Spoiler Discussion: The Real Villain of "Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness"
Plus, Why the PG-13 discourse in ultimately pointless.
Ever since “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness” landed on the big screen, The internet has been on fire. However, unlike last year’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, not all of it was for acclaim, praise, or nostalgia. While I understand the hyperbolic nature of social platforms like Twitter and Instagram, I also had a few issues with Raimi’s latest film, even though I really enjoyed it. In my review, I praised Raimi’s direction and called the film a swing for the fences. Here, I will be discussing major spoilers for “Multiverse of Madness”. So, if you have not seen the film, do not scroll down any further.
A Witch Called Wanda
First and foremost, Elizabeth Olsen is in fact the MVP of this film. She is so in the same way that Willem Dafoe was in “Spider-Man: No Way Home”: Fun, lively, and absolutely unhinged. She isn’t Wanda in this film, she is in fact The Scarlet Witch. Her arc, however, is where the issues come into play. When we last saw her in “WandaVision”, Wanda spent the entire show trying to deal with the death of Vision, post “Endgame”. While the show was mainly about Wanda processing grief and living in a better world to help cope with that, I felt like she was given a pass for what she really did: hold an entire town of unsuspecting people hostage.
However, a few lines in both “WandaVision” and even “Multiverse of Madness” often clash with how the world around Wanda views her. I recently ran across a clip of “WandaVison” on my Twitter feed where Agatha Harkness says the following: “Same story, different century. There’ll always be torches and pitchforks for ladies like us, Wanda.” That line alone made me think that Agatha played a key factor in Wanda becoming the film’s main antagonist. After all, Agatha was hiding in plain sight for a majority of the show. As for “Multiverse of Madness”, The film may commit to Wanda going full goblin mode throughout the film but in terms of whether she is redeemed or not remained unclear until I rewatched the film and found that she in fact was.
The best comparison that I can make (that I’m sure others have) is to that of Otto Octavious in Raimi’s “Spider-Man 2”. Both villains even have their very own “I will not die a monster” moment in their respective climaxes. In the case of Octavious, he was corrupted by not only the neural inhibitor chip but, the loss of his wife Rosalie. It’s not until the final battle between him and Spider-Man that he realizes what he has done and redeems himself, making him both the villain and the hero of his own story. Same with Scarlet Witch.
When she attempts to sacrifice America Chavez in order to be with her children by usurping her unsuspecting variant, She and America square off. America then decides to do the one thing she knows will get Wanda: show her what she has become. It was during that moment when, even after she throws her variant around and traumatizes the kids, the other Wanda ensures her that “they will be loved”. After she realizes what she has become, Wanda then tells strange “I opened the book, I must be the one to close it” leading to my theory of this film…
It Was The Dark Hold All Along
It might sound silly but, the real catalyst behind the film’s main conflict was in fact the dark hold: A sinister book of the damned that burys anyone who reads it with a plethora of consequences. This is the same book that the evil variant of Strange was holding as well. Throughout the film, we are told about how powerful and dangerous the dark hold is. I feel that it, along with Agatha Harkness, has contributed to Wanda’s turn to evil. When we enter the world where Doctor Strange is evil and corrupt, we see the consequences of leaving it unchecked. Wanda’s decision in the climax to destroy the dark hold in every universe is, like Doc Ock’s sacrifice at the end of “Spider-Man 2”, the point where the villain ultimately saves the day.
I would never invalidate anyone for feeling differently, I have read differing takes on how Wanda’s arc was handled. I’m also sure that with a better script, this would’ve actually been made clearer. However, I don’t find the film to be as mean-spirited as others have stated otherwise. If anything, I felt that it was a bit too much like “Spider-Man 2”. However, as much as I like this film, it did feel a lot like a greatest hits compilation of Sam Raimi’s filmography.
Pour one out for The Illuminati
This Spoiler discussion would not be complete without talking about the elephant in the room: The Illuminati. The big cameo tease was eventually spoiled by a few TV spots and trailers. Sadly, no, we don’t get Tom Cruise as Iron Man or Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man as some have speculated. Instead, we have Blackbolt (reprised by Anson Mount from ABC’s “The Inhumans”), Captain Carter (Reprised by Hayley Atwell, last seen in “…What If?”), Captain Marvel (This time portrayed by Lashana Lynch), Reed Richards (played by Jim Halpburn himself John Krasinski), and Professor Charles Xavier (reprised by the legendary Patrick Stewart). Hell, Danny Elfman’s score even brought out a snippet of the iconic X-Men tune from the 90s when Xavier rolled in. All of them are seen being led by Baron Mordo (reprised by Chiwetel Ejiofor) putting Strange on trial for causing an incursion.
If you were hoping for another MCU team-up, well… I hate to burst your bubble but, that’s not what we get here. Within ten minutes, Wanda shows up and slaughters the members of the Illuminati. She doesn’t just yet them off a cliff, she gets pulls moves that you’d see in something akin to a “Friday the 13th” film or a “Mortal Kombat” game. This was a particularly dividing moment for fans. Some found it to be a fun way of subverting expectations while others felt that it rendered the cameos pointless. I lean towards the former: While I hope Krasinski returns as Reed Richards, The kills here were absolutely savage. My favorite kill is definitely Captain Carter. She gets super cocky at one point during her fight with Wanda, claiming “I can do this all day”, only for her to be cut in half by her own shield. Not only was it shot and edited pretty well but, it was both shocking and darkly comical. The latter is something Raimi is known for in his films.
Granted, the savagery in the kills does lead to my next point…
Good Horror Movies can be PG-13
If there’s one thing to take away from “Doctor Strange In the Multiverse Of Madness”, it’s that it’s more so a horror movie as opposed to an MCU film. Throughout the “Infinity Saga”, The Marvel Cinematic Universe has faced plenty of criticism for being formulaic and playing things far too safe. With Phase 4, they’ve managed to forego safety and swing for the fences. I wasn’t the biggest fan of last year’s “Eternals”. In a matter of fact, I found it to be Marvel’s most boring movie yet. However, that movie has its fans. The same goes for “Multiverse of Madness”: It’s just as divisive as “Eternals” was but, I found it to be far more entertaining. Also, kudos to Kevin Feige for giving Sam Raimi creative freedom, this is the way.
As of writing this, a portion of my Twitter feed was flooded with people lamenting the film because either someone was dumb enough to take their 4-year-old to see it or because a woefully naive film “journalist” claimed that the film was too violent for a PG-13 rating. Granted, there’s a PG-rated film where someone gets their heart ripped out but sure, a scary superhero movie is too much. That film, “Temple of Doom” is one of the reasons why the PG-13 rating exists. The rating is not exclusive to elementary school kids and, due to the fact that our society has become ludicrously infantilized, It’s unfortunate to see so many people let alone parents fail to grasp such a simple concept.
First of all, PG-13 horror exists. Don’t believe me? Google M. Night Shyamalan: “Signs”, “Old”, “The Last Airbender”, There’s a market for PG-13 horror films. As a matter of fact, they’ve actually gotten better over the years with John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place” films. Neither a CGI tentacle monster losing its eyeball nor captain carter getting chopped in half (which they do not explicitly show, by the way) has anything on the infamous face-melting scene from “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. As a matter of fact, similar to “Raiders” there’s a scene in “Fate of The Furious” where Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) yeets a dude over the edge only for him to get shredded by a propeller blade. That film, just like “Multiverse of Madness”, is PG-13.
The fact of the matter is that this discourse, like basically anything on Twitter, is ridiculously pointless and goes to serve how society continues to treat people like children. While adults have more responsibilities, they should still be able to have fun too.
In Conclusion
As I have stated before, “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness” is a polarizing film. Some will love it while others will not. I was fine with Wanda being the show-stealing antagonist of the film and while her arc could’ve been better written in this film, I liked how her arc concluded. The movie didn’t end with her being a monster but, it ended with her finding her way. In actuality, this is hinted at in the second act when Charles Xavier says to Mordo “Just because someone has stumbled and lost their way doesn’t mean they’re lost forever.” in reference to Doctor Strange himself. I feel like that line also applies to the film’s overall theme: living with consequences while trying to right certain wrongs. Wanda ends up facing consequences for her actions in the film and ultimately chooses to do better afterward. Strange finally encourages America Chavez to use her power and opposed to surrendering her abilities for the greater good. Strange also learns to let go of Christine as well.
Asa for the mid and end credit scenes, I am not only excited for more Dr. Strange but, I am very enthusiastic for Charlize Theron to join the MCU as Clea. Also, as is the case with every Sam Raimi film, you can never go wrong with a Bruce Campbell cameo. Especially one that hilariously trolls the audience.