Movie Review: Doctor Who The Movie

Doctor Who: The Movie 

 

Recommended for: Anyone who likes Doctor Who

Rating: NR

 The Doctor is returning to Gallifrey with the remains of his arch-nemesis the Master. Forced off course, the TARDIS arrives in San Francisco on New Year's Eve 1999, where the Doctor is critically wounded in a gangland gun battle. At the local hospital, Dr. Grace Holloway fights - and fails - to save his life.

 Later, in the morgue, the Doctor wakes up a new man. But he is not the only one - the Master has also found himself  a new body. As the clock counts down to the start of the new millennium, can the Doctor stop his oldest enemy from destroying all life on Earth?

 We wanted to wait to see it until after watching the Seventh Doctor. We're only on the Fifth Doctor, but since we won't have access to it soon, we watched it.

Technical: 4/5

 It came out in 1996, so the technology isn't great. It's a typical American 90's movie with the Doctor in it. In many ways it was just like another Doctor Who episode with the Master, but a little different because it was an American movie. To me the acting seemed well done, but I can't always tell. I was able to understand the movie about as well as anything else Doctor Who, and I liked how certain things were explained. There was one thing that got mentioned twice that I thought would be a bigger part of the movie but was never explained.

Setting: 5/5

 The movie is set in the near future (for when it came out) in San Francisco on New Year's Eve in 1999. I've never been to San Francisco, so I don't know how accurate it was, but it was done well. The TARDIS was very different from anything that I have seen, but it was very interesting. I haven't watched the Seventh Doctor yet, so I don't know if that's what his TARDIS looked liked.

Plot: 4/5

 The plot is very typical for Doctor Who. The Master is trying to destroy the Doctor and Earth. One thing that makes it different from the Master just trying to destroy the Doctor, is that the Master has used up all his regenerations and is trying to steal the Doctor's body. The Doctor regenerates. He knows that something has gone wrong but he doesn't even remember who he is. The main plot is just that the Doctor tries to save Earth, again.  

Characters: 5/5

 The main character is the Doctor. I don't know if Seven acted like he did in the TV show but he was very interesting. The Seventh Doctor isn't in it much but I enjoyed watching him as the Doctor. The Eighth Doctor was really good, I liked him immediately, though I have seen him in a 50th anniversary short. Some Doctors you can watch for several episodes and still not like very much, like Twelve and Four, but he was likeable at once.He has just regenerated, so he acts a little strange and childlike for the whole thing, but he is still funny and talks a lot. The Master is the same as usual, he tries to get whatever he wants and will kill anyone in his way. Grace Holloway takes the place of companion. Not surprisingly, she is a doctor. She was different from the other companions that I have seen but she was likeable. I would say that the characters were well done, especially the the small amount of time that they had.

 I really enjoyed it, even though it was different from the show (in a good way, it was just more American), I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Doctor Who and has watched the Classic episodes.