Doctor Strange 2: Both Better and Worse than I Remember It

By Aaron Cole

February 14, 2026

            I have watched Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness three times since it came out. The first time in theaters I liked it fine, I had problems with it but overall it was an enjoyable experience. The second time I watched it I liked it even better and more of its strengths stood out to me. The third time, while still enjoying the movie, more of its weaknesses stood out. The purpose of this review will be to discuss the various elements in the film and what works and what doesn’t, while also talking about some of the major characters and their arcs in the film, in particular Doctor Strange and The Scarlet Witch. Now full disclosure, I am not that familiar with the Doctor Strange character in the comics, so I will be analyzing his and the other characters based on what I have seen of them in the film. This will contain spoilers.

            Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way first. The film looks great, it is well shot, well-acted, the action is solid, lots of creativity in the fight scenes as well as the showcasing of the characters’ powers. There has been criticism that the characters did not explore that many different universes and that the movie did not take full advantage of the multiverse concept. That’s fair, but I did like what we did see. I especially loved the concept of a person’s dreams being alternate versions of themselves in another universe. Now when Doctor Strange and America Chavez arrive in the Illuminati universe the movie’s momentum slows down a bit. A lot of people had a problem with how the Illuminati was handled and how they were killed. I honestly couldn’t care less about the Illuminati. I know in the comics they made a lot of questionable and cutthroat decisions. Also, I am sick to death of movies and tv shows in which there is a council of supposedly powerful and smart people, and yet they are complete idiots and ignore the obvious problem, and the Illuminati here is no different. I was just waiting for the Scarlet Witch to come in and kill them. Speaking of which, the way the Scarlet Witch takes them out was pretty cool and badass. Granted, Mr. Fantastic probably shouldn’t have told the Scarlet Witch how to defeat Black Bolt, but it’s the Illuminati, I don’t really care. The only member I liked was that universe’s professor x.  I understand why people had a problem with how that plotline was handled, I am just used to those kinds of characters being useless and they are character tropes I don’t enjoy. Another problem that I noticed, especially on the third viewing, was that there were moments when the characters lacked urgency. The illuminati’s version of Captain America and Marvel just stood there and watched Scarlet Witch tear Mr. Fantastic to shreds. In addition, when Doctor Strange, America Chavez, and that universe’s Doctor Strange’s love interest Christine were running away from Scarlet Witch, there is one point where they basically stop and let Scarlet Witch catch up to them. A few minutes later when they reach the item they are after, they just stare at it for a few seconds rather than grabbing it immediately, which allow Scarlet Witch to catch up to them again. Overall, I think that act of the film was the weakest.

            Now on to the characters. The first character I will talk about is America Chavez. I thought she was fine. I like her dynamic and relationship with Doctor Strange. I liked how she had to overcome her guilt about supposedly killing her parents and how she is eventually able to control and use her powers. It is her who is able get the Scarlet Witch to see the error of her ways. Granted, her guilt and learning how to control her powers could have been explored more. Doctor Strange gives her a pep talk and she is suddenly able to use her powers perfectly. Still, it was all done good enough. She is a perfectly serviceable character.

