*Spoiler Warning

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

The long-awaited continuation of Doctor Strange’s story is finally here. And after Marvel’s latest monstrosity, Morbius, expectations are quite high. The good thing is that this movie meets most of those expectations

Shortly after the events of Spiderman: No Way Home, Doctor Stange (Benedict Cumberbatch) finds himself in another pickle after America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), a young girl who can travel through the multiverse, finds herself being hunted for her powers.

As it turns out, Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), is the one who seeks Chavez’s abilities. We found out this broken hero had succumbed to the Dark Hold, a powerful book of dark magic, in order to be reconnected with her long-lost sons through a separate multiverse. However, she doesn’t just want to use, Chavez’s powers, she wants to take them, which would kill Chavez in the process.

Doctor Strange not only has to protect Chavez, but fend off Wanda, who is arguably one of the most powerful forces in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Right off the bat, Wanda becoming the antagonist of this movie was an exciting surprise. Its unexpected occurrence left me baffled right away. Her character leaves you in a twist of emotions as you both pray for her downfall yet sympathize with her reasonings.

On top of that, there were a lot of fun special effects involved. As Chavez uses her power of traveling through multiverses with Doctor Strange, you get to see a lot of different animation styles and special effects, such as the paint dimension.

There were also many creative scenes within the movie, such as when Doctor Strange was fighting a different version of himself via music. It was interesting to watch and the music played during that scene gave it an extra push.

One problem is that it puts viewers who don’t have access to Disney+ at a bit of a disadvantage. With heavy references to WandaVision and some background information provided by What If…? and Loki, it can be a bit much if you are not up to date with those shows.

Also, even though the movie itself was pretty well done, you can still tell the overall quality is not nearly as good as the well-known classics of the MCU (i.e. Avengers, Iron Man). Although the excellence doesn’t drop off entirely, it still supports some fans’ idea that Marvel is beginning to edge out of its golden age.

All in all, the Multiverse of Madness should satisfy MCU fans. I would recommend it to anyone who considers watching it. Plus, with cliffhangers and an ominous “Doctor Strange Will Return” at the end of the movie, it is safe to say that there is a continuation of some sort in the making. Until then, we can just hope whatever comes next tips the scale of the MCU’s reputation in the right direction.