海角大神

Back in 2016, writing about 鈥淒octor Strange鈥� for the Monitor, I lamented, 鈥淒o we really need to see a great actor like Benedict Cumberbatch, not to mention Chiwetel Ejiofor and Tilda Swinton, entombed in yet another superhero franchise?鈥�

Well, here we are six years later, with Sam Raimi鈥檚 鈥淒octor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.鈥� Do I still feel the same way about great actors in franchise flicks? Surprisingly, no. But before I get to that, a quick assessment of the sequel.

As Marvel Cinematic Universe movies go, it鈥檚 a lot gloppier and gorier and confusing than most. Despite his sorcerer bona fides and voluminous cape, Cumberbatch鈥檚 Doctor Strange isn鈥檛 strange enough, and trying to parse the convolutions of the Marvel multiverse is more exhausting than engaging.聽

Chief villain here is Elizabeth Olsen鈥檚 鈥淪carlet Witch,鈥� whose dual incarnation as Wanda Maximoff, suburban mom, figures in the Disney+ series 鈥淲andaVision.鈥� Scarlet/Wanda wants to reclaim her two lost sons somewhere out there in the multiverse, and the only way to do so is by hijacking the powers of America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), a teenager with the uncontrolled ability to shift between colliding worlds. Doctor Strange takes it upon himself to be her protector, and so the battle lines are drawn.

Quick thought: Could this recent movie craze for other universes 鈥� witness also 鈥淓verything Everywhere All at Once鈥� and 鈥淪pider-Man: No Way Home鈥� 鈥� have something to do with wanting to ditch our own?

I could go on, but to return to my initial point: Is Cumberbatch wasting his talents doing these Marvel movies? What price paycheck?

Again, my answer would be no, and here鈥檚 why. Imagine how much poorer these movies would be without the likes of Cumberbatch in them? Or Swinton and Ejiofor in the first 鈥淒octor Strange.鈥� (Ejiofor is also in the sequel.) Robert Downey Jr.鈥檚 Iron Man is the full-blown creation of a true actor. The performances of Heath Ledger in 鈥淭he Dark Knight鈥� (2008) or Joaquin Phoenix in 鈥淛oker鈥� (2019) went way beyond those films鈥� comic-based confines. The cast of 鈥淏lack Panther鈥� (2018), starting with the late Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan, seemed deeply invested in the passion of the project.聽

In the X-Men movies, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan impart a touch of class to the grand-scale hokum, as did Alec Guinness going back to 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� (1977). I loved Max von Sydow as the deliciously depraved Ming the Merciless in 鈥淔lash Gordon鈥� (1980). Jane Fonda was radiantly unfettered in the saucy comic strip romp 鈥淏arbarella鈥� (1968).

Now, obviously an actor of Cumberbatch鈥檚 gifts should be playing more than Doctor Strange. But, of course, he does 鈥� all the time, both on screen and on stage. I saw him play Hamlet in the British National Theater production in 2015 and was mesmerized by his lyrical, quicksilver line readings. His Sherlock Holmes, for television beginning in 2010, was a worthy addition to a stellar roster of predecessors in the role, from Basil Rathbone to Nicol Williamson. He gave Holmes鈥� bristly assurance an undertone of frailty. As the massively dysfunctional addict in the 2018 miniseries 鈥淧atrick Melrose,鈥� he was frighteningly present in every moment of every scene. The force of his compulsions made the screen tremble.聽

Cumberbatch鈥檚 specialty is playing marginalized, often tortured eccentrics. He understands their inner demons, which is why these people stand out as human beings, not specimens. Early in his career, he played Stephen Hawking and Vincent Van Gogh on TV. He was a creditable Julian Assange, the flamboyant founder of WikiLeaks, in 鈥淭he Fifth Estate鈥� (2013). In 鈥淭he Imitation Game鈥� (2014) as Alan Turing 鈥� the great British mathematician and closet homosexual who helped break Germany鈥檚 World War II Enigma code 鈥� he presents us with a man whose spiky intellect could not fully comprehend or embrace his own divided self. In some ways, the same dynamic is at work playing a closeted cowboy in the otherwise overrated 鈥淭he Power of the Dog鈥� (2021). Perhaps his best movie performance to date came last year in 鈥淭he Electrical Life of Louis Wain,鈥� as the real-life painter of cats whose towering oddities he made infinitely touching.

So don鈥檛 begrudge this actor his magic cape and levitations. There鈥檚 plenty more Cumberbatch to choose from.

Peter Rainer is the Monitor鈥檚 film critic. 鈥淒octor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness鈥� is in theaters. The film is rated PG-13 for聽intense sequences of violence and action, frightening images, and some language.

Editor鈥檚 note: The penultimate line of the review has been updated.