DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS [2022] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] This is the Ultimate Marvel Studio’s viewing experience!
Journey into the unknown . . . in Marvel Studio’s ‘DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS.’ When the MCU unlocks the Multiverse, Doctor Strange [Benedict Cumberbatch] must enlist help from old and new allies as he traverses mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities in order to confront a surprising adversary. Enter a new dimension of Doctor Strange in this supernatural adventure filled with plot twists and exhilarating action sequences.
FILM FACT: In January 2020, Marvel Studios and Scott Derrickson announced that he would no longer direct the film due to creative differences. In separate statements, they both said they were thankful for their collaboration so far and Scott Derrickson would remain an executive producer on the film. This was not expected to delay filming, which was set for May 2020. Cargill explained that he and Derrickson conceived a story that went in a different direction from what Marvel Studios wanted, and the pair had not yet written a draft of the screenplay so the final film would not be derivative of their work. Scott Derrickson said leaving the film was a difficult decision, but he did not want to compromise on a film that was different from what he wanted to make. His choice to leave was made easier by the fact that he was able to immediately begin work on ‘The Black Phone’ [2022], another film he wanted to make. Benedict Cumberbatch was not consulted regarding the director’s change and said he was sad to hear about it, but he respected the decision and how it was handled. Some reports suggested that Scott Derrickson left the film because he wanted to make a “no-holds-barred weird, gnarly, scary movie” similar to A24's films ‘The Witch’ [2015] and ‘Hereditary’ [2018], and Marvel Studios did not want to go in that direction, but Kevin Feige denied this and said the studio loved that idea and explained that it was their intention for the film to serve as a guide into a "much creepier side" of the MCU, even after Scott Derrickson's departure, and they wanted to explore the “mind-bending frightening side” of the multiverse.
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Rachel McAdams, Jett Klyne, Julian Hilliard, Michael Stuhlbarg, Hayley Atwell, Anson Mount, Lashana Lynch, John Krasinski, Patrick Stewart, Charlize Theron, Sheila Atim, Adam Hugill, Bruce Campbell, Ross Marquand [Ultron voice], Andy Bale, Ako Mitchell, Momo Yeung, Daniel Swain, Topo Wresniwiro, Eden Nathenson, Vinny Moli, Charlie Norton, Aliyah Camacho, Ruth Livier, Chess Lopez, David K.S. Tse, Yasmin Chadwick, Anthony Knight, Nuakai Aru, Victoria Grove, Joshua Neil, Nina Jalava, Joshmaine Joseph, Yenifer Molina, Kevin Dalton, Orphee Sidibe, Gregory Fung, Cecilia Appiah, Victoria Sterling, Jordan Alexandra, Bobbie Little, Gabriella Cooper-Parsons, André Layne, Michael Waldron, Bridget Hoffman, Scott Spiegel, Jessica Pennington, Andrew Morgado, Audrey Wasilewski, Christian Rummel [Souls of the Damned voice], Richie Palmer [Souls of the Damned voice], Sina Ali (uncredited), David Olawale Ayinde (uncredited), Ella Bardot (uncredited), Paul Bettany (archive footage) (uncredited), Sherise Blackman (uncredited), Callum Bowyer (uncredited), Dan Burns (uncredited), Domenico Caccamo (uncredited), Sandra Chaffey (uncredited), Neil Chapelhow (uncredited), Alice Chen (uncredited), David Cheung (uncredited), Soo Cole (uncredited), Ryan L. Coleman (uncredited), James Cox (uncredited), Hung Dante Dong (uncredited), Mark Edwards (uncredited), Begoña Fernández Martín (uncredited), Andrew Goodman (uncredited), John King (uncredited), Alan Leong (uncredited), Mark Lockhart (uncredited), Marian Lorencik (uncredited), Tyrone Love (uncredited), Jason Ludwig (uncredited), Ivy Rose Lynn (uncredited), Tony McCarthy (uncredited), Laetitia Melo (uncredited), Keenan Moore (uncredited), Mara Natuzzi (uncredited), Axel Nu (uncredited), Haruka Ohshima (uncredited), Clément Osty (uncredited), Charlie Rich (uncredited), Will Rowlands (uncredited), Stephen Samson (uncredited), Hasit Savani (uncredited), Shane Senior (uncredited), Clem So (uncredited), Sanj Surati (uncredited), Phill Webster (uncredited), Tanner Woodard (uncredited) and Jessica Zhou (uncredited)
Director: Sam Raimi
Producers: Eric Hauserman Carroll, Helen Pollak, Jamie Christopher, JoAnn Perritano, Kevin Feige (p.g.a.), Louis D'Esposito, Mitchell Bell, Richie Palmer, Scott Derrickson and Victoria Alonso
Screenplay: Michael Waldron (written), Stan Lee (created by: Doctor Strange) and Steve Ditko (created by: Doctor Strange)
Composer: Danny Elfman
Costume Design: Graham Churchyard
Cinematography: John Mathieson (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio: English: 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio Descriptive Service
François: 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus Audio
Deutsch: 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English, François, Deutsch, Netherlands, Dansk, Suomi, Norsk and Svenska
Running Time: 126 minutes
Region: Region Free
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Marvel Studios / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’ [2022] Is a spectacular as the psychedelic effects were in the first Doctor Strange, which came out more than five years ago, the screenplay stuck closely to what was, at the time, the studio's typical formula, in that it told the origin story of an arrogant white man acquiring his abilities and then defeating a forgettable baddy. The sequel is a different matter – although initially it feels familiar enough.
