Review 286: The Day of the Doctor

So as some of you fans and followers may or may not know, I am a Doctor Who fan-that is until David Tennant left and Matt Smith took over. To accommodate for the shows 50th anniversary I decide to do a review of The Day of the Doctor. I am also doing this because it's being broadcast in cinemas.

The Doctors embark on their greatest adventure in this 50th anniversary special. In 2013, something terrible is awakening in London’s National Gallery; in 1562, a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space an ancient battle reaches its devastating conclusion. All of reality is at stake as the Doctor’s own dangerous past comes back to haunt him.

The plot is astonishing, it full of surprises, it's twists and turns and I have to say it wasn't quite what I was expecting but thats fine.
The Day of the Doctor is essentially three converging subplots, the A story is the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companion Clara (Jenna Coleman) being called in by U.N.I.T to investigate some mysterious paintings in the National Gallery, the B story is the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) hunting

Zygons in Elizabethan England and the C story is set during the last day of the Time War and focuses on the War Doctor wrestling with the decision on weather or not to use the moments to destroy both the Daleks and the Time Lords to save the universe.

All three are really interesting, fun and exciting ideas and although I find the overall execution a bit iffy, they're wonderfully connected ideas that come together with great intensity and emotion in the third act It focues on the Doctor coming to terms that he destroyed the Time Lord to save the universe and explores the possibilities of him trying to put it behind him and it reveals to the audience what happened on that day.

You may find out what the Doctor did on the final day of the time war but not in the way you might expect, It really has some clever and inventive, if underwhelming, twists.
It also works as both a remembrance and celebratory piece for the Doctor Who franchise, it features a lot of elements that tribute the show over it's fifty years such as the Tenth Doctor, the Time War, the Daleks but also contains several elements that I suppose audiences haven't seen before e.g. more of the Time War and the War - as well as some awesome    

Director Nick Hurran's direction is unobustrive, it's beautifully shot, the special effects are tremendous, the score by Murray Gold is wonderful, the props are fantastic, the make up is rich, the scenery is breathtaking, the settings and locations are gorgeous, the sound effects are terrific, the action scenes are exciting and the ending was superb.

The acting, for the most part, is brilliant, though the star actor has to be John Hurt as the War Doctor who gives a mesmerising performance, he's a lost incarnation of the Doctor who believes he has lost all right to be the doctor and the sense of hope he finds in working with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors is like a shot at atonement.
Other actors who are great are David Tennant, who is always fun as the Tenth Doctor and it's great to see him back after three years, as someone who hasn't watched Series 7, I was hugely impressed with Jenna Coleman as Clara, she's witty, intelligent, clever, resolute, brave and it's easy to see why the Doctors enamerd with her. Jemma Redgrave as Kate Stewart, Ingrid Oliver as Osgood, Joanna Page who's very witty and funny as Elizabeth I and Bille Piper as Rose Tyler.
Finally - and I'm just gonna come out and say it - I never was Matt Smith's biggest fan, he's too eccentric and nutty for my likeing and I could never connect with him.
But apart from that, this is a special special.

The Day of the Doctor is an honour to the Doctor Who series and it's family and hopefully it will continue for many more series to come 5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.