Sam Raimi’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is just barely a Raimi film, and it’s a big problem.
While the film’s producers and entertainment sites are heralding the giant box office and some of claiming this is The Best Marvel Movie Ever (until the next one), few are considering that Raimi, one of the most innovative filmmakers of the late 20th century whose films are consistently enjoyable and occasionally brilliant, is working here as a director for hire.
Far worse, there are traces of Raimi throughout the latest Doctor Strange entry, but this is an artist restrained, working for a giant money machine, akin to a five-star chef hired to work at Subway. If you’re fine with that, then you’ve never eaten at Subway.
The films begins in the midst of a giant...