After Avengers: Endgame broke the multiverse. WandaVision broke the multiverse. What if broke the multiverse. Spider-Man: No Way Home broke the….. you see where I’m going with this. Doctor Strange breaks the multiverse (again!) in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The latest film in the MCU franchise, Multiverse of Madness, was set to explore the limitless possibilities of the multiverse and leave everyone in awe. Well, they did: For. One. Whole. Minute!
The film is another one of MCU’s bogus journey across the multiverse, where the differences are only cosmetic and the characters barely change. In essence, it is a fun film but seriously lacks depth and creatively. But if you’re only going to watch one film about a young woman traveling the multiverse to find their mother. Where people learn to project themselves into their alternate timeline selves. And the posters looks like this…
Watch Everything Everywhere All at Once instead. It’s way better than Doctor Strange in everywhere conceivable way.
Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (the Daniels), Everything Everywhere All at Once is the magnum opus of the indie film company A24. The entertainment company is best known for sleeper hits like Hereditary, Midsommar and The Green Knight.
The film explores the multiverse and parallel reality unlike anything you ever saw. From its crazy reality-bending fight scenes to bizarre realities, this has everything. I.e. there’s one reality, where mankind evolved with hot dogs for hands!
What’s it all About?
Everything Everywhere All at Once is a story about Evelyn Wang (played by the lovely Michelle Yeoh). She is a Chinese immigrant who co-owns a boring laundromat with her lively husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan from the 80’s classic The Goonies).
The couple have a daughter together Joy (Stephanie Hsu) whose sexuality is not something Evelyn has come to terms with. In addition, she has to take care of her disapproving father Gong-Gong (the legendary James Hong) who never gave his blessing to Evelyn’s marriage.
Evelyn’s life is a mess, dealing with mundane chores and contemplating various regrets about her life. While her husband, Waymond, is seeking a divorce due to his wife’s lack of apathy. As if things aren’t bad enough, Evelyn has to deal with the scary IRS agent (Jamie Lee Curtis from Halloween) who is auditing the laundromat.
Things go from stressful to surreal in a blink of an eye when an alternate version of Waymond appears to warn Evelyn about a world-ending threat. Evelyn’s life literally turns upside down as she gets dragged into a bizarre, mind-bending adventure in which the fate of the multiverse is at stake. And only she is the one who can save it.
As compared to other Hollywood blockbuster this year, Everything Everywhere All at Once had a mere budget of $25 million. Yet it managed to hold its own with its competitors in terms of box office success and special effects. However, the film’s storytelling is what sets it miles apart. Despite being a sci-fi adventure, Everything Everywhere All at Once is a family drama at its core. While I enjoyed the outlandish and creative moments of the film, it is the emotional dialogues between the characters that got me teary-eyed. And kudos to Michelle Yeoh, she is a phenomenal actress, worthy of an Oscar. And she can still kick ass!
Originally written for action star, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh made her presence felt in every scene. It has been ages since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and the 60-year-old actress (yes, 60!) proves she’s still got it as Everything Everywhere All at Once has some of the best (also hilarious) fight sequences in recent times.
This maybe Michelle Yeoh’s film but let’s not take anything away from the supporting cast. Actor Ke Huy Quan showcased his acting range, shifting between regular Waymond to “Alpha” Waymond who can kick ass with a fanny pack!
In between, there’s a sophisticated Waymond who delivers a powerful monologue that made him one of my favorite variants of the character.
On the other hand, Stephanie Hsu’s Joy is a really cool character. From her bizarre outfits to her cool multiversal powers, Joy is a terrifyingly fun villain!
James Hong plays the disapproving immigrant father to perfection and I can never get tired of his iconic voice as it is etched in the back of mind long before he was Po’s father in Kung Fu Panda. (“Seinfeld, four?”)
And finally, there’s Jamie Lee Curtis. She plays the grumpy old IRS agent, who also has her own multiverse variants, including one who is a professional wrestler! Jamie looks like she had a lot of fun on the set and it shows.
In conclusion, Everything Everywhere All at Once is a masterpiece and a contender for this year’s Oscars. So, whether you’re a sci-fi fan, drama fan, action fan or even a comedy fan, grab some popcorn, settle down on your couch and watch the REAL multiverse of madness that is Everything Everywhere All at Once.
After 6 months of release, you guys are reviewing this movie. Superb.