PLAY Are there any X-Files fans out here who still believe?

[adgal]

After seeing the film this weekend and thinking about it for two days, here is my response to The X Files:
(May contain spoilers)

-- The film seems a case of too little, too late. Chris Carter & Fox should have resolved their dispute quickly. Had this film been made in 2003 or 2004 I think that we would probably be watching X Files 3 this summer. I don't think the studio cares to risk more $ in hopes of a new "franchise" a la Star Trek. Considering the fairly slim (by today's standards) $30 million budget of this film I think that Fox has washed it's hands of Chris Carter and his production company.

-- Gillian Anderson seemed like she didn't care and could have phoned in her performance. David Duchovny was excellent -- I felt like he was kicking himself for "why in the world did I ever quit this role?". Amanda Peet did a very good job as did Billy Connolly. Xzbit was a total waste of script, I didn't care about his performance or his character. Mitch Pileggi was very good as always but should have been given a much bigger role.

-- After the gigantic story line of Fight the Future this film was just too small in scope, especially after the 6 year gap since we last heard from these characters.

-- The score of the film was a definite strength (what would the X Files have ever been without the amazing work of Mark Snow?)

-- The story line left too many unanswered questions. What happened to Mulder & Scully's son William? Why was so much of the story invested in the young boy with a fatal disease & Scully's crisis of faith, but we see no resolution to the matter. The question of whether the "psychic" was truly a psychic or whether he was in contact with the killers was never resolved either.

-- If you don't sit through to the very end of the credits you will miss a brief surprise image in the last few seconds, it resolves at least one of the unanswered questions of the film. My wife and I were the only people that stayed in the theatre to see this (I am stickler for sitting through the credits of a film).

In summary, if you are already an X Files fan I would recommend seeing this on the big screen just for "old time sake". I don't think many new fans will be added to the X Files universe with this effort.
I would rate it a so-so movie. It is certainly not a bad movie, but it is not very good either.

While I agree with most of what you've written - I wanted to add a coup0le of points.

First, if I were Gillian Anderson and had to read the lame lines and become nothing but I whiner in the movie - I wouldn't ahve had much enthusiasm either.

The whole premise for the plot, I felt, was bad. "We'll forgive you and stop trying to arrest you (which really didn't seem like it would have been that hard if all they had to do was give a message to Skully) if you help us out."

The Skully persuades him to go back - and, after that, she spends the rest of the movie in angst because he went back.

Then, his big fat job was to help them figure out that a psychic was actually a physic - and after he kept "proving" himself - they would discount it. Also, I don't think that the use of psychics is all that uncommon anymore in police work - so why bring in the X-Files at all?

Also - after the FBI check out the office building and the chase ensues - why didn't they keep looking for the bad guy? And why weren't the FBI asking the local feed store about selling animal tranqulizers? Also, why couldn't they tell that the car window (second victim) was broken from the outside in - so it wasn't that she had climbed out and walked away?

I also didn't like everything left unresolved - you didn't even walk out with a feeling that perhaps you had more insight than the FBI - you just had questions.

We stayed until the end of the credits too - hoping for resolution and other than the fact that Gillian Anderson looks good in a bikini - there wasn't much there either.

 

[Chartreuse]

For anyone who is interested in a review of this film (without any spoilers), here it is :

It runs about 104 minutes in length, and contains a story which is rich in supernatural mystery, as well as some crime drama, etc., consisting of no aliens, ghosts, nor monsters. The plot slowly builds with suspense as the story unfolds, and has superb acting from the main characters, as well as from a few newbies. This film is mainly for the die-hard X-Files fans who can appreciate a good storyline without expecting extraordinary CGI (special effects) and explosive action (like "The Dark Knight"). The story and acting is the strength of this film, and I personally like and highly endorse it for the other fans here. For the parents out here,...this film is safe for most children, and contains very little cursing, nor gore, and the violence is minimal.

Some of the critics gave it a two out of four stars,...but I give it two thumbs up and 4 stars all the way across . Likewise, many of the fans I have talked to were entertained and pleased with it.

Well, this X-Files fan was not pleased AT ALL - more like absolutely disgusted I'd wasted my time and money.

Far from being "rich in supernatural mystery," the plot to me seemed worthy of no more than a Law and Order episode. The whole premise was paper-thin, and it wasn't remotely conceivable that Mulder would have been brought out of "retirement" to work on the case that was at the center of the story. In fact, the crime itself had no supernatural element whatsoever.

The dialogue was wooden, Mulder's and Scully's chemistry was MIA, the supporting characters were as generic as they come (ETA: Except for the pedophile priest, who was entertaining), and the major subplot has absolutely no reason for existing except to (far too conveniently) provide a clue late in the game. I realized I was bored out of my mind 10 minutes into it and that never changed.

I don't want to post spoilers, so I will not go into an in-depth analysis of the ways in which this movie fell short, but I will say that I think this film is an embarrassment to the entire X-Files franchise. It lacked every single element that made the show (and, for that matter, the first movie) so very entertaining. All in all it seemed like script somebody had thrown together at the last possible minute. Far too small and undeveloped a story for such a beloved pair of characters.

I can't even recommend watching it on DVD - it's not even worth the rental fee.