Review Detail

I must be one of the few out there that mostly liked Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It’s a far from perfect film, I won’t argue about that, but for me it’s still the best of the bunch in the post-Endgame era (yes, I must also be one of the few that didn’t buy the plot hole ridden, cheap nostalgia-fest that No Way Home was!) and, I daresay, even better than some of the films of the pre-Endgame era. You see, I cannot help but appreciate Raimi’s personal style, these little touches of horror he applies among other things – even when it’s tainted by studio interference. But since there was a lot of room for improvement and Tremault has proven herself more than once when it comes to the MCU, I thought why not!

So, technically Tremault’s work is exceptional as always. From the new multiversal opening credits to the transitions to the animated parts, everything is top-notch. All except one, since the transition from the orchard meeting to Kamar Taj would have been too abrupt even if I didn’t know well enough that scene. More on that later. Moronic MCU humour like “Hidigy hidithere” is toned down, which will always get a thumbs up by me, and the same goes for Wanda’s omni-powers, who was OP as hell in the original film.

The highlight of this edit, however, is definitely the addition of What If’s Dark Doctor Strange story. Now, normally I’m not a fan of mixing live-action with animation, asking of the audience to pay no mind to the distinction of the two styles. It actually gets on my nerves every time I see some editor mixing Revenge of the Sith with Siege of Mandalore, yet Tremault’s editing here is phenomenal. The animated parts are well-inserted like dream sequences, setting them apart from the main story, and I must say it works like a charm – even more if you take into consideration that it’s supposed to take place in Sony’s animated Spiderverse! We finally get to see fully fleshed out how big of a threat could Doctor Strange potentially be and why the Illuminati feared him.

Unfortunately, this edit takes away a little too much of the things I liked about the original and leaves untouched a little too many of the things I didn’t. The Spider-Man joke in the diner, for example, or even Strange vomiting just as he’s claiming he’s used to supernatural trips would have been the first to get cut if it was up to me. The new Illuminati introduction montage felt somewhat uneventful and, as faulty as it originally was, I really liked how Wanda teared them down one by one. And coming back to the orchard scene, I don’t think that trimming that much of deranged Wanda really works for me. That could have been functional, I believe, if MoM was considered as Part 2 of the same story. Therefore, you could work some fan-editing magic unto WandaVision –which would obviously be Part 1- and have Wanda go from a sympathetic character to full villain mode. Food for thought, Tremault!

However, despite all my personal takes on the changes made, The Book of Dreams is a solid MCU edit which, objectively, gives to the audience more than it takes and a must-see if you’re still interested in post-Endgame MCU.