I’ve got to admit, as the movies/shows go on, the less I find myself interested in what they’re doing. With Phase I-III, there were obviously growing pains with the likes of bad and mediocre sequels and stand-alone projects, but Phase IV has lacked a sense of cohesion which was only exemplified with MoM. Trust me, I have so much respect for Raimi’s directing and sense of style, but the movie is such a mess on a characterization level of Strange and even elements of Wanda that it just screams lazy and reactive to some of the successes seen with No Way Home.
The introduction of the Illuminati should have felt bigger and although they’re meant to demonstrate the arrogance of the group and Wanda’s power, they all make idiotic decisions to the point that their deaths are so ridiculously cartoonish that it doesn’t even feel like the 15 mins(?) they were onscreen should have been included because it doesn’t do anything for the plot besides help Strange pick-up another Christine on his adventure. It wouldn’t surprise me if Feige uses some of the criticism from MoM to determine how he’ll bring these characters into the 616 universe.
Overall, the biggest problem with the movie were my expectations. Not because of the trailers or the excitement high after No Way Home, but because of what Feige and Co kept insisting by the title that his would be a mind-bending adventure through the multiverse. I’m not sure if it’s because Everything Everywhere All At Once and even bits of Loki, captured the insanity of having multiple realities in such a great way that just seeing New York in three different ways in MoM just felt uninspired.
