So, this was an interesting experience. Visually, it was a feast for the eyes. I can definitely see why hard-core comic book fans would love this. It really was like a comic book come to life. That was cool....but CGI can only take you so far. The humor was especially bad and badly timed and the ideas and story never dug deep enough to mean anything. There was no substance or heart. I blame this on character development or lack of it. Wanda's struggle felt overdone. We've been there and done that, and she's back there again? I think I actually rolled my eyes at one point. There's also something really tired and cringe about making the most powerful woman in the MCU so emotionally frail that she has not one but several mental breakdowns lol Like are they trying to say something? As a woman, this definitely turned me off. Then there's Strange. They don't show him pining over Christine in most of the other MCU movies, so we have to remember that yeah, he had a bae from the first Strange movie that he may have cared about. Over 8 movies or so, we don't ever see him thinking or talking about her, so this romantic longing of his just feels forced. I did like how the movie explored his arrogance flaw. That was interesting. But America Chavez was a splash of cold water in almost ever scene she was in. This was some of the worst acting in the MCU to date. I felt second-hand embarrassment for the actress. I know she was trying, but all of her lines came across so green and stiff, that it was distracting. So for me, none of the characters' struggles and triumphs felt true or earned. The only thing that kept me engaged was the visuals and intrigue about how Raimi would work his horror magic. I think his skill was wasted here but it was nice to look at. 4/10 for me.
