The fact that I still haven’t finished the MCU’s series What If..? or Moon Knight and I couldn’t even motivate myself to write my reviews of Eternals (enjoyable but almost instantly forgettable) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (total shite – all nostalgia and very little else) are pretty good indications of just how completely bored of the MCU I have become. Despite my complete and utter lack of excitement, or any emotion really, about the 28th (yes, TWENTY-EIGHTH!!) film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I still found myself trudging into the cinema and handing over my hard-earned money for the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Honouring Doctor Strange’s own origin story and the legacy of the first three phases of the MCU, as well as attempting to string together and unite the storylines from WandaVision, What If…? and No Way Home is no mean feat but director Sam Raimi, fresh from a nine-year hiatus and the resurgence of his fan favourite status, seemed like an excellent choice to take on the challenge.

The film puts its audience directly in the multiverse from the get-go, opening with a different Strange in a different reality fighting for the life of America Chavez, a girl who has the ability to traverse the multiverse at will but lacks the control to do so voluntarily. With defeat at hand, America’s fear opens up a portal and she is pulled into a familiar New York City where our Doctor Stephen Strange is attended the wedding of his former flame, Christine Palmer.

Almost as soon as she is in our universe, America is set upon by a massive tentacled creature set on obtaining her powers. Still coming to grips with the concept of the multiverse and its infinite possibilities, Strange seeks the council of an old friend with witchy powers. It’s here that a certain knowledge of the events in WandaVision will come in handy, as we discover that her picturesque and isolated orchard is just another hex and Wanda is behind the attack on America. Still wracked with grief and denial, and desperate to reconnect with the children that she believed she had in Westview, Wanda wants to take America’s powers for her own so that she can find a universe where she can take back what she believes is hers.

In order to protect America and the world from Wanda’s power, Strange and America traverse the multiverse looking for a power strong enough to defeat the dark magic Wanda wields, meeting a plethora of fan favourite characters along the way.

Where No Way Home sacrificed story for the sake of fan service and nostalgia, Multiverse of Madness just about manages to balance the inclusion of several characters from a number of different franchises, although whether it is just a gratuitous glimpse of what could have been or a sneak peek pinky promise of things to come still remains to be seen. I won’t go in to too much detail for risk of potential spoilers but if you enjoy a good cameo then Doctor Strange will satisfy your needs.

There were some impressive visuals including an interesting montage of different styles as Strange and America travel through the various multiverses but rather than play on this potential in a ‘WandaVision meets Into The Spiderverse‘ kind of way the general feel of the film is just a little bog-standard. Cinematically, it’s only significant point of difference was the darker, horror edge that plays well to Raimi’s strengths and directorial style. And although a debate rages on about whether Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a ‘horror” film, I can quite comfortably say that I doubt it will be keeping anybody up at night.

The calibre of performances were almost as varied as the multiverse itself. Reprising his role as Master of the Mystic Arts, in no less than four different iterations of the character, Benedict Cumberbatch is as strong and dependable as ever. Unfortunately though, the direction of the plotline makes Strange feel more like a secondary character in his own story, instead it’s Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch that takes centre stage. Building on her fantastically powerful and emotional performance in WandaVision as she came to terms with her grief over the profound losses she has suffered over her life, here Olsen shows how twisted and destructive obsession can be, no matter how innocent the intentions might be.

MCU newcomer, Xochitl Gomez shimmers in her role as multiversal traveler America Chavez but sometimes struggles to shine alongside the likes of Cumberbatch and Olsen. Although always a fun presence on screen, Benedict Wong’s Wong felt too much like a spare part, sidelined to make way for those with a little more star power. Speaking of, those special little cameos were too short-lived to leave any real lasting mark and too easy to disregard as fan service as opposed to the introduction of key characters from the comic book pages.

Overall, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness delivered more than I thought it would – the perks of zero expectation, I suppose – but was far from a top tier film and, despite it’s very valiant attempt, failed to unite the sprawling mess that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become.