DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS

Cert 12A

121 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate horror, violence, threat, injury detail

If there are an infinite number of universes with infinite possibilities, surely we wouldn't be the same people in each one, would we?

I rather hoped that if another Mr W exists elsewhere in space that he might be grander than an old bloke who is tapping out reviews of movies on his sofa on a Sunday morning.

And yet, according to Marvel's version of the multiverse, we are simply themes of our current selves.

Indeed, we even know the same people and have exactly the same loves and loathings.

Not much imagination going on in the multiverse is there?

But when studios make $700m knocking these movies out where is the incentive for them to stop the runaway train and actually do a bit of thinking?

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of  Madness stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the title character - a man with an intriguing mix of arrogance and self-disgust.

He dreams that he tries to save a young woman (Xochitl Gomez) from a dark force and then betrays her at the last minute.

However, it transpires that this is not a nightmare at all but an alternative reality.

Here's another element I don't get. If there are parallel universes, surely the folk there would be independent of us. They will have grown up and had their own lives - so, why would we be responsible for their actions?

I digress.

In Sam Raimi's movie, we have to accept that there are hundreds of parallel universes which are a variation of our own.

It turns out that the special power of the aforementioned woman, America Chavez, is that she can move between them.

Thus, she is of great interest to the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) who wants power over all forms of life wherever they are - just like any megalomaniac would.

Consequently, the central battle is between Doctor Strange and her with dozens of tangents to allow for the trips between universes.

Sorry, if the description is lacking the precision of a Marvel devotee but I couldn't be entirely sure what I was watching.

The film moves a bewildering speed and I found keeping up with the plot a stern challenge.

It is also difficult to warm to Doctor Strange - I get that he is deliberately aloof but he is also oddly undramatic - handling world-ending crises with a similar level of emotion to someone who has not been served jam with their rice pudding.

I also surprised myself by being unable to buy into Olsen as a villain because I am usually a big admirer of her acting prowess.

Sure, the special effects of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are amazing but we would be disappointed if they weren't.

After all, it's not relying on its stimulating narrative or fine acting, is it?