Multiverse of Madness is Completely Different from Every Other MCU Movie, and That's AWESOME

Before I start, one more time everyone: Spoiler alert. You’ve been warned.

When I tell you that I saw Multiverse of Madness because I heard Sam Raimi was directing it, I mean that. In my eyes, Dr. Strange has never been a character I liked as much as the others, and I didn’t even remember his first move.

Sam Raimi, on the other hand, gave me The Evil Dead, Drag Me to Hell, and the Tobey Maguire Spiderman movies. I love some horror and camp, and Raimi has always given me that. Seeing him helming the newest massive MCU movie put me in the seat, and it got me thinking.

Marvel movies can be stylistically bland, can’t they? Up until a handful of more recent entries, Marvel has always kept their same story beats, tone, and dare I say color palette relatively uniform. Sure the interconnecting stories made it fun, but there was never enough pizzazz to keep me coming back for more. The only one off the top of my head before this one to give that impact was Thor: Ragnarok, and it’s still a fan favorite to this day. Thank you Taika Waititi.

Multiverse of Madness continues what looks like a growing trend in the MCU; giving a little more creative freedom in the style and tone to make these movies stand out. See how I thanked Waititi above? He took his humor and style and injected it right into Thor’s veins. Multiverse, I would argue, is easily the most different of all the MCU films so far, all thanks to the stylistic genius of Sam Raimi.

Sam Raimi’s movies are very distinct. He can make horror and gore campy and humorous, and build tension like a champion. It’s how he made Evil Dead such a cult classic, and it persists in his movies today. Everything from the tight and tilted camerawork to the jump scares in Multiverse was so Raimi. Zombie Strange? Literally like something out of Evil Dead, and it worked so unbelievably well.

While all these tricks on their own are amazing, it also adds a deeper layer to the movie’s plot itself, proving why Raimi was the perfect choice for this movie. The plot in itself is a little darker than most Marvel movies; to put it in the simplest turns, Wanda is trying to kill a child so she can be with her own children in another universe, and it’s up to Dr. Strange to stop her.

Wanda’s character, while her change to being completely unhinged felt a little abrupt, is straight up terrifying here. She’s the most powerful being in the universe, and even more frightening, a mother fighting for her children. Put those two together with some corruption from a magic evil book (Evil Dead again *wink wink*, no I will not shut up about how I love this movie and I’m not sorry) and you have someone who will brutally murder anyone to get what she wants. There are skulls caving in, people cut in half, stabbings galore, you name it. She looks terrifying with red eyes too, and of course, there's the portion of the movie where she’s limping and covered in black goo. Horror was needed here to make the movie feel authentic, and to keep the stakes high the whole time. With the scary violin accompanying the scary moments, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

At the same time, this is a Marvel movie we’re talking about. This can’t just be a big murder party. There has to be fun and humor. Once again, this is something Raimi is perfect for. He can have these brutal moments and mix them with one liners and fun action pieces that keep you laughing at the same time. There’s almost a mad hysteria to it that adds to the hilarity. I mean, our last shot of the movie is chaotic rock music as a third eye appears on Strange’s forehead while he screams in the middle of the street. It’s so absurd, so grotesque, yet so hilarious at the same time. I was obsessed with that kind of humor, right up until the second post credit scene with Bruce Campbell. I’m going on record and saying that was the best Marvel post credit scene ever, please and thank you.

Multiverse of Madness is a joy. It’s a non-stop action rollercoaster of humor, emotion, and scares. I would say it might actually be in my top five MCU movies, all because of how spectacularly it popped compared to the other ones. Let more directors put a unique stylistic spin on the stories. Differentiate them. If this is the direction the MCU is going then I’m totally here for it.

And for the love of God, if you haven’t seen it, please watch the original Evil Dead.