The X Files: I Want to Believe

To put it simply, this movie sucked. I had such high hopes for this movie especially considering the amount of time that has passed since the last movie (and the seasons with Mulder & Scully together), but none of my expectations were met. This movie to me felt like a long TV episode and a bad one at that. There are two main plots within this movie that, with the exception of Scully being in both, have nothing to do with each other, and neither plot is worthy of being on something titled "The X-Files". The only real paranormal things in this movie are Mulder's beard and the psychic's eyes bleeding. What was even worse is that there was no climax to this movie. NONE. The climactic scene was there, but the events happened so quickly that if you blinked you easily missed where the climax should have been. The only reason to see this movie is to see Mulder, Scully, and Skinner all on the big screen again. There's no other reason to see it.

Move over THE HAPPENING. There's another Worst Sci-Fi Movie Ever Made and its name is X-FILES; I WANT TO BELIEVE. As an X-Files fanatic, I've been waiting years for this much talked about, wondered about movie version of the beloved TV series. And what did I get? One big, abysmal mess of a movie that has nothing to do with the psychic, or the paranormal or aliens. Chris Carter is the one who bears the blame for this zero suspenseful, zero scary, zero terror exercise in sheer boredom. For instance, precious endless minutes are wasted on watching Scully try to save the life of a terminally boy. There are never-ending scenes of her moaning, weeping, shouting and arguing about the best methods to save this lad. And does this figure have anything to do with the plot? It has nothing. It's a space filler to show how compassionate Scully is. Then we have the robot-sounding Mulder discovering a lair of villains who specialize in organ transplants. He finds a metal wrench and jumps into their midst and hollars: "Stop it! Stop it right now!" And do they stop? Ha ha ha. not at all. There were about three sets used and used and used. Every fifteen minutes we had a car crash. In the meantime, most of us in the audience were trying to figure out what the plot was. We kept being zipped from a pedophile with psychic powers (we think) to the terminally ill boy. This movie would not even play on the TV series because it is so lame and devoid of anything sinister or horrible. There's no suspense, no intrigue, no nothing to connect with. The Sci-Fi Channel would certainly reject it and this is a channel notorious for its telecast of some of the cheesiest horror films ever made. Thanks to Chris Carter, this movie successfully terminates any plans for yet another X-Files movie in the years to come. This hideous excuse of a movie successfully destroys all interest of its fans and movie makers to create another movie. I really, really wanted to believe and have waited years to see this movie. Now, its' relegated to the lowest runs of movie bombs.

As a true fan of the series, I was somewhat disappointed with this entry into the franchise. It doesn't bother me that it had nothing really to do with the mythology, no conspiracy, no alien replacements, no Doggett, no Reyes. What did bother me, however, is that it didn't have much else either. I honestly went in with a completely open mind, and came out unmoved, from an 'event' that should have moved me. The script was very flat and lifeless. The acting was stale and uninspired (due to the script no doubt). The plot, long and not punchy enough to deserve who slow it played out. And the climax (and I use the term loosely) was really flat. There were no 'spikes' in this film, when 'spikes' are the reason we watch. If anything, I would have to rate this among the more average episodes of the show. Indeed, it actually felt like an episode that had been blown out to a 2 hour run time. In and of itself, that's not a bad thing, just make the content something worth watching. The Good: Seeing Mulder and Scully again. Bless their hearts. Seeing the location type across the bottom left hand side of the screen. Ahh nostalgia. Hearing the signature theme for a brief moment. And, the opening scene was quite good, interesting and gripping. The Bad: It stops right there after that first scene. The reasons for Mulder's return to the FBI are unsound. Mulder and Scully are both wanted by the FBI. Mulder on the run from his sentence to death. I don't believe for a moment that the FBI would drop charges to save one Agent, considering no one in the high positions believed in his work anyway. There were too many nods and winks for the fans. If Carter had maybe have spent less time naming things after previous writers and directors and more time focusing on writing a tight script, things may have been different. The script had too much emphasis on Scully's patient, and not enough emphasis on what was actually happening in the main story. Scully was really whiny. And it annoyed me that she brought up Samantha. Mulder was a little bit weak, and somewhat boring, he did not have the spirit and gusto that he had in the show. It was not scary. It was barely dramatic. It was not engaging, and unfortunately I really never asked the question "what's going to happen next", or how are they going to solve this?" But rather, when will this speed up. It is only my die hard fan-ship of the show that made me not ask myself "When can I go home?" Although, I did have free tickets, so it would have been silly to leave. And the inclusion of Skinner was an obvious fan treat, and completely irrelevant to the plot. I hate the fact that I didn't like it. It should have been an event. And it wasn't. I'm not disappointed, because I got to see my beloved Mulder and Scully again. But I wasn't impressed. An unfortunately low 5/10 :(

