SPOILER REVIEW: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

00:00:01
Speaker 1: Hello, Welcome to the Spoiler Version review of Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. This podcast has no rules when we can say all the plot lines, very laid back review, because it's hard to review a Marvel movie when you can't say any of the plot points because everybody thinks everything is a spoiler. That was a very tough review to do. So I'm glad we're here now and able to talk about it two weeks after the release and get into all the nitty gritty, and my wife Kelsey is here. You haven't done one of these with me before? No, I haven't you excited to talk spoilers? Love a spoiler? No, I really don't. There's a warning on this one that it comes to spoilers. And I think we had different opinions after watching this movie we left the theater. You thought it was amazingly. You were like, I was one of the best Marvel movies. Yeah, I thought it was really good and I was like, left a lot to be desired. So I before we get into what I guess I didn't like more than you did, let's talk about what we did like about the movie. Why did you have that feeling leave in the movie theater. I'm trying to think back, it's been like two weeks ago. I loved Elizabeth Olson in it, Okay, I love her like I think she is phenomenal as Wanda, So do I and I think that's why I didn't enjoy the movie as much. But before we get into that, was it her character in the movie. Just for her portrayal of it. She's so good and convincing as an actress. I get that. What else about it? Well, I so I hadn't seen the original Doctor Strange, the first one. I didn't know Rachel McAdams was in it. And then I was shocked because I was like, wow, Rachel McAdams has range like as an actress he does, You're like, everybody's in the MCU Now, I was like, is there anyone not in the Marvel universe at this point? Basically Mark Wahlberg, Yes, he'd really like to be in. He would like to be in waiting for that invite. I really liked. I liked one division coming into this, and I think that's why it was hard for me to enjoy this movie. And I feel like I looked at this a little bit more critically than I usually do. Because marvels in this phase four that I'm not super highly invested in. And also I just didn't love the first Doctor Strange. I feel like he's a really good supporting character, but him as a lead, it's not my go to. It's not my jam, it's not my jelly. Also, can we talk about how it took me forever to realize that one division was Wanda Envision, even though watch whole show and it was Wanda Envision, but one division does one word as a concept went right over my head. And I'm a pretty intelligent person, so I'm a little embarrassment. So yeah, I didn't love her as the villain here. Although I loved Elizabeth Olsen her performance in it, it was just hard to root against her, which I know some people said, well she was a villain in one division, debatable, but I just felt like her character didn't deserve that. But I also feel like you get why she's being in the villain. Yeah, Like it's not like I've feel like most villains like they want the power or the money, the money infinity stones, but like she just wanted to be with her family, And so then you're also like, does not make her a villain, Like I get that she was the villain, but it's like she just wanted to be in a universe, in a world where like her children were real and existed, and she got to love them and be their moms something. That's why I was fighting for. I didn't see the struggle. I didn't see the conflict because that at the very beginning, I know, Dr Strange has the dream where he sees America chob as his character in it, and then it just kind of jumps into him wanting to defend her out of kind of nowhere, which I get. Yeah, her plan was to kill her and take her powers, but he had just met her, Like I don't know, I don't always feel like he's the most heroic character and doing things like just saving people for the sake of saving people. That it told really made sense that he in no way was trying to kind of reason with Wanda or help her out anymore. He would just automatically like I'm going to defend her. But was there any way for him to help Wanda? Was there any other way for her to limit that universe without having America's powers? No, I'm probably not, And what would she what else would she do with those. We can't guarantee that she would just go to that universe. It's hard, it's hard conflicts, and my heart felt conflicted. I did like the action in it, and I liked when it got grittier and darker. I thought it could have gone more full into that. I think the moment I had the most excitement was whenever they went into the multiverse and she killed people. Yeah, she shraded up like murdered people, which I thought was amazing. Like that part of it I haven't seen in a Marvel movie before where a superhero has died, where there has been Are we going to talk about who she killed? Yeah, it's a spoiler. Probably. I'm saying, is this your ramp up to it? Or do we do we throw that in before we keep talking. I just she killed John Kasincy's character, who is one of the Fantastic Four. She killed all those, She killed all of them, and which I thought that was a great cameo. I wasn't expecting Professor X. I wasn't expecting the X Men to come into Marvel like this, which I thought was cool because I feel like