of that can be alternately thrilling, disorienting and occasionally, a little silly. All told, this sequel proves highly entertaining, if not quite worthy of the pent-up demand for it.

It's hard to believe that this is the first actual sequel to "Doctor Strange," six years later, since Benedict Cumberbatch has played the sorcerer multiple times during that span, from the Avengers to Thor to most recently "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

Directed by Sam Raimi, who has his own Spidey ties, the movie has roots that reach back to Strange's journey from the original, as well as the Avengers' two-part battle against Thanos. "I made the only play we had," Strange says, by way of explaining the toll of the blip that sent people into oblivion for five years.