The previous X-Files movie, the one made in 1998, was so ridiculous, that I laughed from start to end, and then with great relish I trashed it in a published review... So, I expected indeed nothing more than a pathetic piece of junk from this useless and brainless second attempt - but I must confess that it beat my expectations. The script is not only foolish, but positively irresponsible: I mean, Russian scientists turned bad, coming to do illegal work in the U.S.A. - when we all know that in Russia ANY POSSIBLE CRIME is permitted, from wide-scale kiddy-* movies to Muslim beheadings for the camera, if you only grease a few hands... Okay, they make illegal organs traffic and transplants - but WHY do they have to turn it into that ridiculous stunt with switching the head to another body (only to give it a forced S.F. twist)? It doesn't work, it has no meaning, it only leaves us wondering: "Yeah, and so what?" Not to mention the other useless twist,with the medium who finds severed limbs in the snow. WHY A MEDIUM, and not some police crews with trail dogs? And WHY a pedophile, WHY a former priest? FOR NO REASON AT ALL - only because they were unable to build up a really interesting story. Of course, the directing is shallow and hysteric, full of unwarranted "intense" scenes and soundtrack screams (musical included). One of the most off-target tricks is right the first one: editing together, in a parallel sequence, a past event (the murder) and a present one (finding the victim's hand). Why? Cause so wants Carter's muscles. Sculder and Mully (or... vice-versa...?) remain the same cardboard characters, linear, forced and not one bit credible. Duchovny and Anderson should really retreat to the countryside and start growing potatoes. Ten years ago, they were only boring. Now, they are really annoying, like a mosquito that keeps whizzing around your nose.

The X-Files, one of the most famous television shows that ended in 2002, had a movie in 2000, just came out with a sequel. To be honest, I was wondering why, I know that there are still fans that are shaking to see their favorite agents back, but the story was weak and felt like another episode, just an extended one. Now I did enjoy The X-Files series, I also did like the first X-Files film, so I felt like maybe this was going to be big and have an exciting story, but instead we have just another episode that is trying to have the Saw edge and gross people out. We also have some added characters that are just weak, for example Xzibit as a one dimensional character who is just flat and typical, also, it's Xzibit, I don't know what casting director was thinking "he's perfect", no offense to this guy, but he should stick to his day job. David and Gillain are also off track and don't have the same chemistry as they did in the series. Fox Mulder has been requested back by the FBI to help them with a case of missing female FBI agents, he meets a priest/pedophile/psychic who is also helping the FBI out with the case. Dana Scully has decided to stay with her current career as a doctor who is struggling to save a little boy's brain disease. But Fox wants her back in work with him and together they discover the darker world that is happening with these missing FBI agents and the Russian black market. The X Files: I Want to Believe is over all not a bad movie by any means, but it's at this point that it seems like the writers were not even trying. Also with David and Gillain, I like to call this movie The X Files: I Want a Paycheck, because they just didn't put their hearts into this and you can tell very much, I thought David hated the series, you think he would have been more stubborn or at least would have read the script first before the paycheck. As far as for the fans, I'd recommend that you just do the matinée, it's not a full price ticket movie, it's just an extended episode, the ending is anti-climatic and this was just pointless. 5/10

My husband and I are big X-Files fans, watched the whole series, loved all episodes, including the last ones (we even have an "I want to believe" poster in our living room) and we were looking forward to watching this movie. Unfortunately, after watching it, we were so disappointed that we couldn't stop blaming Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz for such a stupid and empty plot! We watched it until the last second, still hoping that in the end they would show a hint for a next movie, and when I mean a hint I wanted to say: a UFO, or an alien, or anything supernatural... but not, after the credits they simply show Mulder and Scully waving goodbye to the camera! This probably was a goodbye to the fans! It's over, all the mystery, excitement, etc. :( The NEGATIVE points about this movie: bad uninspired story; we didn't have the feeling of "what comes next" or "how they will solve this" at any moment (in fact we were looking forward to returning home, because it was too boring); no mystery, UFOs, aliens, supernatural or conspiracy; there is no X-file case, but a normal crime, only involving a psychic ex-priest to find the victim; what is hardly a believable reason to "bring back" Mulder to an FBI case; the appearance of Skinner was short and pointless; well, it shouldn't carry the title "X-Files", it was only to attract the audience; even for a simple thriller the story was too bad and without coherence. The POSITIVE points about this movie: Duchovny's and Anderson's acting; Seeing Mulder and Scully again; Sometimes some references to the series; the soundtrack. ... Summing up: waste of time and money! WHAT WE REALLY WANT TO SEE IS A CONCLUSION TO THE LAST EPISODE!!!

Although creator Chris Carter said this movie is a stand-alone movie and people don't need to know anything about the series to enjoy it, it obviously did not strike well with new audience members. I went to the midnight showing with several friends that knew nothing about the X-Files. I kind of did a social experiment because I know every bit of detail on X-Files. It turns out, it's better to know everything. There were several inside jokes in the beginning of the movie and you definitely had to know Mulder and Scully's background to enjoy their relationship and their quirky humor. I think this movie was more for the fans that have been begging Carter to make a second movie for six years. It kept with the X-Files style and it went back to the creepy "Monster of the Week" type episodes in the earlier seasons. But people who have never watched the show were utterly confused. I can't understand why because it all made perfect sense to me but as I said earlier, I am a die hard fan. Besides it not being a stand alone movie as earlier stated by the cast, I really liked this movie. I was scared that they had become tainted from the trailer and few clips that I saw but they proved me wrong! The darkness of the X-Files and the true blue creepy factor all came back in The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Chris Carter finally gave the fans exactly what they were looking for and I applaud him for that! The wait was well worth it and all my fears are now subdued. Granted, the movie was not perfect at all. The plot had a bit of difficulty but it still followed the structure of a regular episode. All the questions aren't answered but that is why we still want to believe! Why the truth is still out there! In Carter's world it is much scarier to not see or understand the horror and I just wish every film went by those rules. X-Files created a whole new genre for television, it changed sci-fi as we know it and I will continue to compare everything to the brilliance of this show. In the words of David Duchovny, this movie "Nailed it!"

