I personally hated the new X-FILES movie, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, which is now available on DVD and Blu-ray from Fox Home Entertainment. B-D reported david Harley grabbed himself a copy of the film to see if he had any different feelings for the highly anticipated sequel… read on to find out or write your own review and tell other B-D readers what you think.
Looking back at 1993 in my old(er) age, it truly was a great year for television. BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD made its premiere on MTV, outraging parents across the country with its then edgy humor. MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS became a smash hit, oversaturating the market with merchandising that came in every color, shape and size. The SEINFELD season finale gave us all a glimmer of hope that Jerry, the show within the show, would finally come to fruition (and later prove to be the undoing of America’s favorite group of narcissistic friends). But even among these moments and many others, the one I remember most fondly is the premiere of THE X-FILES, one of my favorite shows of all time.

Being only eight at the time, I hadn’t really been exposed to the genre aside from a singular viewing of HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL and a scant few episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE. THE X-FILES changed all that, almost singlehandedly becoming the gateway into my love for horror. With episodes revolving around psychics, ghosts, aliens, vampires and various other creatures, the KOLCHAK-esque show seemed to have no boundaries and at the time, was considered one of the most daring television shows of all time. And in many respects, when taking episodes like Home into account, which tells the story of an inbred family and their taboo lifestyle, it still is.

Taking place ten years after FIGHT THE FUTURE and six years after the series finale, THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE opens with the bureau on the hunt for a missing agent with the help of a psychic pedophile priest, Father Joseph Crissman (Billy Connolly). At her wits end and with no one else to turn to, Agent Whitney (Amanda Peet) tracks down ex-agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) to help find Fox “Spooky” Mulder (David Duchovny), the one-time overseer of the X-Files. Though completely disenchanted with the F.B.I. and having lived in isolation for the past few years, Mulder agrees to make a brief return to the bureau, under the condition that his criminal record will be wiped clean (which is surprisingly the hardest thing to swallow in the film).

While series creator Chris Carter was entirely honest when stating I WANT TO BELIEVE would be of the monster-of-the-week variety, X-Philers hoping for a standalone story along the lines of such legendary episodes as The Host, Humbug and 2Shy will be sorely disappointed with the closely guarded storyline. Aside from a chase sequence, of which they’ve done better in the show, nothing stands out as being cinematic during the 105 minute runtime (which felt too long for the subject matter), nor is anything bold, brave or new presented. On the surface, the story is a mix between Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose, a C.S.I. episode and a movie made famous during the golden age of horror.

What we’re actually given, though, is something I would liken to SIGNS, in that it’s a story about the characters coming to grips with what they believe in. Mulder stills play the headstrong type, completely absorbed in his bizarre (conspiracy) theories and desperately wanting to believe that the ex-communicated priest is indeed psychic, even if it’s only in the hopes that Crissman can help him track down his still-missing sister. Scully, as usual, is skeptical of everything but the conflict with her beliefs doesn’t lie with the case at the forefront of the film’s plot, but rather with a risky and radical medical procedure that must be performed on a dying patient in her care. The film literally jumps at the opportunity to fulfill its subtitle and, in that sense, I WANT TO BELIEVE completely works.

What I found particularly interesting is the choice to have the film not really follow the format of the show. Sure, Mulder, Scully and the paranormal element is there but the procedure that dictated the show’s entire run is not and that’s something I appreciated. Purely for nostalgic reasons, yes, it would have been exciting to see Mulder start the film with the informational ramble he’s famous for and have Scully going in and out of the lab, doing an autopsy on every body they’ve found. But these characters have changed; it’s been six years since they escaped from the government and ran off into the desert together. They no longer work for the bureau and after all they’ve been through, it would be preposterous to expect them to be the exact same people, doing the exact same things. The film works best when thought of as an epilogue to the series, rather than a true continuation of everything it came to be known for.

Despite having more than a few problems such as multiple subplots competing for screen time with the main one, underdeveloped secondary characters and a few gaps in logic, THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE reminds us that we came for the paranormal activity but stayed for the unremarkable chemistry between two of television’s most beloved characters. It might not be the wild monster romp everyone was crossing their fingers for but just because you don’t get exactly what you were hoping for, doesn’t mean what you end up with is entirely unsatisfactory.

Special Features

Unrated Extended Cut – Both versions are included on the disc, with the unrated cut being 3 minutes longer. But what’s in those three minutes you ask? Scully crying, Mulder climbing up the side of a cliff, the villains watching the FBI dig up some body parts, a more gory version of the climax and a slideshow during the credits. In other words, Fox released an extended cut just to say they had one.

Commentary – Director Chris Carter and writer Frank Spotnitz come across as very down-to-Earth in their discussion of the film. Every aspect of the filmmaking process is covered and many Easter eggs are pointed out. What’s really interesting is they recorded one track for both films and edited out the three extra minutes for the theatrical version. I know that sounds like the obvious thing to do but many other films have only one track between their two or more versions, with the alternates having blank spots on their commentaries. It’s nice to know someone went the extra mile.

Body Parts: Special Make-up Effects – Special Effects designer Bill Terezakis gives a tour of his f/x workshop and shows off the prosthetic limbs used in the film. His presentation is kind of dry but the work he did was absolutely incredible. Many of the pieces he showed off were very realistic looking.

Chris Carter: Statements on Green Production – A propaganda piece where Carter basically reads a list of all the eco-friendly precautions they took during production, with more than a few plugs for Ford and Fox’s “green directive” mentioned. No startling revelations about the film, no real behind-the-scenes footage; just a bunch of preachy people talking about what steps they’re taking to preserve the environment. Maybe Al Gore secretly funded the film?

Deleted Scenes – There are three extra scenes here, entitled “Cheryl Cunningham Begs Scientist To Let Her Go,” “Father Joe Visits Scully At Hospital,” and “Mulder Escapes From Car Wreck.” None of them are very interesting but that’s not surprising, considering the extended cut doesn’t really offer up anything substantial either.

Gag Reel – About 10 minutes in length, the reel shows the cast messing up their lines, a few mechanical errors and people slipping in the snow. Perhaps if the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme had played in the background…

“Dying 2 Live” by Xzibit – It’s a slideshow with “Dying To Live” playing in the background. There’s a photo gallery on the disc with the same material found here, but without the musical soundtrack. So, if you really love the song, I guess you can kill two birds with one stone? Otherwise, it’s a pretty pointless feature.

Film: 2.5/5
DVD: 3/5