Film: The X-Files: I Want to Believe
Director: Chris Carter
Screenwriter: Frank Spotnitz & Chris Carter
Primary Cast: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Billy Connolly, Amanda Peet
Review Summary: I wanted to believe, too. Really. I did
Back in the day, I was a huge fan of The X-Files television series. In fact, if memory serves, it’s the first show I ever recorded when my schedule didn’t put me at home in time to watch. Perhaps it’s this fondness that caused my expectations to be higher than Carter and company had hope of reaching, but there were some pretty major plot items that I took issue with, almost from the very first scene. But before I go too much further, let me get it out of the way now… as a generic movie, with no franchise affiliation and no preconceptions based on the previous movie or television series, I think this is an ok movie. If it’s just called I Want to Believe (regardless of how stupid a title that would be) it would be easier to overlook some of my concerns, and alot of them wouldn’t apply at all. But the title is X-Files: I Want To Believe, and that creates a certain air of expectation.
Right off the bat, one of those expectations is shattered… even though she had a few episodes that focused on her in the television series, The X-Files was never about Scully. Ever! It was always about Fox… his belief, his pursuit of the truth, his devotion to finding his sister. In I Want to Believe, everything about Fox is secondary to what Scully is experiencing. The film isn’t about Fox, or the Russian doctor, or the kidnapped FBI agent… it’s about Scully’s own internal struggle of religion vs. science. Regardless of the fact that I find it ludicrous that after spending years with Moulder Mulder (oops… thanks heads up One Breath) she still sees anything as black and white, this particular issue and the way it is communicated by Carter simply isn’t strong enough to carry the film. Exterior action becomes secondary to interior conflict and the result is a primary pacing that plods along in opposition to that exterior action. In short, the movie isn’t about Fox’s love of truth being rekindled and the search of a missing FBI agent, it’s about Scully coming to grips with her faith (or lack thereof).
Which brings us to the absolutely shocking revelation that (gasp!) Moulder Mulder has grown a beard! During the course of the setup for this sight gag I lost count of how many shots we went through of just seeing the back of Moulder Mulder’s head, but it was overdone to the point of absurdity. Once is hinting, twice and thrice are creating suspense, anything more than that and the effect diminishes. By the time Moulder Mulder turns around, not only did I know he had a beard, but I knew it would be very Ted Kaczynski-ish. Not only that, but with the series just about a decade old, there are bound to be audience members unfamiliar with Fox Moulder Mulder and completely lost as to what the big deal is that he even has a beard.
Next up… A pedofile priest? Really? That’s the best Carter could come up with? I know it is supposed to play against Scully’s whole science vs. religion struggle, but please… old and busted doesn’t even begin to describe this trope. It seemed so constructed, so convenient, so unintelligent compared to the writings of both the series and the first film. I will say, however, that Billy Connolly was a surprising bright spot in the film. While I thought the script he was given was petty and trite, I thought he did as much with the role as he possibly could to try and break it out of the stereotype that Carter created for him.
Lastly, with every scene blanketed in at least eight inches of snow, why was this film released in the middle of summer? Likely it’s a personal thing, but everything seemed so out of place simply because of all the snow. When combined with everything else, I found myself unable to get past it. I just couldn’t buy into the settings at all. They just didn’t ring true to me no matter how much I wanted to believe.
In the end, X-Files: I Want To Believe would be an ok movie for a rental, but it is a terrible X-Files film. I saw a review somewhere (if I find it again I’ll link to it) that said it was more Saw than X-Files and I think that’s a dead-on comparison, only I’ll take it one step further… Saw was a better film than X-Files because it didn’t try to be anything that it wasn’t. In order to capture the younger audience as well as the generation that grew up with the TV series, Carter tried to tap into the kind of audience that Saw so successfully grabbed. The result was a film that, in pretending to be something it wasn’t, strayed too far from what it should have been.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
You’re right; I should have posted a comment. My apologies!
You have very valid arguments in your review. Although I may not agree with all of them, I certainly respect them. I rather liked the Scully-centered storyline. While the show did focus on Mulder’s quest at first, it ultimately became Scully’s as well. Imperfections aside, I saw this movie as a nice bit of necessary character development for her. Considering the weighty topics – and the snow, of course 
– I’d like to think this movie would have fared better had it not been released during the summer.
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