Since his debut during Phase 3, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) has established himself as a crucial figure in the MCU. There must be performers to fill the void left when prominent MCU actors like Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., and Scarlett Johansson leave the series; Cumberbatch and his character could be competitors in this regard.
The character was introduced well in Doctor Strange. He first gave the impression of being somewhat of a Tony Stark clone, but as time went on, he developed depths and peculiarities that ensured he became his persona. Additionally, Tony Stark’s films feature significantly more realistic science-fiction aspects, whereas the first Doctor Strange film and subsequent installments featured a lot of fantasy elements and established magic as an influential character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Sadly, Mads Mikkelsen’s portrayal as a villain somewhat wasted him. He was good, but with more to do, he may have been even better. At least the film’s amazing graphics featured some surreal, innovative, and stunning special effects.
With a few more dozen reviews arriving after its release, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness has dropped another 2%, bringing its rating to 75%. It now ranks fifth out of 28 MCU films in terms of reviews, which places it in the bottom 17% of releases and breaks the tie with the first Thor. It has also fallen below the Age of Ultron. It does not appear realistic that it will fall all the way to Iron Man 2’s 72% after 300 reviews, therefore it is likely to remain in this place.
It is unexpected, but it does fit with a general pattern in the MCU, where certain sequels to hero movies have performed poorly in comparison to their predecessors. Although sometimes things go a little bit better, as with Captain America: Winter Soldier or Ant-Man and the Wasp, you’ll see that Thor 2, Iron Man 2, and Avengers 2 are all in this bottom area.
A discussion concerning Sam Raimi’s filmmaking technique and whether it was suitable to make a sort of Marvel horror movie for Multiverse of Madness has been started with the release of Doctor Strange. While some praise how unique it is compared to other MCU films, others argue that it simply doesn’t work. I kind of want to watch something different because of how identical most of these movies have gotten. However, Chloe Zhao’s Eternals, which attempted to be distinctive in its own way, struggled as a result. A risk exists! But even so, it’s important to remember that 88% of viewers find the movie to be enjoyable.
