But it's now time to talk about the positives of Doctor Strange 2 and I have a lot. For me the best thing about this film is this is the first time probably since Captain America: The winter soldier I felt such freedom from a director to tell their own story. I love the MCU but even I have to admit a lot of the films feel very similar due to the tone. A lot of directors styles get sacrificed to fit with the MCU tone and brand. However Sam Raimi has his own freedom and ability to change all that. His brings his own style to this film with plenty of goofy and dark moments.
And when he goes dark, as a horror fan, it is just beautiful. There are a couple of moments where there's a couple of jump scares and not only do they feel like fun call backs to his earlier films, they also feel very earned. It also surprises me how much freedom he had. This is also the first time since The Winter Soldier I have felt such genre blending within the MCU. Its part superhero and part horror but explores a lot of elements within the latter genre. One scene in particular had me really excited as a slasher fan. I will say no more. But most of all, this is a film with a lot of heart to it and can be quite thought provoking I have to say and I love it when a film can blend multiple genres but can still feel tonally consistent.
Moving past that, I think this film improves amomg the characters and the dynamics between them. The first film suffers from bland characters and an severely underused Rachel McAdams. This film changes that. The bland ones are either not in this film at all or are regulated to cameos and Rachel McAdams becomes a main part of the story in a great way. Wong also gets some great moments within this film.
America Chavez is also a great addition to this film. Now she is the main narrative driving this film and that does risk her feeling like a plot device but she is also able to stand out on her own as a character and there's some really touching scenes between her and Doctor Strange and I wouldn't oppose to her starring in her own solo film.
Now let's talk about the main two stars, Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen. Cumberbatch is incredible as Doctor Strange and his characters feels so much more utilised than the first film. From his development as a character, to his power ability to his placement in the story. But Olsen actually steals the show for me personally. She has the best standout moments in my opinion but the best thing about her is it feels like she has a true character arc across her journey in the MCU.
Now talking on a technical basis, I really like the colour pallet throughout the film. From bright colouring to a sort of dull look at times but dull in a good way, I cinematography is very creative at times with its shot transitions and the score feels more fleshed out thanks to Danny Elfman. Its been a while since he's done a score that has stood out to me. The visuals are also outstanding, I love how technology has gone forward we can have visuals and special effects as good as these are.
Now there are some cameos but I am not saying anything other than they are welcome to the film, there are some nice surprises, they fit among the story and they don't feel like glorified eye rolling moments.
The humour is still there as always and thankfully the humour feels more organic in this film. Again in the first film, the humour felt incredibly forced but in this film, there was some genuinely funny moments due to the dialogue or character interactions.
This is also quite a thematic film brought on from the consequences of The Blip in Infinity war and is current throughout the film. Is the hero the danger of the story, that is a very interesting subject brought to us and I love it when a film has a film going through it.
To my surprise as well, for a film that's is just over two hours, it actually felt longer and I say that as a good thing. It doesn't feel rushed to me, at one point I felt this must be secretly more than 2 hours but no. Its just over two hours long and it feels evenly paced out.
And my final positive for this film is this genuinely feels like the first film on the MCU that feels different and I appreciate that so much. I do hope Marvel Studios learns from this and allows directors to inject their own style in their films to be more versatile and evolve even more.
However now it's time to move onto the mixed aspects of the film. Now the MCU is known to be more targeted for families due to the Disney brand, not thats a bad thing but this is the first time where I do think parents should see this film first before taking their kids due to the horror content. It's not nightmare inducing but horror is subjective amongst people.
Also because this is starring Wanda and takes place after WandaVision, I do think you need to watch WandaVision before seeing this film. You can work out the main plot in context if you really watch and think about it but it will help you understand the story if you watch WandaVision first.
Finally there are two post credit scenes, one sets up a future film and is very exciting to watch, the next is very fun and quite clever but not really worth sitting through the credits.
Now onto the negatives, Mordo felt wasted in this film. Story wise, his presence kind of made sense but his placement could have been any other character in this film. He doesn't add anything to the story in my opinion which is a little disappointing given the character comic counterpart.
There also feels like a bit too much is going on at times within the story. Certain story elements feel they could have dedicated a bit of extra time to them or cut them out and save them for a third film that we are getting.
But overall I loved this film. Now granted this is a first time watch and I'm almost finished with an MCU film ranking and I do want to rewatch it but I think this could potentially be top 5 MCU for me personally. I loved so much of this film and I think it will win the hearts of those who weren't fans of the first Doctor Strange.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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