So Doctor Strange has a ponytail now? Oh, ok he does not. Well, with ponytail or not, our Strange finds out that his dream is not a dream but a glimpse of parallel universes. In the meantime Christine (Strange’s ex) gets married but the ceremony gets interrupted by a creature from the multiverse chasing a girl. That girl is America Chavez from his “dream” with the power to travel between universes.
Suddenly you find yourself watching the protagonist in another universes. In each universe, there is a Dr. Strange and the other characters but each character has driven a different path in life. The movie talks about how Strange has not made it to work with Christine in any universe. However, every universe has a nice plot twist with a tasteful replacement in character positions.
With tons of Endgame and “snap” references and when everything is possible, nothing matters, and as one character says when explaining their motivations in the film, “With the multiverse, there is a solution to every problem.”. Through the multiverse, Marvel can provide increasingly exciting fan service stimuli, making all the fan dreams come true.
Conclusions
Generally it is a movie full of stuff. There are some passable plot holes (I would be surprised if there were not) while the character arc of all the characters in all universes is quite acceptable and interesting. The universe madness balances the tragedy, with mind-and-body tripping through space-time and nutty comedy. Cumberbatch is a rock-solid comedio-dramatic foundation, and really seems to be enjoying himself. Every actor gives something to the movie which is no mean feat in a movie where there’s a thousand other things going on.
Favourite quotes
- “America: Did you blow it with your Christine?”
- “Dr. Strange: I Love You In Every Universe.”
- “Wong: I Remain Grateful About This Universe. Even With Its Tribulations.”
- “Wong: I don’t even wanna know!”