Doctor Strange review: what are critics saying about Multiverse of Madness, UK release date, is it on Disney+?

For Marvel fans, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year.

With Benedict Cumberbatch (Power of the Dog, What If…?) returning as Stephen Strange (aka Doctor Strange) and Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision, Sorry For Your Loss) as Scarlet Witch, this is what you need to know about what reviewers are saying about the blockbuster.

What are reviews saying?

The response to the new Doctor Strange film, unfortunately, has been less than enthusiastic from reviewers.

Clarisse Loughrey from the Independent gave the film just two stars out of five, saying “[director] Sam Raimi can’t rescue what amounts to a total mess”.

Loughrey wrote: “Multiverse of Madness is, inevitably, a Raimi film in aesthetics only - a little like if you pampered a sewer rat, popped a pink bow on its head, and sold it as a chihuahua.”

Brian Tallerico over at Roger Ebert also awarded the film a lowly two stars, calling it a “Frankenmovie, a blockbuster sewn together from pieces of other films, comic books, and TV shows and given life with the electricity of a Marvel budget”.

Ian Sandwell from Digital Spy gave the movie a slightly more generous three out of five stars, however wrote: “Much like the first Doctor Strange movie, the overall feeling you’re left with is one of frustration.

“It does feel unique in terms of the MCU and there are strong sequences throughout, right up to the understated finale. Yet there are obvious flaws elsewhere with rote characterisation and an underdeveloped plot.”

Peter Bradshaw from the Guardian also gave Doctor Strange a three star rating, describing it as a “cheerful alt-reality sequel”.

Bradshaw wrote: “The multiverse madness is treated with genial high-energy panache, though I have to say that this infinite profusion of realities does not actually feel all that different in practice from the shapeshifting, retconning world of all the other Avengers films.

“And infinite realities tend to reduce the dramatic impact of any one single reality, and reduces what there is at stake in a given situation. Nonetheless, it’s handled with lightness and fun.”

Dan Jolin from Empire appears to be something of an outlier amongst the reviews of the Doctor Strange sequel, with a whopping four out of five stars.

Jolin wrote: “The Multiverse Of Madness is noisy, frantic and at times a little messy, but it’s never less than entertaining.

“The MCU faithful will cheer its numerous call-backs; Raimi-heads will groove on its Raiminess; and we suspect even those bewildered, unprimed viewers will at least appreciate the way it 100 per cent lives up to its title.”

When is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness out in the UK?

It’s good news for UK Marvel film fans - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has officially been released in the UK.

It hit cinemas yesterday, on Thursday 5 May.

Is it on Disney+?

Over the past few years, Marvel fans have grown accustomed to blockbusters hitting Disney+ earlier and earlier, with some films going straight to the streaming platform and others being released simultaneously in cinemas and on Disney+.

Unfortunately, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will not be released on Disney+ for a while yet, following in the footsteps of recent releases like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

The Doctor Strange sequel will make its way to Disney+ eventually, but only after it has had its run in cinemas first.

Looking at Shang-Chi and Eternals, both films were made available on Disney+ roughly nine or 10 weeks after their US cinematic release, so, going by that timeline we could be seeing Multiverse of Madness on Disney+ sometime in July.

If you’re looking to catch up on the first Doctor Strange film then you can stream it on Disney+ now.