Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness premiered on Thursday, and as a reviewer, it’s tempting to give away all everything that makes the movie so enjoyable, but here, the real fun is the surprises, so we won’t be giving any away here. However, to make your decision to see the movie (or not) a little easier, here’s a (mostly) spoiler-free list of the good, the bad, and the strange from the MCU’s latest adventure.

Great: The Action
This movie has some great action, many creative uses of all different kinds of magic to create visually entertaining action scenes. Raimi’s resume as a horror director makes him an inspired choice to helm a film about dark magic. The final battle in particular uses horror elements in interesting and creative ways.

Not So Great: The Pacing
While not awful, the pacing of this movie certainly feels awkward, being a bit rushed in places and dragging slightly in others. Moments that should be more impactful feel over too soon, and less important moments feel like they get too much time.

Great: Dr. Strange’s Character Arc
The journey beneath the Multiversal misadventure is a simple but interesting story for Stephen Strange. He faces many of his flaws and shortcomings while trying to deal with bigger issues in his life, namely the marriage of his love interest Christine, whom he may or may not be over. Benedict Cumberbatch and Rachel McAdams really nail their conflicted relationship across several universes

Not So Great: Wanda’s Character Arc
Wanda Maximoff, A.K.A Scarlett Witch, really drives the story, and while Elizabeth Olsen nails all the emotional notes, it’s an interesting one conceptually, the execution feels a bit flimsy. Depending on how the future of the MCU goes, it could be a bit wasteful of her character, too.

Great: The Soundtrack
The music in this movie is definitely fun, with a good amount of variety in a nicely stylized score. Courtesy of Danny Elfman, the music aids in elevating the feeling of the action, especially in one inventive and particularly musical action scene. 

Great: The Cameos
We won’t say who shows up in this movie, but the reveals definitely did not disappoint the audience.

Not So Great: The Cameos
What happens to those characters after they are introduced, on the other hand…well, what happens in Universe 838 stays in Universe 838.

Great: The Visual Effects
Don’t blink or you’ll miss some of the gorgeous visuals as Dr. Strange and America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) hop across universes. There’s animation and other purely artistic renderings of some of the infinite variety of worlds presented in the film. In fact, the entire film is a visual feast, sometimes bleak and hellish, sometimes shimmering and ethereal, and sometimes silly.

Not So Great: The Multiverse
The various MCU movies and shows that use the multiverse all seem to use it in different ways, and thus far, Marvel uses the Multiverse more as a plot device than as an actual destination. But hopefully future Marvel projects will more fully develop the concept.

Cheryl Lightfoot contributed to this report.