Movie Info
Movie Name: The X-Files: I Want to Believe
Studio: Ten Thirteen Productions
Genre(s): Action/Adventure/Mystery/Suspense/Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Release Date(s): July 24, 2008
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Just when I think I’m out, they pull me back in!!!
The X-Files have been closed for years, and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) have tried to get on with their lives. When an FBI agent is kidnapped from her home and a priest with a past named Father Joseph Crissman (Billy Connolly) is able to lead the FBI to evidence, Mulder finds himself pulled back in by Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) to investigate the phenomena whether Scully likes it or not. The kidnapping might not be the first and it won’t be the last if Mulder and the FBI can’t determine if Father Joe has a tie to kidnappings or if he has had divine revelations.
Written and directed by Chris Carter (with additional scripting by Frank Spotnitz), The X-Files: I Want to Believe is a science-fiction thriller. Following The X-Files—Season 9 which ended in 2002, the film is the second big screen outing for the series following The X-Files: Fight the Future in 1998. The film was met with negative reviews but a positive box-office.
The movie might not be great, but it doesn’t make your eyes bleed…or does it?!?!
With a huge gap between The X-Files ending and The X-Files: I Want to Believe, I was excited that Chris Carter had come up with a story that had to be told and that was smart enough to lure Duchovny and Anderson back. The X-Files: Fight the Future was bigger and better than the standard X-Files movie…unfortunately, The X-Files: I Want to Believe feels just like an X-Files episode.
The movie essentially decided to a creature of the week two part episode. Like the previous film, the X-Files have been shuttered, and Mulder and Scully are pulled back in…except Scully doesn’t really ever come. She of course becomes involved slightly, but it feels like the team is missing. As Mulder even points out, he needs her, and the movie needs her. Without Scully you get a basic and rather dull Frankenstein monster movie that isn’t compelling or big.
The chemistry between Anderson and Duchovny is still there however. The characters are officially “a couple” and instead of wrecking the dynamic, it creates a new dynamic between the non-believing Scully and the eager to accept Mulder. Stories where faith are involved are always interesting Scully stories, but it never quite reaches the level Anderson needs to really dive into. They get some back-up from Amanda Peet who feels underused and Xzibit is the one-dimensional “I don’t buy it” detective. Mitch Pileggi is shoehorned into the plot as Skinner near the end. Billy Connolly is a good actor and his character is compelling, but once again, it is betrayed by a less than interesting story.
Everything is nice on ice
The movie doesn’t feel big enough for the big screen (especially now with the explosion of online streaming). It just feels like a nicely shot X-Files story with some extra budget behind it. This also makes you recognize that this story probably wouldn’t have gotten this big of budget during the show’s run because it is pretty basic.
The X-Files: I Want to Believe was a real disappointment. With the tepid responses to it, I didn’t know if The X-Files would surface again. The series did continue on in the comic books with a The X-Files—Season 10, but fortunately, a real X-Files—Season 10 finally developed in 2016 which helped to wash the bad taste of this movie out of my mouth…I want to believe, but I can’t believe in this movie.
Related Links:
The X-Files—Season 1 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The X-Files—Season 2 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The X-Files—Season 3 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The X-Files—Season 4 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The X-Files—Season 5 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The X-Files—Season 6 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998)
The X-Files—Season 8 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The X-Files—Season 10 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The Lone Gunmen—The Complete Series Review and Complete Episode Guide
