Spoiler-free review: 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' certainly lives up to its name

SO MANY UNIVERSES — We are knee-deep in Marvel's Phase Four and we have another film to add to the confusion, spectacle and madness.

"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" is now in theaters as the 28th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's a sequel to 2016's "Doctor Strange" — a continuation of the "Infinity War" and "Endgame" sagas — and follows right on the heels of the Disney+ series, "WandaVision."

Sam Raimi, the director of the first three "Spider-Man" films that star Tobey Maguire, is at the helm for this Doctor Strange film, and it has his fingerprints all over it.

This is usually the part where I tell you if I think the movie is worth your time and money, but I'm not going to do that. The reason is that most of you are planning to see it anyway and likely have your tickets bought; what I say will have zero bearing on whether you see the movie or not.

So instead, I will make a lot of you upset and tell you I didn't really enjoy "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." Here are some reasons the doctor's latest adventure was not my cup of tea and one reason I didn't completely dislike it.

Why it's not for me

Feels like a cheesy B-horror movie

Most of you have seen Raimi's work with the original "Spider-Man" trilogy. But for those who really know his work, this point is why you love or hate him.

The term "B movie" comes from the Golden Age of Hollywood and references low-budget motion pictures. Many B movies from the 50s and 60s are now cult classics beloved for their corny dialogue, absurd plots, over-the-top acting, and cheap set design. The jokes are bad, the horror is corny, and it all feels cheap. Raimi loves these kinds of movies and loves making them today.

Some of his other works include "Evil Dead II," "Army of Darkness" and "Drag Me to Hell." All three are B movie horror flicks, even though some had larger budgets. Both "Evil Dead II" and "Army of Darkness" are all about one-liners, unrealistic gore for the shock value and dark humor.

Raimi loves this lane, and we started seeing some of it creep out in "Spider-Man 3," but the bad jokes and absurdity were sprinkled throughout all three movies, so it was less noticeable. Raimi now has the opportunity to bring his affinity for B movies to a huge audience — via Marvel and a $225 million budget.

I am not a fan of this kind of movie, and "Multiverse of Madness" is very much one of those movies. It feels like Raimi took monsters and gory death setups from "Army of Darkness," along with bad one-liners and quips from "The Quick and the Dead," and then sprinkled in some cliched jump scares and scary visuals from "Drag Me to Hell" and mixed them all together to create the latest "Doctor Strange" movie.

There are many out there, however, who love Raimi's quirky, B movie style and they will love what he has done here. I'm just not one of those fans.

CGI is a mess (at times)

I have a hard time coming down on CGI, considering how much work goes into computer-generated imaging and how incredibly far it has come over the last couple of decades. I'm not saying all of the CGI in "Multiverse of Madness" is a mess, but much of it feels incredibly rushed.

Remember that fight with a thousand Agent Smiths from "The Matrix Reloaded?" At the time it looked OK, but the Agent Smith clones looked oddly unrealistic. Watch it today and it's almost laughable. I have seen that same Agent Smith clone walk and movement so many times that I had a hard time staying in this world that was being created before me.

With a $225 million budget, I'd think they'd spend more time making sure that CGI looked as perfect as possible considering how much of it is in the movie.

It's a mile wide and an inch deep

I'll explain this the best I can, but I felt like there was a lot going on in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" — some really great concepts and ideas, some fun Easter eggs and tie-ins — but it lacked any real substance. With everything going on with characters I know and have cared about in the past, I found myself not really caring at all here about what was going to happen or how things would play out. The fate of the universe, multiple universes, in fact, hung in the balance and I was apathetic to it all.

The story had so much potential, but anything to tie me to the story emotionally seemed to either borrow off earlier titles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or just hope I'd connect on my own because all the effort was put into the spectacle. I understand that Marvel is all about the spectacle, but they have managed, mostly, to keep me engaged emotionally and get me to care — it didn't happen here.

Whatever happened, I just wanted it to happen so I could move on with my evening and maybe get home and make a sandwich.

The one thing I didn't hate

Benedict Cumberbatch

Despite what I thought was a lacking story, some questionable acting, and an overall miss, I have to say I still love Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange. He embodies the role well and his evolution of the character is believable and empathetic.

He's changed, but that ego and pride are still there. He's just learned how to hide it a little better, and even hide it from himself a little.

Cumberbatch is what keeps the movie from totally going off the rails for me, and his scenes with Rachel McAdams remind me of one of the reasons I liked the first film so much.

Conclusion

If you can't tell, "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" was a miss for me. It won't be for many of the Marvel faithful, however. I know the backlash I'll receive for not liking this movie, but I have to stick to what I believe — and I believe this is not a great movie, which is a real downer considering how much I liked the first one.

So far, Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films has been mostly a miss for me. "Black Widow" was pretty good, as was "Shang-Chi." "Eternals" was a mess and "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is one of the best films in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Now with "Multiverse of Madness," that makes an incredible film with a couple of good ones and a couple of misses. Hopefully, we get closer to "Now Way Home" with the rest of the slate.

Required viewing for "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness"

As you know, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is vast at this point and everything plays off of something else. In order to really understand Strange's latest strange adventure, here are the films and TV shows you should see beforehand:

• "Doctor Strange"
• "Avengers: Infinity War"
• "Avengers: Endgame"
• "WandaVision"

"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, frightening images and some language. Make sure to check back with KSL.com for Dave Clyde's parent's guide.

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