*****this comment may contain spoilers******** Yes mulder and Scully are back...and they've left aliens and Ufo's back in the basement..its a fresh spin on what we loved about the series with some new dark undertones, that make's us question what we believe is faith, God and the notion of redemption. The film itself is less action driven/CGI heavy than the first one, which i liked only because it allowed us to understand and follow our favorite duo, investigating and expanding their relationship, to greater horizons. The performance of both David and also Gillian are compelling and dramatic, making us feel for them as they carry baggage from the choices they have made. Father joe (Bill Connoly) causes a challenge to the viewer, as a repentant pedophile his acting allows us to see someone torn by their past..looking for some redemption and clarity...he has visions from god..the question resonates on the viewer if his visions are real or some fantasy...from the truth... The story moves scenes by scenes, almost like a puzzle of clues..never letting up until all the pieces of the story converge, and your presented with a tight, less paranormal but effective thriller, that doesn't expect the viewer to stretch credibility or twist's that leave more questions than answers. Its one of the best new releases I've seen this year behind the dark knight!!! GO SEE IT!!!

While this movie will not please casual theater-goers looking for mindless entertainment, exploding buildings and high speed car chases, it is an excellent and long-awaited episode in the classic X-Files television series. Fans of the series will enjoy it as an extended "monster of the week" episode, but people who aren't familiar with the show can still enjoy this work on its own merits - though only if they're prepared to go a bit outside their comfort zone. There is nothing comforting or even comfortable about this movie. In grand X-Files tradition, the movie raises as many questions as it answers, and it asks some very disturbing and thought provoking questions. Can God truly speak for good through a disgraced and defrocked priest? Does his counsel actually save a sick child, or only cause needless suffering? Is the advice meant to apply to Scully's situation at all, or Mulder's, or to both of them? As usual, the answers are left for the fans to think about. And it does make you think. That apparently isn't an easy or comfortable exercise for critics, which is unfortunate as I think many of the negative reviews have entirely missed the point. Mulder and Scully are unrelieved grim and gloomy throughout, preoccupied with the sad and sometimes truly horrific events happening all around them. This shouldn't surprise X-Files fans any, but it was undoubtedly a factor in the critics panning the movie. As always, Mulder and Scully can still depend on each other, though the tensions between them threaten to pull them apart. I would have liked to see even a few brief moments of Scully's satisfaction at accomplishing something for good with her current situation, but even that was denied in favor of a despairing vision of the darkness surrounding them. In fairness, there is a ray of light at the end of that tunnel, though it takes quite awhile for the movie to get there. The only really atrocious flaw I found in the movie was having a presumably highly skilled professional sit down to research a complex and advanced operation on Google the night before performing it. Granted, showing Google is big screen shorthand for "this person is doing research online", but that's definitely the wrong place to do it. This said, the movie was greatly enjoyable. It was a thinker's movie, a cop crime drama with a gritty real-world feel that asks uncomfortable and provoking questions about the nature of God and man. It would make an excellent book with some real literary merit, which is not something that can be said about very many movies. I give it a big thumbs-up and recommend it to people who want some serious thinking with their crime drama.

I think my title says it all. Really, I was entirely entertained the entire way through. I'm not going to give away the story because this film was marketed wonderfully. Going in, thanks to great marketing, you won't (shouldn't) know anything about the plot and this helps create a real sense of mystery. By now you know it has to do something with psychics but you really have no idea. The writing, just like the show, is pitch perfect. The character development between Mulder and Scully is never off and they even introduce new characters. These characters aren't great (I suppose at times Xibit is kind of annoying) but they work pretty well to move the story along. This film also does something many movies have a hard time doing and thats creating sub plots that don't fall flat. There's a great sub plot involving a boy with a terrible disease, and its emotional and you never don't care about his fate even though it isn't the central focus of the story. The acting is great. Duchovney and Anderson both flourish as the main characters while newcomers Amanda Peet and Xibit (is he trying to pull a Rock on us and change it to his birth name?) do their job admirably but never steal a scene from the real stars of the film. I know I have a ton of great things to say about this movie and, yes, I loved it. I'd rank it among the greatest summer films this year (for those wondering Dark Knight and Iron Man both trump this). This is on par with how I felt about The Incredible Hulk, which I also loved. I just can't say that it's great and honestly I'm not sure what it is. Probably that it felt like a really epic episode. This feels right at home in the series and it's a real relief to say that because it could've been good but not at home within the series. I give this film a B.