The X Files: I Want to Believe

I have never seen an episode of The X Files, so I wasn't sure if I should even review I Want to Believe. I remember going to see The X Files: The Movie on a date in high school and hated it. The girl I was with said I would have enjoyed it more if I were a fan of the television show.

So with that in mind, I actually hadn't decided to attend the screening of The X Files: I Want to Believe until an hour before the movie started. I am so glad I chose to attend, because the movie is great as a stand alone story. Admittedly there are things that would have meant more to me if I were a fan. I had no idea that Mulder and Scully had a kid together. Also, I have no idea who Skinner is, but when he appeared on screen ominous music played, so I assume he is important to Mulder and Scully's back story.

Let's start with some of this movie's strengths. Most of the lead actors are really strong. Gillian Anderson has always given me the creeps and I think she's a bit of a lune, but none of that shines through. In this film Scully is a doctor - no longer associated with the FBI. We see sides of her that are angry, compassionate, and more than a little obsessive. Amanda Pete is solid as usual. Her performance won't blow you away, but it doesn't turn you off either.

The two real stars of this film are David Duchovny, who just seems like one of the coolest mothers on the planet. I don't mean Fox Mulder. That guy seems like a real douche bag. Duchovny always brings this sense of being the baddest man in the room to a role. I Want to Believe is no exception. The other star is Billy Connoly, who like Duchovny very rarely misses the mark. He stars as Father Joe, a pedophile priest that may or may not have a psychic connection to a man abducting people and hacking them up. Billy Connoly is great! I cannot stress that enough. Admittedly, his Scottish accent might have something to do with how awesome he is, but he played Father Joe in a way that made me go from trusting Father Joe to despising him to thinking he was crazy to feeling sympathy and back again.

The movie is a thriller, but the script doesn't take itself so seriously that you're on pins and needles the whole time. Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz pepper their script with plenty of humor. Some of Mulder dialogue had me laughing out loud. There is also a great shot that features our president. I won't ruin it, but you'll laugh no matter what your politics are.

Finally, I have to give Carter and Spotnitz all the credit in the world for coming up with a story that couldn't be told on television. The movie revolves around a series of terribly graphic crimes that you could never get away with, and the action sequences are too big not to be viewed on the big screen.

Now I will concede that this is a summer movie, and no summer movie is void of problems. While most of the performances are great, I found it hard to stomach rapper/car pimper XZibit as FBI Agent Drummy. If he wasn't scowling, he wasn't onscreen at all.

The bigger problems come at the end. I am not giving anything away here, but story lines involving Father Joe and Scully respectively are wrapped up almost as an after thought. For all of the importance put on these two story lines, I think they deserve more resolution than they got.

I am confused and eager to see other reviews. Several of the early reviews that hit the press called the movie "sexy," but honestly I don't know what they're talking about. Aside from a single shot of a woman in a pool and a shot of Scully in a nightgown, there isn't much that can be considered sexy in the film. Also, I am interested to see if there is any reaction to the movie's stem cell research storyline that mirrors the reaction of some critics to the end of Million Dollar Baby.

Overall, the movie was great. I really appreciate the way Chris Carter and crew approached a second X Files movie. There are still die hard fans out there (including my wife), but even some of them (including my wife) have forgotten the necessary details to keep up with a convoluted continuation of the series finale. The X Files: I Want to Believe instead plays like an intense update of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

If I were a fan of The X Files television series, I probably would be willing to give this movie an A, but I wasn't. I did walk away plenty satisfied though. So, the Greek gives it a B+.