when you talk about Marvel movies, you don't really give credit to those original X Men movies, which were so huge when they came out and had such an impact on what superhero movies could be that we kind of forget about those because the m c U is kind of taking over everything. So it was cool to see Professor X come back. I don't care about the Fantastic Four. I know people were hyped to see John Krasinski in the m c you now, but I mean, this is the third already done. I just can't not Spider Man. I just can't be excited about Fantastic Four anymore. It's not that interesting to me. So I felt like the cameos were decent. Aside from Professor X. It was okay, but it didn't really have that same kind of like wow factor when we saw No Way Home. Yeah, totally different. But I think what Marvel is experiencing now is kind of an identity crisis of like, you have all I know, right, we have all the shows kind of going along. But this movie didn't really want to make me watch the next movie. This movie didn't make you want you said a few too many words in that sentime. This movie didn't make me want to watch the next Marvel movie. They're not really connected anymore, Like this isn't going to lead into thor and I felt like the movie they wanted to make here after everything was over and after I kind of saw the whole thing coming of him, kind of having his redemption at the end of not taking her powers and saying no, you can finally do this, like I just came out of nowhere, like all of a sudden, she can harness it and control it and is able to use it, and then all she does is take one to to show her that she is the villain. I just felt like, what should have happened in this movie to make it more impactful and to make it something like a bit grander, which I know that's what everybody wants somebody to say how to redo a movie, But I think Dr Strange should have died. I think that would have had a much more impact of how it started at the beginning, of him killing America to take her powers to save the world. I think he should have sacrificed himself and died. And then I know at the end of the movie where it kind of leaves like, oh, everything's back to normal, and then you see his third eye and that kind of lead into the next one. I already forgot end telling you two weeks I felt like you could have still had that same moment, but in that moment he sacrifices himself. Doctor Strange dies the big him ocean a moment, and then kind of like he came back to life as a zombie. He comes back to life at the end, shows a little glimpse of like, oh, he's still alive. I felt like that would have been a little bit more of an impact of like killing him, and then the next movie is maybe him and another multiverse still alive, which is probably what the next one is gonna be of, you know, the Third Eye, what is going on there. But I just felt like it didn't leave me wanting more, which is the feeling I've had after every other Marvel movie, like I can't wait to watch the next one. And it had such a great line, great lead in with Spider Man. That was the only reason I was really excited about this movie. Spider Man is also hard to follow up. That's is my favorite, but it doesn't lead me to want to watch and see how they kind of wrap up Doctor Strange, which I assume we'll probably just get a trilogy. But even the I mean even going back to my favorite parts of the movie, like the Professor X cameo, there wasn't a whole lot of action in that, and really in the entire movie, like that whole scene is just them sitting down basically having like a like an Avengers podcast. They were just talking like they weren't really doing anything. And this is supposed to be one of the most pivotal scenes. It was just all those characters cameos and them talking. I liked the cinematography of it. I think my favorite scene was when a doctor Strange first goes to visit Wanda and then she turns it into like burned down land, Like I thought that was so cool. I thought that part was a little shocking. Yeah, I think Wanda is like normal, and then that happens and it was just like the scorch start. I was like, oh, that's pretty cool. That was a cool moment there. I think visually this movie was great, a lot of cool special effects. I was a nerd in kind of said that some of this h G I was a little bit distracting, but that was probably me over analyzing it a bit. It's good to know that you who doesn't really get annoyed by those type of things, weren't as affected by that. No, I don't notice anything like that. What about do you feel like generally after the movie, you were just like, that was fun. That's all I really needed. Yeah, it was also only two hours, which was love. That was my next point. I don't mind watching a two twenty two and a half hour Marvel movie, which is kind of the norm now, but this one had a little bit of a deeming quality that it was just two hours, not because I wanted to get out of there, not because I think it needed to be shorter, but it was like the perfect amount of time for this story that if it would have been an extra ten twenty minutes, I would have ranked this even lower. But it kind of showed that you can make a good superhero movie right at two hours, and I think that's great. I mean, I yeah, I don't mind watching two enough hours if it doesn't feel like it's been two and a half hours, but like if I'm starting to like get tired, I don't know, checking