When Multiverses Collide: Doctor Strange & Everything Everywhere

The multiverse concept is nothing new in science fiction and fantasy, but its definitely having a moment right now. Sony kicked things off with Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse (2018), then Loki (2021) and What If...? (2021) introduced the idea to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) brought it back to the big screen, ahead of Warner Bros/DC Comics' forthcoming multiversal adventure, The Flash (2023), and so on. It was only a matter of time before there were multiple multiverses in cinemas simultaneously.

In this universe, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrived here in the UK on May 5th 2022 and Everything Everywhere All at Once landed on May 13th 2022 (a month after its nationwide release in the US). Unsurprisingly, critics were quick to compare the two. The Times declared, 'Everything Everywhere All at Once possesses, at a rough estimate, a gajillion times more invention, warmth and wit than the Marvel movie' while The Guardian agreed that 'Everything Everywhere All At Once has indeed been giving Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (which cost eight times as much) a run for its money, both financially and artistically...what drives this story...is a tangible emotional wallop – that most “special” effect that franchise blockbusters so often fail to deliver.'

As usual, the snobs got carried away with themselves. I don't believe that you can only like one thing or another (an important lesson for Twitter and our increasingly polarised society). Audiences clearly like both; Everything Everywhere All At Once currently has an extraordinary 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes while Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has a healthy 74%. Crowing triumphantly about the disparity between the two would just be mean-spirited (we're looking at you, Jamie Lee Curtis).

Here at Cheeseman Returns, I like to think we're not philistinic or pretentious (despite the vocabulary); we're somewhere in the middle. That's why you can trust me when I say that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is actually much better than Everything Everywhere All At Once (Obviously, you can make up your own mind and come to a totally different and equally valid conclusion. If you do, please let us know in the comments).

I've learnt a lesson from my Film 2016 articles, and will try to keep my thoughts on both films succinct with some nice little bullet-points:

Everything Everywhere All At Once

• Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu and Ke Huy Quan (whose voice and affability haven't changed since 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) anchor the movie with exceptional, emotional performances.

• The family drama and science fiction mesh very poorly. Their respective stakes sit at opposite ends of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and fans of each genre typically come to the cinema for different reasons. Existential despair and escapist fantasy don't tend to belong together.

• The film features a puppet character, which is always a big plus in my book.

• The comedy elements are rare and vacuous. Sausage fingers and giant dildos elicited frequent guffaws from the loud idiots sitting behind me in the theatre.

• The multiverse is underused. We only visit a handful of universes and they're mostly pretty similar to ours.

• The martial arts scenes are very satisfying. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) star Michelle Yeoh kicks ass, and there aren't any choppy quick-cuts which have become a popular but jarring sleight of hand for many directors.

• The film owes several large debts to The Matrix (1999), and a few to another Wachowskis film, Cloud Atlas (2012). Sadly, Everything Everywhere was so frequently boring, I kept wishing I was watching either of these films instead.

• The inexplicable resurrection trope isn't the first thing I'd choose to borrow from The Matrix, but Everything Everywhere goes for it.

• Its so metatextual, its hard to lose yourself in the fantasy.

• Amid some pretty basic morals about the meaninglessness of existence, families communicating better and counting your blessings, the film delivers several weird messages: 1. Continuing a trend from Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) and Turning Red (2022), we're led to believe that Asian parents are generally awful. 2. The alternate lives of Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) show her that without her husband and daughter, she would have had any number of successful careers, suggesting that you can either have family or a career, but never both. 3. The film examines depression, which is magically cured in the space of one day. This is insulting, but does follow movie logic and precedent- characters often manage to fall in love in the space of a single eventful day.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

• Its a superhero movie that playfully incorporates elements of the horror genre. If you don't mind a bit of eyeball-piercing, corpse-rotting or neck-snapping action, you're bound to enjoy it.

• As promised by the trailer, there are some awesome cameos from the Marvel stable; obviously these won't be spoiled here (just in every other corner of the internet).

• Also featured in the trailer were alternate versions of Doctor Strange; Benedict Cumberbatch has a blast differentiating these from his usual performance.

• In Doctor Strange (2016), we weren't given any reason to care about the titular sorcerer's relationship with Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams). In The Multiverse of Madness, its a crucial part of the plot, and McAdams is given plenty to do.

• Michael Waldron's sharp script never gets weighed down by the big ideas at play. Its also super-accessible because we're familiar with all the major characters from previous movies.

• Wanda is no supporting player. Unless you've read the comics, the charted path for Wanda (Elizabeth Olson) in this movie is likely to come as a surprise. Whether you think she's handled well or not is a personal choice, but I think everyone will agree that Olson's performance is stellar.

• The multiverse is better employed here than it was in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and the moments of fan-service are much more subtle and restrained. As with Everything Everywhere, I would have liked the film to explore more universes.

• Unlike Everything Everywhere, laundry and taxes are not a major part of the movie. The Multiverse of Madness isn't about kitchen sink misery and normal people in extraordinary situations- its about a charismatic wizard on a big, dangerous adventure.

• How many of the Marvel movies' scores can you hum? Just Alan Silvestri's main Avengers tune, right? Danny Elfman references previous themes but largely breaks the mould, giving us a memorable, dramatic score (including some strategically placed guitar licks near the end of the film that made me grin).

• The action isn't just characters flinging CGI at each other (like in the WandaVision finale). As we've come to expect when Doctor Strange is on our screens, there's some really inventive magic in the film.

• Although the action is plentiful, the film deftly takes time to endear us to the main characters. I found myself caring about at least five of them.

So there you have it. Somewhere in the multiverse, the critics got it right, but I don't think it was in our universe. What do you think? If you've seen either film, let us know...And whichever version of you is reading this, I hope you have a nice day.