The X-Files Movie – I Really Wanted To Believe
My wife and I recently went to a screening with some friends of the latest addition to “The X-Files” franchise, “The X-Files: I Want To Believe“. Yes, I know – I heard about the lukewarm reviews regarding this film. However, I had fond memories of watching this dark and conspiracy-laden series, enjoying how they could create some truly memorable, if not downright creepy, television moments (Thinking about the Peacock family from the episode “Home” still makes my skin crawl). So, I must admit that some pangs of nostalgia drove my interest in wanting to take a chance with this film. Besides, for both our couple-friends and my wife and I, this was a night of dinner and entertainment without the kids, so we were all pretty much just appreciating an adults-only night out regardless of what we could expect from this film.
After a pleasant dinner at one of the local eateries, we walked over to the cinema to hopefully enjoy this reunion with Mulder and Scully. I won’t go into the details of the plot since there are enough reviews out there that summarize sufficiently the basic storyline of this film. But as the title of this entry and corresponding image implies, despite the rather low expectations all of us had going in to this movie, I have to admit this film really did leave me wondering what was the point of it all.
Granted, the performances by Gillian Anderson (Dana Scully) and David Duchovny (Fox Mulder) were spot-on; in fact, it was very easy to forget soon into the film that it’s been over 6 years since these actors played these now famous roles. And it was obvious at times that writer/director Chris Carter understood the need to create tense moments in the film. However, the ultimate reason why this movie just doesn’t work is because it’s not about the X-Files. This is not a literal statement reflecting the fact that Mulder and Scully are no longer working on the X-Files project in this film, but rather that the mystery behind the story is less about the bizarre and paranormal and more akin to something you’d see on one of the “CSI” franchises. Yes, there was the plot element of a possible psychic in the form of a child-molesting priest, but “The X-Files” already presented us with psychics like Luther Wade Boggs and Clyde Bruckman in stories far more evocative of the series trademark of walking that fine line between reality and the so-called supernatural. This after all was the series that brought us Fluke Man, liver-eater Tooms, as well as prehistoric bugs released from the logging of old growth forests. As viewers of this series, we came to expect stories that would stretch the border of reality just a little bit further out, but still remain in the realm of believability.
And that’s why for me this film was such a disappointment – it lacked those elements that we’d come to expect from this show. It also didn’t help that a good portion of the plot of this film focused on the personal relationship between Scully and Mulder, an element that when introduced into this series very quickly instilled a gag reflex simply because this was not what “The X-Files” were about. As I said to one of our friends as the credits rolled, the movie felt more like one of those TV series reunion specials where the basic point is for us to find out what our beloved characters have been up to all this time.
The other point that didn’t work in its favour was the lack of immediacy or tension to the overall plot, mainly because there was no virtually-unstoppable killer on a continual hunt. After all, we weren’t dealing with a liver-eating mutant who could crawl through mailbox openings in front doors, or a serial killer like Pusher who could bend the will of others through the power of suggestion. Instead, we were just dealing with some garden-variety kidnappers asking for the help of a Frankenstein-inspired doctor, another plot device already handled more effectively in the TV series.
It’s clear that Chris Carter hoped that X-Files fans like myself would believe his film marked the return of this award-winning series. Sadly, it seems Carter has become like Mulder, desperately searching for a truth that may no longer be out there.
Some other posts you may enjoy:
