Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: our spoiler-free review

polygon.com:

In the hallowed halls of Marvel Comics, Dr. Stephen Strange is a much more consistent visitor in other heroes’ stories than a star in his own. His immense power and his remove from the ordinary world of heroing make him something of an abstraction in the Marvel universe — mostly useful when other heroes run afoul of his marvelous, perilous world of magic, and drop in on him for help and explanations.

And the good doctor’s usefulness as a secondary character has translated to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, too. Since his obligatory origin film in 2016, Strange (as played by Benedict Cumberbatch) has found more memorable cinematic life in supporting roles as a magical expert with wise words for the beleaguered protagonists of Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. For his return to top billing in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, director Sam Raimi (director of the Spider-Mantrilogy and the Evil Dead trilogy) and screenwriter Michael Waldron (Rick and Morty, Loki) have found a way to lean into this.

That means packing the story full of as many other characters as possible, as early as possible in the story. Setting a movie in the full breadth of the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse sets up the opportunity to bring in a lot of characters — and a lot of references designed to thrill comics fans and MCU obsessives alike. But no matter how many universes Multiverse of Madness leaps through, it can’t escape the fact that its hero is Stephen Strange. And his strong supporting cast only underscores the weakness of his own personal evolution.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness barrels adroitly through its opening, assembling its cast and launching them all on quests for various