I want to believe too
It has been six long years since we last saw special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully on TV. Sure you could still watch the DVDs of The X-Files or The Lone Gunmen if you felt like reviving Chris Carter’s universe, but it was never the same as the time when you switched on your screen in the evening, watching the newest episode and could discuss it with your friends the next day. But now, in the summer of 2008, we finally get a new addition to The X-Files series, the new movie called I Want to Believe.
For the last five years there have been rumors, but nobody believed it would actually happen. Fox studios are not known for bringing shows back from the abyss. Still, Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz managed to gather the old team and convince the studio to give them the opportunity to make another feature film. Due to the long break in between these projects, it does not mention the alien mythology and the new movie can be seen as a normal episode, comparable to the “Monster of the Week” shows. Carter puts a lot of emphasis on the relationship between Mulder and Scully. The movie shows how their feelings for each other developed during their absence from the Bureau and it also revives Mulder’s obsession with the unknown, while Scully has turned completely towards science, by becoming a medical doctor full-time.
When an FBI agent goes missing, Mulder is called back in to help find her. His involvement is requested due to the strange nature of the information they are getting on the case by a self-proclaimed medium. They think that Mulder’s expertise might help them verify the source or debunk it. A hunt for the missing FBI agent ensues, that unveils a deeper conspiracy. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson both fit back into their roles like they never left. Sure it is apparent that they have both aged (Duchovny going straight towards the 50 line), but they still feel like Mulder and Scully, even if it takes a bit to warm up to them. We get several cameos in the movie (actors that played different characters in the show) and also a reunion with an old friend.
The X-Files: I Want to Believe will probably not win any new fans for the show, as it is a bit too slow paced. There are a lot of winks for the fans of the show, and if you see it as a beginning to something new (they are already discussing a next movie) it will not disappoint. However, it is not one of the best episodes and the denouement is a bit flat. Still, I have to admit that I loved to see my favorite characters back in action and I hope the next movie will kick it up a notch. (Remember, the alien invasion will take place on December 22, 2012)
Finally I wanted to add, that Fox probably didn’t do the movie a big favor by launching it at the same time as The Dark Knight. I Want to Believe doesn’t feel like a summer movie, and it would have been better off in fall or winter.
August 2, 2008 at 1:27 pm
[...] I also reviewed the new X-Files movie I Want to Believe over on my other blog, as I didn’t think it would fit right in here. Here’s the link. [...]
August 3, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I have to say I disagree on one thing. I saw this movie not as a prologue of others to come (like it was openely claimed after the first one 10 years ago) but more as an epilogue of the long running show.
Indeed, one of the many thing which made people watching the X.Files was the romance or the “non romance” between Mulder and Scully.
Their unconventionnal love was a choice from the beginning between Chris Cater, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. They decided that they would never become lovers.
Nevertheless the writers understood very soon the chemistry the actors were bringing on screen and started playing with the audience by distilling here and there “proofs” that Mulder and Scully were made for each other.
Sexual meanings were diffused throughout episodes in countless ways. A touch, a glance becoming more important than a usual sex scene in another TV show.
This choice was even mantained in the first movie, despite the fact it was destinated to a larger audience, with the hallway scene and the “missed kiss”.
To satisfied both fans and the new audience gathered by the first movie, the following season was then really emphasizing on their MS relationship: How the gosts stole Christmas, Arcadia, Alpha, Milagro, rain king, Field trip…
But even at the end of the show and the obvious/ultimate proof (a baby!!) nothing was clearly stated by neither Scully nor Mulder.
I come to my point, “I want to believe” finally shows what was obvious for so long, we clearly know that they are living together and the final kiss is not missed this time.
This movie is a “fans movie” especially with all the references only a fan would notice. Chris Carter said it himself on the promotion tour: he gave what the fans always wanted.
I see it as the “swan song/chant du cygne/schwanengesang” of Chris Carter, his last gift to all who followed.
August 5, 2008 at 2:13 am
Very good point! I think this would have made a better fall or winter release. It felt so cold! Apparently it was ~ a friend of a friend of my parents (LOL) worked on the set as a dog handler. They had the chance to chat with her on Saturday night and she said it was so cold – she had to work hard to keep herself and her dogs warm!!!!
This movie wasn’t a blockbuster, but it was entertaining. I did get goose bumps when the theme song played in the beginning. I loved watching this show on Sunday nights.
I was very bummed about no alien theme. I realize they went with a more current debate (religion versus science), however, I miss the aliens darn it!!! I want to believe – in aliens!!!!!
Nice review!
~Heidi
http://www.HeidiTown.com
August 8, 2008 at 3:04 pm
[...] X-Files: I Want to Believe (reviewed on my other blog) has been in theatres for a few weeks now, but it is not the only return of the series. Frank [...]
August 13, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I loved the movie. I understand that it was a way of reviving the characters and preparing us for the next one. However, with all the thunders that it has brought I doubt that they’ll be making X files 3. My only hope is that they realize the fans need a real closure, especially when it comes to the mythology.
September 1, 2008 at 4:51 pm
this is a bit late, but yeah.. the movie may lack in some part but I’d like to think (or I want to believe) it was a means of gathering the believers for 2012. I have read a couple of bad reviews about it but I think it was not as bad as most critics say it is. Most have been blinded by CGI and I understand that it is expected in sci fi movie such as X Files. I think it is more a psy fi actually. I can only hope for 2012…