Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness isn’t much of a Sam Raimi film until it’s nothing but a Sam Raimi film — and you’ll know when the groovy hits.

Until then, sure, there are evil books, wickedly funny one-liners, clever visual gags, and Bruce Campbell, but it’s also such a chowder of intersecting MCU properties that there’s barely room for the director to put his stamp on the proceedings.

That’s not to say the blend is unpalatable — far from it. No MCU film has started in as thrilling a fashion as this in medias res opening in which a ponytailed Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and a young woman (Xochitl Gomez, The Baby-Sitters Club) flee from a spindly monster in some unidentified corner of the multiverse.

Though it’s somewhat difficult to make sense of what’s happening, Raimi and screenwriter/Loki creator Michael Waldron trust viewers to play along, and make good on that promise first by showing that Strange was dreaming, then with the revelation that nighttime visions are in fact a glimpse into other universes.

Said knowledge comes courtesy of that young woman, who appears in our Strange’s universe pursued by a creature resembling The Suicide Squad’s Starro the Conqueror — seriously, this wasn’t vetted? — prompting Strange and Wong (Benedict Wong) to rescue her, learn that her name is America — again with the vetting! — and that her untamed ability to cross universes has made her a target for a mysterious powerful force.

Sensing Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) may be the person best suited to help, Strange pays his fellow Avenger a disastrous visit, setting off a string of fairly rote MCU action set pieces that nevertheless culminate in a jaw-dropping sequence in which Strange and America universe-hop, creatively changing with each broken plane.

The layers keep incongruously piling up as the two land in a universe where Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) apparently work with the droids from I, Robot and in tandem with a council of wise, powerful leaders, blandly played by recognizable actors, each all but guaranteed to elicit higher-pitched shrieks than the last from rapt fanboys.

Multiverse of Madness continues with this slapdash, see-saw approach, marking off its MCU checklist and barely letting Raimi inject his distinct personality, until an imaginative climactic stretch involving a reanimated corpse and demonic spirits — a delightfully kooky mix of Evil Dead 2 and Drag Me to Hell that shows what Raimi can do with a budget and collaborators willing to get a little dark.

Allowed his moment to shine (blackout?), Raimi then returns the reins to his MCU overlords and the film concludes in predictably tidy fashion while also fulfilling the contractual obligation of setting up another sequel. But sit through the credits and one more Raimi nugget awaits, reminding viewers that his direction may have played a larger role in Multiverse of Madness’ other victories than it initially appeared. 

Grade: B-minus. Rated PG-13. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co., Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: Marvel Studios/Disney)