my phone, like that's when I'm like, okay, this has gone on a little too long. Keeps your attention for the whole two and a half. But this was perfect, just like right like two hours. I think we went at like six thirty on a Friday home by nine, and I would rather see two hours of like steady action then having like a big moment of just talking, which I felt I did get a little bit in this, but you know, that is what it is at this point. Uh, Do you think that this movie needed to be seen on the big screen? Because I think that's what Marvel kind of pride themselves on of making an event. I don't know if anymore it's so much that it requires the big screen, then we just have to go watch it the week it comes out because all the spoilers will start to come out. Do you think this one needed the big screen or just like we gotta watch it before the spoilers happen. I mean, yeah, I think some of the cinematography does. And like some of the scenes where they're like defending the is that a castle? It's not a castle the Sorcerer place. Yes, like those when they're like doing like four shields, Like I feel like things like that like don't look as good as a pretty big moment. I'd say the first like twenty thirty minutes of it were on a pretty major scale that being in the theater with I think even at one point I just kind of felt that rumbling again and had that kind of it's weird to say, a nostalgic experience from ten years ago, but it reminded me of going to watch an early Avengers movie like back of like, oh this this kind of looks like it. The cinematography kind of looks like it, and I kind of had that feeling again. Was that No, it was the other moment we saw like a week before with the girl brought like her own meal or was that Doctor Strange. No, I think that was Doctor Strange. She brought a bowl, brought like a bowl from like Kaba, which I mean respect, but then it kind of small like Mediterranean tune in the theater. It smell like dinner throughout the entire theater. Which was that the same one where I brought my own beas beef jernky and you were like, you gotta close that up. No, okay, the all bringing her dinner was when we saw everything everywhere all at once, but you're bringing your vegan dirky was and it literally smells it smells like regular beef turkey, and I was like, you've got to put that away. It's smells like beef turkey in the theater. Now, what's the funniest thing that you've ever taken into movie theater? Food wise? Taco bell, Beep five layer burritos. I took a Thundercloud sub one time. That one its sub is pretty easy because the sandwich, well, it's big. It's it's no easy, and I get all the fixings when there's like lettuce everywhere thunder sauce. But the thing with taking hot food or food that has a smell is it's pretty easily detectable. My best friend, I'm gonna throw under the buster. She and her sister took Panda expressed to him movie one time. I mean, I feel like, no rules kind of go anymore. If you can get inside the theater, nobody really cares. I mean, the people's theater don't care. It's only frowned upon. It's not illegal. You get scared sometimes. I later going to bust us because your your whole baggage, fool like. It's fine, it's really they only frowned up one. Yeah, I thought it was illegal. How is it going to be illegal. I don't know, no outside food or drink permitted. They can make a rule. There's like somebody going to bust in and be like, I don't know, ma'm I'm need to open up that purse. They might look in a coffee a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, the hardest part is finding the right time to crack it open. You never picked the right moment. I'd never do. You were terrible. I don't really care at this point. Crack it open. I mean, I've heard someone bring in their own, like a six pack before and crack it open in a movie, So a coffee is really not that bad, It's true. I kind of want to know, now. Can we can we start like a pole for people to respond and say the weirdest food they've ever taken into a movie theater? Okay, we can post that when we posted the promo for this podcast. I really want to know. Okay, I look forward to seeing these answers because I'm sure somebody's broughably a five course meal before. I one time took in when I made brownies and like frosted him and my friend brought a tup or container container. But to Alamo Drafthouse where they like servial full meal and she just like hit her topwork container in a fork and eat brownie under the table. It's funny. So I want to know, No, that's my heart. What is the weirdest thing you've ever brought to a movie theater? Food? Food? Food? Who that is not the weirdest thing. That's a whole different topic. Let's clarify that. Back to Marvel. I think the weird part now is I don't know when, like other people are going to start popping up in Marvel movies. Like shang Chi was such a great standalone movie, and it was so fun and refreshing and a brand new character, and often like what the whole plan was before in the whole structure of Marvel before was all the movies were leading up to the next Avengers movie. We don't really have that anymore, which I kind of miss And the other day somebody commented that I'm kind of like an older Marble fan now and there's like new Marvel fans, which I don't want to I don't know that makes me. I don't like the way that makes me feel like I'm trying to reminisce on the