Welcome back everyone! It’s great to be back to talk about new movies that have just come out, or that were released during the break. The first thing to know is this film deals with the events of Loki and the multiverse being broken because of the death of He Who Remains.
The film opens with a new character named America Chavez, played by Xochitl Gomez, who is traveling across the multiverse with Doctor Strange, played again by Benedict Cumberbatch. But this Strange is different: he is a variant of the original Strange from the MCU.
Essentially, they’re being chased by a monster. He gets badly injured and
eventually dies, and they both travel through the multiverse into the main MCU timeline.
Now that’s all well and good, but what does this have to do with the main Doctor Strange?
Well, he is dreaming these events at the exact moment it is happening. The dream ends as they enter the portal. Eventually America and our Strange meet, and they have to come face to face with a new threat.
Scarlet Witch is in this movie as well, played again by Elizabeth Olsen, this time she is the more insane adversary they have to contend with, assuming you’ve seen the movie. Benedict Wong is back too as Wong, who is now the Sorcerer Supreme.
Overall, the performances I’d say were very well done and the storyline does make sense. Wanda is searching for her kids in another universe, and is willing to go to great distances to do it, including killing America. Strange is bound to stop her from the moment he realizes what’s going on, and America just wishes she didn’t have this power until learning to accept it and control it. Even Wong has his own arc, where he is forced to help Wanda to save his fellow sorcerers.
Each character has an overarching arc. The cause of all this ruckus and many of the events of the movie, is the Darkhold.
For those who haven’t seen Agents of SHIELD or Runaways, the Darkhold is essentially a book that people who read it are able to understand and use. However, it will and can corrupt everything it touches as illustrated in those shows and this movie. The Darkhold is “the Book of the Damned”, that’s what the movie claims and they’re right. It truly is.
One thing you’ll notice in the movie is the use of special effects. The special effects are always changing. You’ll also note that the movie has massive horror vibes throughout, because this is what Marvel Studios envisioned for this movie.
The MCU is at a point where rather than doing the same type of storyline, they change the theme and present compelling new types of stories. Comedy’s, horror, space operas, it all could work in this universe. They even have a black and white slasher story in the upcoming Werewolf by Night.
I’d say the general tone of the movie, as well as all of the pieces that the movie is meant to convey, work well for what they are. The ending also makes sense. In it, Strange gains a new third eye he has from the comics… which not only reference his powers from the comics and the Eye of Agamotto, but that he was in a way corrupted by the Darkhold.
We even met Clea, played by Charlize Theron, and they go to what appears to be the Dark Dimension to fix an “incursion” Strange caused. It’s all very poetic. I’d say that this is one of the best Phase 4 movies in a sea of controversy that has been Phase 4.
Go see it now.