Review: The X-Files: I Want To Believe

By Andy Hunsaker
Fancast Movies

It’s been six years since The X-Files became a muddled Mulderless mess that involved Robert Patrick for some reason, and as such, burn-out caused the plug to be pulled on the series. There was, however, always the promise of the paranormal mythos being furthered in movie form, since The X-Files Fight The Future had done well in the middle of their series run. It was expected, at least, but legal issues derailed the production of this film until now.

So one might expect that The X-Files: I Want To Believe, this inevitable project, would be the chance to put right what once went wrong, and to get back to what made the adventures of FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) such a cultural phenomenon. They tried to make it a stand-alone film that wouldn’t require knowledge of the dense conspiracies in the show, and it should jumpstart the franchise for those who were too young to get on board back in 1993.

After seeing the final product, though, no matter the intentions, this is a movie for The X-Philes. It has little reason to exist other than to provide an epilogue for the series. It’s wise that it was created with the notion that it could stand as the final chapter for these characters, because it’s very likely that it will be.

Creator Chris Carter has said that he believes the last four seasons of the series was the strongest storytelling they had ever done on the show, and co-writer Frank Spotnitz thinks that fans only tuned out because it wasn’t “Mulder’s Quest” anymore, which had been the heart and soul of the series until Duchovny burned out and bailed. The fans who remember the Doggett Years will likely cringe at hearing that, and lower their expectations for what this meandering film will entail for them, and they’ll be right.

It plays out like a padded episode of the show, in the “monster of the week” vein. The villains of the piece are not particularly compelling or even shown much at all, and it concentrates more on the status of Our Heroes after six years. Mulder is something of an isolated hermit, and Scully is working as a legit doctor in a Catholic hospital. When federal agent Amanda Peet finds herself dealing with an ex-priest pedophile (Billy Connolly) claiming to have psychic visions of a kidnapping and murder, she decides to try and call in Spooky Mulder once more to see if his work with the paranormal will lend any insight to the case.

It’s hard to get into this whole concept again. It’s hard to believe there was a time when monotonous delivery could be part of a show’s charm. If you don’t know who these characters are, there’s very little here that would cause anyone to be interested in them. The central theme revolves around the basis of faith - be it in the Almighty, the priest’s visions or the pair’s shared path into the future - but there is nothing particularly gripping or even all that compelling about what’s presented here.

The worst example of how they really couldn’t figure out how to strike the balance between nodding to the past and making a stand-alone film is the shoehorning in of the coolest character from the show, Agent Walter Skinner (MItch Pileggi). It was absolutely mandatory for him to be in this movie, and it was great that his appearance was prefaced by Scully asking them to find “an agent with balls” that could get something done, but there’s virtually no context for his cameo and there’s no real explanation of who he actually was. Plus, he has about five lines total and one could easily mistake him for Mulder’s uncle or something.

There’s very little in the way of tension built at all, and the one scene that’s supposed to be exciting was just a half-assed foot race between the bad guy and Mulder. It only really functions as a last little button for the obsessed nerds who want to watch Mulder and Scully make out - a small thank you gift from people who can live comfortably for the rest of their lives thanks to their devotion. A fine gesture, sure, but the rest of us can give it a pass.