It begins with Stephen Strange [Benedict Cumberbatch], New York's premier neurosurgeon-turned-Master-of-the-Mystic-Arts, attending the wedding of his old flame, Christine Palmer [Rachel McAdams], and realising that if he hadn't been so pompous, she might have married him instead. But suddenly he has other urgent business to attend to: an enormous one-eyed octopus monster is chasing a girl called America Chavez [Xochitl Gomez] down the streets of Manhattan.
One zany, tentacle-lopping fight scene later, America tells Strange and his fellow sorcerer, Wong (Benedict Wong), that she comes from another universe. In fact, she has the power to hop between multiple universes, which is why the monster was chasing her. Its demonic master wants to steal America's power so that it can rule not just one reality but every reality there is. The only way to foil this demon is to locate the most super-duper spell book in existence, and so Stephen Strange recruits the one magic-wielder who might be able to help him, Wanda Maximoff [Elizabeth Olsen] from the Avengers.
There's plenty of CGI-dependent action to enjoy, but for a while the film doesn't seem like essential viewing for anyone except devoted Marvel fans. Slowly but surely, though, the film becomes weirder, sillier, more emotional and more imaginative, with more ridiculous jokes and yet with more macabre shocks. In other words, it becomes apparent that it's directed by Sam Raimi.
Credit should also go to the screenwriter, Michael Waldron, who has knitted together an immensely complicated yet largely comprehensible dimension-jumping plot. He has rightly given McAdams and Wong much more to do than they had in the previous Doctor Strange film, and he has incorporated lots of big surprises that the studio has managed to keep quiet about. But Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness feels like a Raimi project to the core. It could even be the Raimi project. When he made his Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire, his adoration of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's superhero comics shone through, and that geeky love shines brighter than ever here.
Yes, it's still a Marvel blockbuster that fulfils the requirements of a Marvel blockbuster, and which expects its viewers to have a working knowledge of all of the Marvel blockbusters that went before it. But it's also as gleefully outlandish as any independent cult movie – and there is no way Raimi could have made anything like it without Marvel's footing the bill and laying the groundwork. Some people will dismiss the film as nonsense, and they could have a point. But ‘DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’ is a huge amount of fun.
‘DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’ success is in no small part thanks to the performances. There’s not a bad actor in the bunch, but Elizabeth Olsen is constantly reminding us how easily she can shift into a capital-a-Actor as Wanda Maximoff. Meanwhile, Xochitl Gomez did an admirable job bringing America Chavez into the MCU and left us hoping to see more of her character in the future, while Rachel McAdams did the best she could with a once again under-utilized Christine Palmer. Of course, Benedict Cumberbatch was great as always.
The overall pacing is relentless and the sequel shows its hand a lot earlier than you'd expect. There's been endless speculation from fans about the villain, which I won't spoil here, but it's revealed surprisingly quickly.
Director Sam Raimi definitely put a splash of horror in this action film. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is darker & more violent than any previous MCU movie, which could be considered strength. However, I felt like there was not enough multiverse and maybe too much madness. Despite the entertaining visuals, the plot is fairly chaotic, and the acting and the dialogue is terrific. This movie is a very entertaining ride, but it's a little too messy to stand on its own.
DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS MUSIC TRACK LIST
THEME FROM DOCTOR STRANGE (Composed by Michael Giacchino)
COSMIC BEAM EXPERIENCE [Performed by Francesco Lupica]
Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach) [Performed by Bertalan Hock]
Prelude to Act III - Bridal Chorus (Arr. for Organ) (Lohengrin WWV75) (Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach) [Performed by Stephen Cleobury]
EVERYTIME WE SAY GOODBYE (Written by Cole Porter) [Performed by Oscar Peterson]
WANDAVISION! (Written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez)
THE ICE CREAM SONG (Music by Danny Elfman) (Lyrics by Michael Waldron)
X-MEN ’97 THEME (Written by Ron Wasserman) (Composed by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy)
CAPTAIN AMERICA THEME (Composed by Alan Silvestri)
Symphony No. 5 in C Minor (Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven)
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach)
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios presents this film ‘DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’ with a totally awesome 1080p image and an equally spectacular 2.39:1 aspect ratio. It also has a very refined image with good black contrast and colour saturation. It has a nice sharp picture and handles a lot of the special visual effects wonderfully. Blacks are deep and natural, really bringing in some contrast that helps the crispness of the image and for many of the colours to liven up. Colours are very striking, especially the amazing CGI elements, and especially really accentuates mystical powers coming from Wanda or Doctor Strange, especially there are a nice look on reds and purples as well. Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish. Skin tones and textures come through plenty clear and the make-up effects hold up quite well. Zombie Strange in particular looks really cool to see all the grisly details.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Marvel Studios and Walt Disney brings us the film ‘DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’ with an outstanding 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experience and which hits pretty good, has some great nuance and playful jumps and swooshes around the room. Vocals have a nice prominent fixture in it, where they always feel part of the environment, but always are clear and audible. Stuff like debris falling, little bits of sand/dirt/dust from shaking, flying above, beams…all sorts of fun comes in at good, audible and effective volumes. Surround Sound Presentation wickedly goes all around the room and back again, leaving no stone unturned and many mysteries to uncover from each channel. It’s well thought out and pretty clever with solid, impacting rolling travel across the room. But most of all some of the time vocals are clear and crisp, but when they talk softly you have a job to hear what they are saying.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Audio Commentary by Sam Raimi, Richie Palmer and Michael Waldron [2022] [1080p] [2.39:1] [116:17] With this featurette, we get to hear from Director Sam Raimi, Producer Richie Palmer and Screenwriter Michael Waldron, and as the film starts we are introduced first by Sam Raimi, and then we are joined by Richie Palmer and then by Michael Waldron and of course they are here to talk in-depth about ‘DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’ and asks Richie Palmer is that right that you make a new Marvel Studios for every film they make and says it is true and they like to update the images with new Disney Plus series and movies. Sam Raimi asks Michael Waldron about the start of the film and how Doctor Strange and the young lady arrive in the chaotic Multiverse and it would be good to come in at the end of Doctor Strange movie. And also says he likes Doctor Strange’s beard and pony tail, but Richie Palmer hates the new pony tail, and so do I, as I think it is a really stupid fashion in 2024, but they say they wanted Doctor Strange to look like a modern style Errol Flynn. Next we are in the church waiting for the couple getting married and Doctor Strange has just sat down and they mention that the great Michael Stewbart that he was in the classic Cohen Brothers classic film ‘Serious Man’ and they also say that their favourite part in the film is when Doctor Strange turns the water into red wine for the bride. Now we see Doctor Strange jump to the street below to fight off the alien octopus that is destroying New York City and the special effects was done by Charles Wood their production designer and also built the whole of the New York street scene and they could not go to the actual New York city street scene because of the COVID pandemic, and the New York city street was filmed in a British studio, and it was the biggest set they have ever worked on and of course a lot of it is CGI special effects and of course they had to import a lot of American cars into the UK to do the scene. Another strange thing they say is that they wanted to make the film a PG13 certificate and explain in detail why they came to that decision. But from then on they just ramble on and talk about things in the movie I just found very boring. When we get to chapter 9 where we are in the scene with the actress and Doctor Strange who says “Apple” right? But we are informed it is cherry blossom and that it only blooms at the time of filming and they are in fact fake blossoms done by Charles Wood and his team and they took a week to do every tree and it nearly caused them serious back ache. Once again they all start rambling again on talking about the background information about the film and it is totally and utterly boring and not at all of any interest to me. As we get near to the end of the film and of course the audio commentary, we see Doctor Strange mending his special watch and they all say that this was the first shot they did of the movie, and from them on they say thank you audience for having us and giving you our tour guide of the film ‘DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’ and thanks for watching and thanks for listening, and it was great fun making the film, and great fun watching the movie and for your kind comments on the internet and you guys had nothing but sating really nice things to say about the movie, and at that point this audio commentary comes to an end.
