I would give it an 8/10. There are a few issues with it, but overall one of the better second entries for a title character, certainly way above Iron Man 2 and Thor The Dark World. I'd rank it right around what I did for Spider-man Far From Home and Guardians Vol 2 as far as 2nd entries.
One thing for sure, Cumberbatch wears this character like a comfortable pair of shoes. He just fits right in. There's no big preamble. I really like the tone they set between Wong and Strange as trusted colleagues and friends. It's so much better than the cringy master servant relationship in the comics.
The relationship and bond between Strange and Chavez is what sells this film. One of the few problems that I had with Spider-man No Way Home, was I never felt sold on the relationship with Peter and Strange. I'm not sure what they were going for, but Strange's line about "all of us who love you" felt so out of place there. At most I feel Strange had respect for Peter, but they probably didn't want to mimic the relationship that Tony and Peter had, so I somewhat get it. In this film, it's totally different. Strange is definitely the surrogate father figure, and there's a bond and a trust there. There's a thematic element here on what a parent would do for their children, that applies to both Wanda and Strange.
I don't want to deal with tagged spoilers, so I'm going to keep this at the 30,000 foot view. This is a continuation in many ways to Wanda Vision, but it's not what you think it is. Elizabeth Olson does a perfect job of playing the tragic hero. If you don't know the full backstory, it might be hard to see what's going on here, but Wanda has literally lost everyone who was near and dear to her. In Wandavision, it was her trying to deal with that by creating a fake reality. All I will say is when you watch this film, your take on what occurred in Wanda Vision will change on what exactly happened.
I will also say that Elizabeth Olsen is a fabulous actress, and did a fantastic job here.
My one disappointment is that we don't get much of Mordo. I liked that the first film setup that his goal was to rid the world of sorcerers. It was a good twist to a friendship that had gone south. I hope we get to see that play out in a future film.
Other things I will say. I loved Raimi's direction in this film. Watch for the Bruce Campbell cameo. I missed where the Oldsmobile was, I have to rewatch.
I'm going to be honest. I did not like Elfman's score. It's largely forgettable. Compared to Giacchino's score it severely lacks. The Giaccino theme is reused a couple of times in the film, as well as some other familiar themes, that I won't list for spoiler purposes. I have a lot of respect for Elfman's body of work, this just wasn't it.
I'm not going to tag or list any spoilers, but I want to issue a warning if you haven't seen this film yet, stay away from You Tube. This is the second Marvel movie that You Tube has just allowed large sections of the biggest spoilers on their channel. This stuff will just show up in your feed. It's sad and disappointing.