            Now on to Scarlet Witch. There has been a lot of debate about whether Scarlet Witch is one of the best villains of the MCU or that all her development in prior films and her own tv show were just thrown out the window and she suffered “character assassination.” I have mixed feelings. She’s definitely broken bad in the comics before, so it’s not like her being a villain is a foreign concept. I also don’t mind her motivations. She doesn’t want to destroy anything or take over the world, she just wants to be with her kids again. Now I have heard that some didn’t like that she had to learn the same lesson she learned in WandaVision all over again. That is understandable. At the same time, you could call the Scarlet Witch’s arc in this film a relapse. She created her kids using magic and held a town hostage to create her own perfect world. She eventually did the right thing and set things right. Then, using the darkhold, she finds out in every other universe she has kids and didn’t have to create them using magic. Out of all her infinite counterparts she is the only one alone. That would mess anyone up. In addition, the film says that the darkhold corrupts the user. I think the film should have done one of two things. On one hand, you don’t have her learn her lesson in her show WandaVision. She sets thing right, but she doesn’t get to say goodbye to her kids and doesn’t get any closure. She becomes bitter and the ending shows that she has become fully corrupt and will be the villain for the Doctor Strange movie. I feel like that would make her character arc more organic and not just rehashing what she already learned on her show. Or they could still keep the same ending for WandaVision, but really show how the darkhold is corrupting her. It’s said in a passing sentence, but you know, show don’t tell. They also should have shown her being more conflicted and showing doubt. There is a brief moment of that when she and Doctor Strange first fight, but there could have definitely been more moments of that. Its also weird that she doesn’t try to find a universe where Vision is alive in. He is mentioned briefly by her, but she doesn’t even try to find the other version of Vison in her own universe that was introduced in WandaVision. With all that said, her presentation is good in this movie. She is creepy and intimidating, and Elizabeth Olsen does an amazing job in this film. The movie does show that she is in denial about her actions, and the scene in which her kids from one of the alternate universes are scared of her is wonderfully done. It shows her how far she has fallen. Now I am not the biggest fan of her sacrificing herself. It felt a bit underwhelming. I get that she had to set things right and destroy the darkholds across the multiverse, but I feel that should only be the first step. I hope they do eventually bring her back somehow and fully explore her guilt and need to set things right and actually try to be a hero again. I just feel that there is still more that can be done with her character.

             Now finally on to Doctor Strange. I have heard that a lot of people don’t like how his character was portrayed in this movie. I’m not one of them. I really liked his character journey throughout the film. Some people didn’t like how he didn’t get the girl and saying he got “cucked.” I don’t feel that way. I was never really that into their relationship and it’s not like they got back together in the first movie. It shows that you’re not always going to get what you want. Even though he is disappointed, he still wants what’s best for he and respects her decision. That carries over to how he interacts with her counterpart in the other universe. Throughout this film he feels lost. People are questioning whether he made the right decision in giving Thanos the time stone in Avengers: Infinity War. He saved the world but is still unfulfilled. Not to mention that he is no longer the sorcerer supreme after getting turned to dust in Avengers: Infinity War. I also liked that even though he doesn’t remember the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the events did change him. He is less sure of himself but is more self-reflecting. The movie dives more into his backstory about how his sister died and he couldn’t save her. It emphasizes his need to be the one in control, which has always been his biggest flaw. That changes when he meets America Chavez. When the movie reaches its climax, instead of taking Chavez’s powers, he decided to trust her, which ended up saving the day. That was something his alternate self at the beginning of the film couldn’t do. Honestly, he himself probably wouldn’t have been able to do it in any of the previous films. It shows how much he has grown. He is also able to come to terms with not being with his former girlfriend, which is something that his evil counterpart wasn’t able to do. This shows that despite there being infinite universes, each version still has agency and can always be better. Also, with the mid credits scene, Doctor Strange may find love eventually. However, the only problem I did have with his character is that I feel that him and Wong could have been more decisive and efficient. Once Scarlet Witch kills his fellow sorcerers and goes on a rampage, he needs to be fighting to kill, not fighting to imprison or slow down. Scarlet Witch may be powerful, but I feel there were several chances where they could have taken her out. Despite this, he still kicks a lot of butt and with the help of others overcomes a lot of adversity. I feel at the end of the movie he is more fulfilled and at peace of mind.

            Overall, I did like this film. It has its shortcomings and some of the story beats could have been tweaked a bit to make the film even better, but I still think to good stuff outweighs the bad. It is nowhere near one of my favorite Marvel or MCU films, but I still believe that this film has more to offer than what others may give credit for. I am looking forward to what direction the MCU decides to take Doctor Strange on next.

Final Rating: 7/10