Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - 4K Digital Review

[Michael Scott]

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras: :
Final Score:

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now available on Digital and will be released on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD July 26.

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Movie
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was probably one of the biggest hyped Marvel films of phase 4. Up until this point Phase 4 has been buildup films introducing new characters, tons of Disney+ shows adding some hints and teases at Kang the Conqueror, and some fairly generic super hero movies that just weren’t hitting the mark (well, outside of Spiderman: No Way Home, which was a massive hit). Then Doctor Strange MoM (shortened to MoM for the rest of the review to give my typing fingers a break) hit theaters and the mixed reviews started coming in. I held off watching until AFTER the film was released to digital due to the mixed reviews, and while I understand WHY many people are upset over the film, I also don’t think it was that bad by any stretch of the imagination.

The film opens up in a post snap world with Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is watching Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams once more) marrying someone else. Just as the expected pity party of watching your ex girlfriend walk down the aisle peaks, Strange is called into action when a multiverse jumping teenager named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) leaps into our universe with a dead Dr. Strange body in tow. Not to mention a demon trying to kidnap her that Wong (Benedict Wong) and Strange have to fend off.

Turns out that America is unique in the multiverse, in that she can hop universes at will, making her the target of this mysterious demonic power. Realizing that witchcraft is at play instead of sorcery, Strange heads over to a rehabilitated Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) for help only to find out that SHE is the power hunting America. You see, Wanda really DIDN’T learn her lesson from Wandavision. Even though she admitted her mistakes, Wanda has continued to use the darkholde spellbook (a spellbook that corrupts whomever uses it) and has gone completely mad with desire to see her two children that aren’t exactly real. In her madness Wanda wants to steal America’s powers and jump to another universe where she can take the place of the Wanda there and find her two imaginary children that she created during Wandavision. Thus it’s up to Doctor Strange and America Chavez to start universe hopping and figure out a way to stop the newly formed Scarlet Witch from pretty much taking over the entire multiverse with her near unlimited reality stone witchcraft.

As I said, there’s a lot to be frustrated about in MoM. I liked the movie itself, but Wanda’s conversion to pure evil is simply crammed into the plot line, and probably THE largest problem to the story overall. I don’t have a problem with Wanda turning Scarlet Witch dark. Scarlet Witch has always had a dark side in the comics, and some of the comic runs have made her utterly insane. It’s just that in the MCU it’s very obviously a shoehorned “cheat” by Marvel. You saw the beginnings of it in Wandavision where she is introduced to the Darkholde, but then Marvel does absolutely nothing with her character between there and saying “oh yeah, Wanda’s TOTALLY a nutter and psycho evil in this one” and expects the audience to just accept it. They used the age old cheat of saying “yeah, the magic book here made her insane. Just roll with it” instead of creating a character arc for her that would show the progression of how she got to this point. As it stands, Wanda is a very uneven character in the film as you have a hard time reconciling with Wanda and the newly formed Scarlet Witch. I mean, if you catch Wandavision on Disney+ then you get the outline, but there is a HUGE leap for her to be a changed (if not flawed) heroine to just fully out of control here.

Outside of Wanda you can tell that there are some very uneven story elements at play, and Sam Raimi is doing the absolutely best he can with a script written by the guy who wrote Loki and a handful of tv show episodes. On the good side, Sam really does do his best to make MoM an entertaining movie. You can literally see his finger prints all over the movie, ranging from Bruce Campbell cameos, the infamous Sam Raimi car hidden in a shot, and a delectable horror element to the action. Before you ask, yes, it is very PG-13 action and even the horror is done in a very tame and MCU fashion. This is not Raimi squirting blood from every angle. Although the battle between the Illuminati and Wanda can push the line.

At the end of the day, MoM is a fractured movie that has multiple issues. Wanda is of course the main one, but it’s also due to the fact that Disney has become so obsessed with making films that set up other films, that set up other films, that people mistook this one to be a major tent pole film, and were naturally disappointed. It’s a fun film, and at the end of the day that’s really what did it for me. It’s awesome to see Stephen branch out into his powers, and the constant array of action kept me enjoying the film despite some obvious creative writing issues that Marvel crammed in there, and that’s really what matters with these Marvel flicks. Take it what you may, but I’d say it’s more intense than Doctor Strange, but surprisingly slightly less enjoyable.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, frightening images and some language.




