Not quite horror, not quite magical, welcome to Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Meh-ness

I still remember the elation, the buzz I felt after I left the theatre having watched Avengers: Endgame. It wasn't just the conclusion. Nor the cheers from the crowd at moments that became memes on TikTok.  But also marvelling (sorry) at how the film referenced the decade of movies that preceded it, managing to weave all those tangents into a satisfying whole. 

I've been chasing that high ever since.  

And so, it would seem, are the wizards of content creation at Marvel Studios.  

While Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is packed with moments of cosmic calamity, what's most apparent is the effort to pull all the threads together and set in motion events that could define the next decade in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  

So while I will endeavour to avoid spoilers, let me say this: This is not a film for neophytes. It references the events of Infinity War, WandaVison and some lesser-known Marvel shows. So if you haven't done your homework, see the movie with someone who has.  

We begin briskly in the midst of a battle, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange — with his Grandpa Munster hairstyle — fighting some nameless beast. As Strange cast spells of protection and defence, the mystical combat just didn't seem that spectacular. I wondered, is it me? Has the pandemic robbed me of my ability to enjoy some otherworldly action? 

But I didn't have any of these qualms a few months ago when I thrilled to the charms of Spider-Man: No Way Home, another adventure filled with alternate universes and surprising characters. 

While it's clear director Jon Watts had a plan for Peter Parker all along, the problem here is Doctor Strange himself — a powerful character inhabited by a wonderful actor trying mightily to make a meal out of an underdeveloped arc.

While the first Doctor Strange film wasn't perfect, the bones were there. Stephen Strange was an egotistical ass of a surgeon who needed to learn some humility before he could become the Master of the Mystic Arts. Cumberbatch and his clam chowder accent were amusing, as was the mentor/student relationship between him and Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One. 

But now that Thanos is ashes, the good Doctor is fighting a case of the blues. It's not the state of the multiverse that has him glum, but rather the wedding of his former love, Christine (played by returning Canadian Rachel McAdams). 

But before Strange can fall too far into dejection, a young woman named America Chavez arrives — with her power to open star-shaped portals to parallel worlds. Soon Strange is hopscotching across realms to stop a malevolent presence from stealing Chavez's power and scrambling the universe.

While the spectre of the very fabric of reality cracking wide open has become commonplace to Marvel fans, the addition of director Sam Raimi adds a fresh flavour to the concept. Known for his string of Spider-Man films in the mid-2000s, Raimi firmly established himself as a director with a signature style in titles like Evil Dead and Army of Darkness. Packed with viscera, violence and visual gags, a Raimi movie meant a gory good time 

Much has been made of the Doctor Strange sequel as the first horror film of the MCU, but it's merely the veneer of horror. Filled with dark shadows, splatters of blood and the undead, this is Disney's Haunted Mansion of horror — a fun ride without any real moments of terror. 

While a few of the kills might shock a 10-year-old, the gleeful excesses that mark many of Raimi's movies is handcuffed by the family-friendly PG rating. Still, there are some fun moments, such as the obligatory Bruce Campbell cameo and a bizarre but amusing battle of music notes that seems like something lifted from Disney's Fantasia.