older days. No, it's just that you've been there. I think through all of the eras, Like I I truly believe that, like the Avengers, it was like the Golden era Marvel. I don't think it'll get any better than that. They can still put out great content, but I think that was like peak Marvel. Infinity Saga was like and even like when they started, like it was so exciting to always be like there's an Iron Man, new Captain America, like leading up to them, like the Avengers, and like that was like the Golden Age Marvel. And I know now they're kind of at least on the plane of like creating like a young Avengers, with like you know, Hawkeye and those characters kind of being introduced. I feel like there is something there. I don't feel like it will have that same kind of impact yet, but I also feel since there are now kind of different Marvel fans like me, when you know, I lean a little bit more old school, which sounds weird. I still love everything Marvels, just those things, I mean, I think that's fair to say, but I feel like now they can kind of cater to different Marvel fans. It is such a huge universe now people who want a little bit more of the new characters can maybe focus more on like the Disney Plus shows. If you want that kind of movie experience, you go and see the films. I feel like they kind of split a little bit. Maybe they'll kind of join back together, but they're kind of crushing on both ends that it really doesn't matter what they do because they just have like this kind of force. Now it is a cash cow, like if you want to make a movie that's gonna, you know, bring a lot of revenue, you make a Marvel movie. I would almost love to see them kind of create like an art house version of like like a subsidiary of like Marvel to where they make movies that are a little bit more indie, which sounds weird, but I would be curious to explore an entirely different world where superheroes exist, but they're not superhero movies. It's like normal everyday kind of stories that you would go see like type movie, a little bit more slice of life, but in that whole kind of realm of like superheroes just happened to exist. I feel like everyone just got a taste of like what it's like to sit across from the table and have dinner with you when you get like we're really going on a that just sounds fascinating to me. If it's just like this dude and this girl meeting and having, you know, this weird relationship and they're having to deal with repercussions of like you know, the eternals ripping through their city, the aftermath that comes of that. I feel like the c W makes a lot of shows like that. Oh really, may many click over the Vampire al right, maybe I'll find it there. Any final things you want to say about Doctor Strange that are spoiler worthy that we couldn't mention before. I still think Dr Strange should have died. I think it should have been more madness. We really only saw like what three multiverses, and we had also just watched everything Everywhere all at once, which now that dealt with a lot of multi verses and kind of really was so playful and experimental, and it felt like a lot of different movies inside of one where I felt like, if you call something the multiverse of madness, wasn't a whole lot of madness for me. I wanted to be weirder. Really. The only time we saw that is when their first kind of going through all the multiverses and you get a glimpse of them, but they don't really interact with them a whole lot. Like I wanted to see them in that paint world. I think that would have been interesting. Trying to remember which one that was. I think they like turned to blobs of paint for a little bit. It was very quick, and they referenced it later in the movie. But I just felt like it could have had a lot more fun, even if it was just like a sequence of them going through all the different multiverses like that. I felt like we got that towards the end once he was zombie strange, but wasn't enough for to win me back. Still, I still enjoyed it. I don't think it's a bad movie. If I had to rank it among the other Marvel movies, I still probably put at bottom ten. Where would you put it? There's so many movies. I don't don't ask me that question on the spot. I've got to get like my pen and paper. I mean, it wasn't my favorite favorite thing. Ever. I thought it was a really good Marvel movie. I thought it was really well done. I loved Elizabeth Olsen because a lot of them. I don't know. I feel like in a lot of the Marvel movies, like the female characters kind of more of like sidekick. Yeah, it's true. I thought she was great in it. She was quite the dominant force, and I felt like almost had like superpowers that nobody could really take down. They had to take her down on an emotional level. Yeah, she was like indestructible, like superhero wise. Yeah, So that is our thoughts on Dr Strange full spoiler review. We'll have, uh, probably at least another spoiler episode to come after Thor. We really only do these whenever there's a big movie that there's like plot points you can't talk about fully in giving a review. I don't feel like Top Gun really requires a spoiler free review. I feel like that's probably gonna be exactly like the first one. So probably the next time we do one of these is when Thor comes out. Anything else you want to say, I think that's all I have. All Right, We will talk to you next week here on the podcast. Later