X-Files: I Want to Believe

“The X-Files” remains one of the staples of ‘90s television. It was ahead of its time, existing in the decade before shows like “Arrested Development,” “Heroes” and “The Wire” were meant to be released on DVD, so crucial plot points wouldn’t be missed.

The show combined the police drama of “CSI,” the occult parts of “Lost” and the back and forth banter of “Bones” before such things even existed.

“The X-Files: I Want to Believe” brings Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully into the world of BlackBerrys and Google.
Six years after the series ended, we find the two agents have taken their lives in different directions, directions that don’t involve the FBI or the X-Files themselves.

Sure, Mulder is a little more jowly and Scully’s hair is blonder than the signature auburn bob that she wore during the show’s nine-year run. But the signature give-and-take between the two hasn’t lost a step, and the familiar roles of Mulder as the believer and Scully the skeptic return pretty quickly.

As soon as the five signature notes of the theme song are played and the familiar type crawls across the bottom-left corner of the screen, it won’t fail to bring nostalgia to any fan of the show.

The alien conspiracy is the 900-pound gorilla in the room, and it is dismissed quickly in the movie, allowing it to be a “monster-of-the-week” plot which can stand alone from the show.

In this day of trailers that show the ten best lines in the film, director Chris Carter kept the plot completely under wraps. This allows the viewer to go into the movie not knowing what to expect, which is a rarity in today’s cinema.

Fans of the suspense genre will enjoy the film, even if some references to the show will go unnoticed. The main plot moves along fairly quickly, but it is a little bogged down by a subplot involving Scully and her medical profession.

Gillian Anderson reprises her role very well, she is able to portray Scully’s delicate emotional state with a minimum of words, allowing her face to give a window to her mind.

David Duchovny, despite his wish to leave the series before it ended, seems like he is glad to be back to his signature role. He hasn’t lost a bit of the wry humor of Fox Mulder, and his dedication to his work that consumed him in the show comes back with a vengeance.

The supporting cast, which includes rapper Alvin “Xzibit” Joiner, Billy Connelly (“The Last Samurai”) and Amanda Peet (“Syriana”), lets Mudler and Scully take control, but they add to the film’s depth. Each one has at least one scene where they steal the focus, and this helps the film get beyond just a simple television remake.

Unfortunately, fans curious about the status of Mulder and Scully’s relationship won’t get any concrete resolution, as the film raises more questions than it answers on the subject.

At 105 minutes, the movie isn’t too long, but if the reintroductions and subplot were taken out, it would fill a normal episode of the show.

The big question with any silver screen adaptation of the television show is how it will play to both the show’s fans and the casual moviegoer.

Fans of the show should not miss the movie, even if they got tired of the alien conspiracy that dominated the later seasons. The prospect of Mulder and Scully working together on a case that defies explanation is too good to pass up.

Rating - $7.50