Special Feature: Constructing the Multiverse [2022] [1080p] [2.39:1] [11:10] With this featurette, we get to hear from the cast and crew talking about various aspects of the production values and is interspersed with lots of scenes from ‘DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’ and as an added bonus, we get to view lots of scenes from the 2023 film and we also lots of behind-the-scene filming. Contributors include: Benedict Cumberbatch [Doctor Stephen Strange], Sam Raimi [Director], Chiwetel Ejiofor [Baron Mordo], Elizabeth Olsen [Wanda Maximoff / The Secret Witch], Benedict Wong [Wong], Michael Waldron [Screenwriter], Kevin Feige [Producer], Richie Palmer [Co-producer], Eachel McAdams [Dr. Christian Palmer], Cyndi Ocho [Visual Effects Producer], Chris Corbould [Special Effects Supervisor] and Jeff Habberstad [Second Unit Director].
Special Feature: Introducing America Chavez [2022] [1080p] [2.39:1] [3:29] With this featurette, it goes over the history of America Chavez and how the actress fits into the film and Xochitl Gomez playing her character and once again we get to view lots of scenes from the 2023 film and we also lots of behind-the-scene filming. Contributors include: Sam Raimi [Director], Kevin Feige [Producer], Richie Palmer [Co-producer], Michael Waldron [Screenwriter], Benedict Cumberbatch [Doctor Stephen Strange], Benedict Wong [Wong], Rachel McAdams [Dr. Christine Palmer], Elizabeth Olsen [Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch] and Brycen Counts [Stunt Coordinator].
Special Feature: Method To The Madness [2022] [1080p / 480i] [1.78:1 / 2.39:1] [5:02] With this featurette, we get to hear about how Director Sam Raimi was the perfect person for the job and the strengths he brings to a film. This includes some behind the scenes footage of the original ‘Evil Dead’ film as well. This also goes over many Sam Raimi-isms included in the film. Once again we get to view lots of clips from the 2022 film. Contributors include: Michael Waldron [Screenwriter], Richie Palmer [Co-producer], Kevin Feige [Producer], Samantha Vinzon [Marvel Studios Manager, Production & Development], Bob Murawski [Editor], Sam Raimi [Director], Tia Nolan [Editor], Bruce Campbell [Pizza Poppa] and Doug Lefler [Syoryboard Artist].
Special Feature: Gag Reel [2022] [1080p] [2.39:1] [2:28] With this featurette, we get to view the so called funny outtakes from the 2022 film, but of course to the people involved with the film who think they are totally hilarious being filmed doing stupid things, but to me I found the whole thing is really stupid.
Special Feature: Deleted Scenes [2022] [1080p] [1.37:1 / 2.39:1] [3:06] With this featurette, we get to view the following deleted scenes from the 2022 ‘DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’ film and they are as follows: A Great Team, It’s Not Permanent and Pizza Poppa.
Finally, ‘DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’ Marvel movie that is serious, more violent, and a bit amount of gore for a pg-13 rating which is pretty good use for it. Benedict Cumberbech as Dr Stephen strange the master of mystic arts and totally amazing. Highly Recommended!
Finally, with the film ‘DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’ overall the pacing is relentless and the sequel shows its hand a lot earlier than you'd expect. There's been endless speculation from fans about the villain, which I won't spoil here, but it's revealed surprisingly quickly. The pacing may seem disjointed or fragmented at times, but I feel that only reflects the complex nature of the multiverse within the film. Whatever your thoughts are about Marvel Studios you have to give them credit for their world building and character development. Wanda and Doctor Strange are both very unique which makes them fun. The majority if the actors also do a great brilliant job portraying their characters. This is a CGI heavy film and it makes the film enjoyable. Often certain fight sequences also make the film enjoyable and the humour also works wherever present throughout the film. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
