'The X-Files: I Want To Believe' Film Review
Although it certainly has its merits, this is a problematic film. X-Files creator and showrunner Chris Carter set out to produce an X-Files film without really convincingly utilising the X-Files. He has certainly successfully achieved that aim, delivering a capable and somewhat horrifying murder mystery – but in the end, we’re left asking why?
Why make an X-Files film without the X Factor? It seems a waste of this classic cult property, painstakingly constructed into something extraordinary and unique over nine years. Why land contrary duo Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) into a generic – albeit grotesque – murder mystery? Cue a wave of déjà vu: it’s ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ all over again, and we’re wondering how, after all these years of waiting, this was the script which made it to the big screen? True, ‘I Want To Believe’ doesn’t have any tarzan swinging, ewok-esque monkeys to shame its name, but it would have been greatly improved with a dose of outlandish alien conspiracy. That’s what ‘The X-Files’ are for, after all.
Such criticisms will continue to be levelled at this film throughout its run, however it would be unfair to the legacy of Chris Carter and his creative team not to take in consideration what they were attempting to achieve with their second X-Files film. A subtle story of friendship and faith underlies and threatens to be lost under the standard thriller plot, however the way it unfolds is interesting for a film which claims to be accessible for younger generations who did not grow up on a diet of weekly TV scares through the 90’s. That audience would surely be able to understand ‘this is a world in which paranormal phenomenon happen’ much more easily than ‘these are two people with the most complicated relationship in the world, and we’re just going to make it a bit more complicated’. How do you win new fans for a classic series with a film that lacks the most essential ingredient? When quizzed on what he would like to see featured in a third installment in the feature film franchise, even Duchovny has said he would push for a return to alien tales.
Why make an X-Files film without the X Factor? It seems a waste of this classic cult property, painstakingly constructed into something extraordinary and unique over nine years. Why land contrary duo Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) into a generic – albeit grotesque – murder mystery? Cue a wave of déjà vu: it’s ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ all over again, and we’re wondering how, after all these years of waiting, this was the script which made it to the big screen? True, ‘I Want To Believe’ doesn’t have any tarzan swinging, ewok-esque monkeys to shame its name, but it would have been greatly improved with a dose of outlandish alien conspiracy. That’s what ‘The X-Files’ are for, after all.
Such criticisms will continue to be levelled at this film throughout its run, however it would be unfair to the legacy of Chris Carter and his creative team not to take in consideration what they were attempting to achieve with their second X-Files film. A subtle story of friendship and faith underlies and threatens to be lost under the standard thriller plot, however the way it unfolds is interesting for a film which claims to be accessible for younger generations who did not grow up on a diet of weekly TV scares through the 90’s. That audience would surely be able to understand ‘this is a world in which paranormal phenomenon happen’ much more easily than ‘these are two people with the most complicated relationship in the world, and we’re just going to make it a bit more complicated’. How do you win new fans for a classic series with a film that lacks the most essential ingredient? When quizzed on what he would like to see featured in a third installment in the feature film franchise, even Duchovny has said he would push for a return to alien tales.
