Quantum leaps

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

Cert 15 ★★★★ In cinemas now

Somewhere, someone is drafting a PHD thesis on cinema’s current obsession with the multiverse. The last two Marvel movies gave us several incarnations of Spider-man and Doctor Strange.

Now Michelle Yeoh is experiencing infinite versions of her character’s life in a wildly inventive action comedy.

While the comic-book giant used the concept for soulless cameos, the beating heart of this word-of-mouth indie hit (it topped the US box office in its sixth week of release) lies in a touching family drama.

Yeoh plays Chinese-american Evelyn Wang who runs a failing laundrette and has troubled relationships with husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), gay daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) and elderly father Gong Gong (James Hong).

Her life is so unremarkable that it’s a big surprise to learn that she’s the key to saving the entire multiverse.

When Evelyn is on her way to a crunch meeting with a gruff tax auditor (an amusing Jamie Lee Curtis), a different Waymond arrives with an important message from a reality called the “Alphaverse”.

Evelyn is living the worst version of her life. With a multiversal villain threatening to bring all the universes to an end, she must “verse jump” into her other, more successful life paths to acquire the skills to fight back.

From here, you’ll need a certain tolerance for quirk as the directing duo known as “the Daniels” hit us with martial arts fights involving sex toys and trips to worlds where rocks talk and folk have hotdogs for fingers.

Thankfully, the domestic drama returns for a touching final act where Evelyn learns to see the beauty in her seemingly grim life.

I’m no academic but here’s my theory about this new cinematic trend: considering the state of our reality, it’s not surprising we are so open to the idea of alternatives.

Considering the state of reality, it’s no surprise we’re open to idea of alternatives

SAUSAGE FINGERS Michelle Yeoh as an ordinary woman saving the multiverse