After what felt like an eternity of a wait, Marvel fans only have a few days left until Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness makes its debut on the big screen across the world. C
Already being billed as one of the MCU’s biggest solo movies in history (an impressive feat after last year’s Spider-Man: No Way Home), Doctor Strange 2 will open the gateway to dozens of characters from Marvel’s past, present, and future franchises. Following up on more than half a dozen MCU projects dating all the way back to 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, this new adventure has no lack of thrills on the way.
While fans are expecting this new outing to break the box office in typical Marvel Studios fashion, more anticipation is currently building to see what the critics think of it after the first viewings alongside the world premiere.
Following the world premiere event in Los Angeles, California, the first critic reactions are coming online for Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Fandango’s Erik Davis praised the “Sam Raimi horror vibes” that come in this movie thanks to its director, along with composer Danny Elfman’s score.
“By far the creepiest, gnarliest, zaniest, most haunting & terrifying Marvel movie, Multiverse Of Madness definitely brings the Sam Raimi horror vibes, and I loved that about it. Danny Elfman’s music is a perfect fit for the film’s odd, mysterious tone & Elizabeth Olsen is MVP, IMO. I most enjoyed how ambitious #DoctorStrange is. How it swings for the fences & how it’s lighter on humor & leans more into the evil of it all. That’s where Raimi really has some fun. Ultimately a film about being pulled toward darkness & the fight to keep it from engulfing us”
ComicBook’s Jenna Anderson put it simply by saying that the movie “rules” while calling it something that the MCU truly needed and “absolutely a joyride to watch:”
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness rules. It’s inventive, truly weird, and absolutely a joyride to watch. I didn’t realize how much the MCU needed something like this. I will have so many more thoughts over at ComicBook very, very soon.”
The New York Times’ Siddhant Adlakha enjoyed how much Raimi made his mark and called the entire film “delightfully silly:”
“Doctor Strange is delightfully silly. Pleasant surprise: the best, most fun bits are all distinctively Sam Raimi.”
Variety’s Clayton Davis was thrilled that the Marvel fandom “finally got their horror movie,” teasing that fans will have their minds blown with this new story:
“Welp! Marvel fans finally got their horror movie. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a dark & wildly imaginative creation from the twisted and brilliant mind of Sam Raimi. Dug the hell out of it. Study up on your comic book knowledge…Superhero fans will lose their faces!”
While not all of the reviews for Doctor Strange 2 claim it to be perfect, there seem to be plenty of critics who approve of what Marvel Studios is doing with Doctor Strange and the MCU’s magical side of storytelling.
Sam’s expertise with the horror genre and his experience with the Spider-Man trilogy set him up perfectly to make a great MCU movie, and it appears that he accomplished something even beyond that lofty goal.