Whatever the popular opinion regarding the latest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, many, if not most, believe Elizabeth Olsen is the MVP of the movie. This was the first time on the big screen, that she got to be at the centerstage (or near enough) as Wanda Maximoff or Scarlet Witch.
The Sam Raimi directorial, starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the titular role, has Strange facing an even more powerful Wanda, who has turned into a creature of chaos thanks to the knowledge she gained from Darkhold. She has been pursuing America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), a teenager who can travel between universes but does not know how to control her powers. Wanda wishes to absorb her powers to get back her sons.
Apart from the main cast, which also includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Rachel McAdams, the film also features cameos from actors like Patrick Stewart, John Krasinski, Charlize Theron, Hayley Atwell, Lashana Lynch, Anson Mount, among others. In a brutal scene, Scarlet Witch, controlling the Wanda of Earth-818 (some other universe) destroys the Illuminati, and among them is Reed Richards or Mr Fantastic played by Krasinski.
But surprisingly, Olsen has revealed that she has never met Krasinski. In a lie detector test she took for Vanity Fair, she admitted that she has never met the actor, though she has met his wife (Emily Blunt).
When the publication asked her, “Do you think this is the smartest man alive?” while sliding Krasinski’s photo across to her. She said, “No!” and laughed, before adding, “I don’t know him, though. But I would never assume that an actor would be the smartest man alive.”
She went on to say that she has never met him even when the interviewer pointed out she was in the same movie as him, same scene, in fact. In another interview, this time with CinemaBlend, she said that it was “movie magic” that enabled the two actors to be seen in the same scene of a movie, even if they were not in the same room. The VFX in Hollywood has become so advanced and seamless and nearly indistinguishable from reality that makers use it to craft things as routine as crowd. Whole cities can be built from scratch and populated with people who are CGI but do not seem so. In comparison, what happened with Olsen and Krasinski is tame.
Meanwhile, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a winner at the worldwide box office. It has grossed more than $550 million thus far, and mostly positive reviews should ensure its continuing success.
The Indian Express film critic Shalini Langer gave the film a mixed review, however. She wrote, “You may go universe to universe, forwards and backwards, to the 838th version of Doctor Strange or the 613th one (the two specifically identified here), one thing remains constant. Everywhere you go, Marvel will follow you. It may be the Multiverse of Madness (which it is), but it is above all the Multiverse of Marvel. Space continuum will only take you from one character to another, as many as you can cram into two hours of movie time.”
