Formally, technically, and aesthetically very enticing film but unfortunately filled with a too simplistic, borderline idiotic, premise and plot that even more so it basically does not provide anything new coming from WandaVision.

As it has been firstly highlighted, the movie provides a highly visually driven filmmaker such as Sam Raimi with the more than sufficient excuse to just completely go berserk in order to tell the story. He definitely keeps many of the trademark techniques like the tilted framings, fourth wall breaking, playful and dynamic close-ups, but alongside those, obviously thanks to the financial support that comes from doing such a huge production, he is also completely free to use a wide array of incredible visual effects that allow him to immerse us to the complete madness (wink) that is this film. Very welcome are too the more horror-type of elements that he insufflates into the movie, giving to the MCU a much needed rawer, grittier, and grimier approach.

Sad to say, the story does not keep up at all with Raimi’s crafty direction. As it has been said, the premise just seems too repetitive compared to that from WandaVision with a slight change of focus and completely blown out of proportion. We stick with the family motive, but we stir from centring on the lover to the kids, and we move from a setting enclosed to a small town to the whole multiverse. Simply ridiculous! So ridiculous and over the top that not even the tiniest pinch of sympathy or compassion towards the deeply tormented and our hero turned villain Wanda/Scarlet Witch can be felt.

At the same time, it feels like if we had had focus more on the character development of Strange, instead of getting so absorbed on Wanda’s murderous and extremely selfish crusade, we might have had a much more interesting story. Some elements concerning that are sprinkled here and there, but a bit more of meat on it feels that it could have made things exponentially more interesting.

All in all, a messed-up story, we can give a pass to some of the quirky and cheesy dialogue knowing the person behind the film, that it basically grabs you nowhere to leave you to a barely different place, it simply feels like a filler movie in that sense with the sole intention to open the doors of the multiverse completely wide open for the MCU’s future. But, also, what can we say, the movie is just silly fun and entertaining thanks to Raimi’s vision and the possibilities that Strange’s adventures open up visually. In other words, if someone without the experience and guts of Raimi would have taken up the job to direct this movie most probably it would have fatally derailed but thank God that was not the case and in return, we at least get a blockbuster spectacle.