One Good Point (Movie) - Everything, Everywhere, All at Once

So shortly before Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness came out, all the talk in my friend group (and apparently in a number of other friend groups) was about this other multiverse movie. Then, after we all saw Doctor Strange, the chatter was all about how this other movie was the better multiverse movie. I resolved to see it... but of course, we don't rush into that sort of thing. So here we are, two years later, finally giving it a shot.

The premise is pretty conventional for a superhero-type movie: mysterious being threatens all of reality; dashing rebel seeks out a 'destined' savior who knows nothing of their fate; adventure ensues, with a revelation that the mysterious being has some connection to the savior; the culmination plays on that connection in an emotionally resonant way.

But really it's not about any of that. Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (or EEAAO from now on) uses the idea of multiple versions of ourselves as a vehicle for examining where meaning comes from in our lives. The different lives of the various characters reflect various "levels" of achievement, failure, and connection, and the movie uses those reflections to not just consider all the possibilities that might've happened if one, two, or ten things had happened differently in our lives, but also the way we assess the value of our lives, based on how much of our imagined self-image's potential has been achieved.

I thought the movie was pretty good. The emotional beats of the story were a little drawn out and predictable, but the characters were compelling, and surprisingly realistic, in spite of the absurdity of so many of the situations they faced. My one main dissatisfaction was that the antagonist's mentality didn't resonate as well with me as I think it did for a lot of other people, but that's not terribly surprising. You're intended to feel some empathy for the character, and while I absolutely did feel that, I didn't feel any compulsion to forgive her behavior. I get why the main characters do; it just falls short for me.

Now, to answer the question brought up at the beginning of this review: Was EEAAO better than Doctor Strange 2?

Yeah. Although Zombie Strange was pretty rad.

Want to watch Everything, Everywhere, All at Once right now? Click here to check JustWatch and see where you can do that!