Video:

Like always, I’m not going to an official nitpicking detailed rating of the video due to the fact that this digital copy Disney provided is streamed, and streaming quality is bandwidth naturally bandwidth dependent. That being said, the image is absolutely gorgeous in 4K streaming. The flick is ridiculously colorful (way more than the original Doctor Strange) with bright reds, deep dark shadows, and tons of neon shaded tones all over the place as we flit from universe to universe. The Illuminati world is much more muted, with Wanda’s dark shadows and red powers dominating whenever she’s around, but the other worlds can be brilliant and dazzling with sharp outdoor colors and incredible details. Overall, a fantastic image and I can only imaging how good the 4K UHD disc looks.






Audio:

Audio is solid as expected. It’s a highly kinetic mix with great overhead usage (especially with all the powers and items being tossed from above), and amazing dexterity on directional shifting. Voices are crisp and clear, and the whole mix is very balanced. My only complaint is that I can definitely hear some of that Atmouse bass going on, as I had to boost to the LFE channel a full 3dbs to get a satisfying rumble out of it, even at reference volumes. Good mix, great mix in many ways. But also exactly some of the flaws we’ve come to expect of Disney 4K Amos mixes too.






Extras:

• Introducing America Chavez
• Constructing the Multiverse
• Method to the Madness
• Audio Commentary
• Gag Reel
• Deleted Scenes

Final Score: ​

Doctor Strange into the Multiverse of Madness has some great things going for it (I loved seen Anson Mount reprise his role as Black Bolt from The Defenders) but it is a VERY uneven film that takes some getting used to. Like many, I’m frustrated by the ever popular need for the next movie to be nothing but a place holder for the NEXT Marvel film, but if you’ve been watching phase 4 from the inception, then you’re pretty clued into the fact that it’s the norm going forward. Enjoyable, but flawed.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofer, Benedict Wong, Xiochitl Gomoez, Rachel McAdamas
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Written by: Michael Waldron
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos, English DD+
Subtitles:
Studio: Disney/Buena Vista
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 126 Minutes
Digital Release Date: June 22nd, 2022

Recommendation: Check it Out

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

@Michael Scott, do you have Disney+? I've always been curious how the Disney+ files compare to the versions you get with a digital code from a disc, or if you purchased on Movies Anywhere. Are they the same quality, or do you get an even lesser version when streaming via the app subscription?

 

[Michael Scott]

@Michael Scott, do you have Disney+? I've always been curious how the Disney+ files compare to the versions you get with a digital code from a disc, or if you purchased on Movies Anywhere. Are they the same quality, or do you get an even lesser version when streaming via the app subscription?

yes, the digital file I got was a movies anywhere code. I used Vudu as the stream source. comparing the two I give an ever so slight edge to Vudu for what seems like better bitrate, but I can't tell a lick of difference between the audio mixes.

I've never seen a digital copy (that's a direct comparison 4K to 4K or 1080p to 1080p) be inferior between D+ and the digital copy source. usually I find the D+ one to be SLIGHTLY inferior because the Dolby Vision implementation on D+ is not as streamlined (it was horrible when D+ launched, but have fine tuned it over the year or so it's been out.)

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

yes, the digital file I got was a movies anywhere code. I used Vudu as the stream source. comparing the two I give an ever so slight edge to Vudu for what seems like better bitrate, but I can't tell a lick of difference between the audio mixes.

I've never seen a digital copy (that's a direct comparison 4K to 4K or 1080p to 1080p) be inferior between D+ and the digital copy source. usually I find the D+ one to be SLIGHTLY inferior because the Dolby Vision implementation on D+ is not as streamlined (it was horrible when D+ launched, but have fine tuned it over the year or so it's been out.)

Thanks! That's what I was assuming, but I don't have a sub. I know if I bought a WB digital movie that was the same quality as what they're streaming on HBO Max, I'd be pretty ticked off.

 

[Michael Scott]

Thanks! That's what I was assuming, but I don't have a sub. I know if I bought a WB digital movie that was the same quality as what they're streaming on HBO Max, I'd be pretty ticked off.

HBO max is....well... HBO max... their quality is iffy at best. hopefully they'll improve.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

HBO max is....well... HBO max... their quality is iffy at best. hopefully they'll improve.

Yeah, I love the content on there, but the quality has room for improvement. But I also get it free with my cel phone, so I'm not complaining. I'm not a fan of multiple subscriptions - adds up to more than cable or satellite now.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. We saw this in the theater and while it wasn't a great movie like Spiderman: No Way Home, it was very entertaining. We all enjoyed nevertheless.