5/10
Not particularly good but compared to the prior WHO film, it's a major improvement
20 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This film probably will hold little interest for anyone who has never seen the Dr. Who series. Let's face it--the show and the movies are in many ways very cheesy. Fans love this or ignore the bargain-basement production values, but others will probably laugh at the writing and plot.

As for the die-hard and radical "Who-sters" out there, some will love the movie simply because it's Dr. Who. There are also some who will enjoy it because this version of the Doctor is pretty similar to the character as played by the original Doctor, William Hartnell. Both were apparently human and had a granddaughter that accompanied them on their time traveling adventures. And, both often fought the dreaded Daleks. But, I cannot understand why the film studio chose to use Peter Cushing in the lead instead of Hartnell--especially since Hartnell was still the only Doctor the series had ever seen up until the two movies starring Cushing. This isn't to say Cushing did a bad job--he was an excellent actor. But, still, I and practically every fan out there really wanted to see Hartnell.

Now you need to understand that although I've seen a lot of Dr. Who episodes, I never was a rabid fan and I haven't watched any of the TV shows since the late 1980s. And, since I am not a rabid fan, I tend to be more critical than they would normally be. And this isn't just because Cushing was in the film or that they actually had the nerve to call him "Dr. Who" in the films (something they never did on the shows). No, I am critical because so many of the supposedly dangerous and evil races on the show were downright stupid. And I am SURE that many Who-maniacs will think I am an idiot for saying this, but the Daleks are the dumbest villains any sci-fi series has spawned! They look like giant salt and pepper shakers and seemed more a source of laughter than scary enemies of mankind!! Fortunately, though, they talk a little faster and less robot-like in this film than the previous one and they also were a bit more mobile--but they still were silly enemies and who could believe that they conquered the Earth in this film--particularly when they captured the Doctor and let him destroy them so easily! Come on--this DEFINITELY could have been handled better! There were so many plot holes that the film script resembled Swiss cheese more than anything else!

Despite it being a cheesy film, why did it still merit a 5? Well, the special effects were light years ahead of the last film even though both starred the Daleks. The budget was twice the original film and most of the special effects were sufficient. Even the giant Dalek ship was pretty cool and the wires supporting it weren't super noticeable. Also, the film was a very interesting time capsule into the 1960s.
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