Rating: PG-13 Runtime: 126 mins With: My children. Without: My wife Thank: God
What's it about? With a decade-plus of Marvel movies behind us, not only are the stories folding in on themselves, but so is the universe- literally. Here, Dr. Strange finds himself not only dealing with the fallout of what happened in Spider-Man: No Way Home and WandaVision, but also the plight of newcomer America Chavez, aka Ms. America (but like fellow portal-opener Trish the Dish of a different cinematic universe, nobody calls her that). Turns out this young lady has a very coveted super-power: the ability to jump/star wipe herself from universe to universe. Fancy, right? Right. But it's also pretty effing dangerous, too.
What works: Though far from perfect, the multi-verse as presented here is pretty dope, with a blast through a bunch of them that was an absolute VFX highlight reel. The action is consistently thrilling, and the horror, for a mass-market Mouse House production is inspired, if not a bit...unsettling? Did I think there'd be multiple jump scares? No. No I did not. Did I bring my eight year-old daughter to this after Sonic 2 was (essentially) sold out? Yes. Yes, I did. Am I terrible father who inadvertently traumatizes his children with hardcore comic book movies? Also yes.