The X-Files: I Want to Believe
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend The feature film The X-Files: I Want to Believe is a satisfying if unspectacular installment in the X-Files series, taking place an unspecified time after the show's nine-year television run. Former agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is now a doctor, while Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is being hunted by his former agency and living in seclusion. He and Scully are summoned back by a case involving a missing agent and a former priest (Billy Connolly) who claims… Product details and pricing info |
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100 Customer Reviews Posted
- The X-Files: I Want to Believe
- Having never watched a single episode of Chris Carter's "The X-Files" or the 1998 feature film, I was relieved when I discovered that the newest addition to the series did not require any previous knowledge of the popular franchise. "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" can truly hold its own against any other crime thriller out there. Instead of building on preexisting plot points, the audience is totally submersed into a brand new story and while I am sure David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson's portrayals of agents Fox Mulder and Dana Skully are consistent with any previous work, their performances are fresh and very much alive on screen.
In a refreshing twist, the film takes place in a world not too far removed from the present day. Unlike the parallel universe that many movies situate themselves (which looks like the real world but features a never ending parade of explosions, gunfire, and high-speed car chases), Mulder and Skully's latest case is very much rooted in reality, which makes the events of the plot more horrifying than it would have otherwise.
The plot itself is a macabre jig-saw puzzle that had me riveted from the very first scene, which sees a withering, seemingly delusional old man named Father Joe (Bill Connolly) leading a team of FBI agents headed by Agent Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) through a vast field of frozen snow, which later leads to the discovery of a severed human arm and a bizarre collection of other clues that lead to one of the most horrifying villains' lairs I have seen in all my days as a moviegoer. Complicating things even further is a series of subplots concerning the disappearance of two young women, the constant involvement of the FBI, the questionable past of a conflicted pedophile who claims to have psychic abilities, the plight of one of Dana's diseased patients, and a team of Eastern European medical workers whose contributions to science are considerably less than honorable.
Compared to last year's selection of summer movies (which included the disappointing sequels to the "Spider-Man", "Shrek", and "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchises), this year has proven itself to be a far more competent season. With the exception of a few, every movie I have seen these past few months have featured rich storytelling and bold characterizations as well as underlying messages that stimulate the mind and invite interesting conversation long after the credits have rolled. It's safe to say that my belief in the summer blockbuster has been restored. - 2008-11-17, 1 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Welcome Back Mulder and Scully; But There Is a Slight Problem with the Story...
- One good news about "The X Files: I Want to Believe," second feature-length film based on the TV series (1993-2002) is that Mulder and Scully are back, with their chemistry intact. Naturally David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson look older, but their characters haven't essentially changed since the last time we saw them together on TV. Mulder is still a believer of the paranormal phenomena while Scully is a skeptic who is somehow attracted to Mulder's belief and, more importantly, Mulder as a man. If you are looking forward to seeing these two beloved characters (and I believe most people would), the new film is fairly entertaining.
Bad news is, "The X Files: I Want to Believe," directed by Chris Carter himself, doesn't have a story that really interests us. Billy Connolly plays a retired (and once convicted) priest who, he claims, can see things with his supernatural powers. He actually finds something that might prove his abilities and Amanda Peet's agent, together with Mulder who is called back to duty by FBI, investigates a case of another agent who is missing for more than three days. Scully, who is now working at a hospital as a doctor, rather reluctantly joins them. Everything in the story looks as if they are borrowed from somewhere else, except the two main characters.
Actually, it seems Chris Carter is more interested in showing us Mulder and Scully, focusing their relationships, than following the case of a missing agent for which they are called back again on screen. His decision is understandable - after all the original TV series worked because of their characters - but still the film which obviously needs a more compelling story also spends considerable time following the sub-plot about a patient in the hospital where Scully works. Carter's direction only slows down the pace of the film, and the slower pace only exposes the plot holes in the weak script.
Some people complain that the film doesn't have UFOs or conspiracy theories, but to me the real problem of the film is the lack of mystery and coherent storyline. I know this is not an action film, but as you know, having a more engaging story does not hurt. - 2008-11-15, 1 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Who is Frankenstein?
- I loved the movie. Revisiting Mulder and Scully was like bumping into old friends. But one question has been burning in my mind... Who were they rebuilding??? I would have thought that would be a mindblowing plot point. The only charateristic of the "body" they were working on was that he/she/it had curiously black fingernails (which the camera made a slow deliberate pan down the arm to). The CSM? Unlikely. But WHO????? This is killing me. Can't wait to see the film again. There's got to be a clue.
- 2008-11-14, 1 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- LOVED IT, MADE ME WANT TO SEE THE X-FILES AGAIN!
- After the season ended I had invested so much time into the X-files and I just didn't want to watch it again because I knew it was over and it wouldn't be the same...so years went by without watching any of it but I went with my friend to see I want to Believe and it got me so much back into the X-Files that I'm now collecting the series and will be purchasing this movie. My favorite parts were the ones between Mulder and Scully, to see how they're relationship had progressed and to see that they are human and get older. And there are hints of Scully's desire for their child...I really hope Chris Carter will do another independent movie to answer maybe that desire for them to see their son. But it was thrilling, I LOVED IT. And isn't amazing how young Scully still looks? What in the world did Gillian Anderson do during these years...bath in wrinkle cream? Gotta love this movie, its another chapter to the fictional lives of these wonderful characters.
- 2008-11-11, 2 of 2 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Just Disappointing...sorry!
- There is nothing supernatural and/or extra terrestrial about this story. It is pretty boring to be honest with you. The show centered around aliens and supernatural phenomena. Why would you not make the movie in such a way?
Instead you have a semi romantic murder/kidnapping mystery set in a snowy nowhere with a weak cast and plot. I simply do not get why you would anyone in their right mind choose this story for the movie. You could have put any two male and female actors in this slot and it would have been the same thing. The movie simply has nothing to do with the show. - 2008-11-06, 1 of 3 people found this review helpful, Rated:
