X-Files: I Want to Believe [Blu-ray]

I'm reviewing the "X-Files: I Want To Believe" director's cut/special edition from 2008, NOT the original "X-Files: Fight the Future" from 1998, which was a masterpiece. For some reason most reviews here are lumping both together; I'm only reviewing the (relatively) newer film.Wow, where do I begin with this film. It does not feel like the X-Files at all, to the point that I was sure Chris Carter probably had little at all to do with its creation. Wrong, apparently he both directed and co-wrote the film, alongside Frank Spotnitz. As much as I wished the show hadn't ended in 2002, so that we could have seen more of Agents Doggett and Reyes on their own, finally no longer living in Mulder and Scully's shadows, maybe it's for the best the series ended when it did. It was already starting to go off the deep end in the final season, with the Carter-penned episodes typically being the weakest of the season, ironically. If this movie is a window into what the X-Files might have looked like had it continued airing through 2008, perhaps then it ended at the right time, before it became like the Simpsons (which coincidentally also had a film released a year prior to this one that was also pretty terrible).The slight whiff of nostalgia from seeing a familiar face fades pretty quickly when the atrocious writing portrays Mulder and Scully so out-of-character that not even Anderson and Duchovny can make the lines believable. Dana Scully is a character who has been through hell and back. She's faced insurmountable odds a dozen times before and coped with far more perverse and demented individuals in her decade of experience as an FBI agent, yet she rarely ever so much as shed a tear. She was such a strong individual that she would not let her partner see even a glimpse of weakness, because she wanted to be someone he could fully rely upon as an equal, not a burden to be protected. It was only after years of closely working together did she reach a point where she even felt comfortable sharing her emotions with Mulder. Although the two were ardent lovers by the time the series ended, and Scully had certainly evolved into someone far more expressive of her feelings, I find it absolutely absurd that the most minute circumstances now distress her greatly. She's a medical doctor. She's been trained since before the series pilot to face life and death circumstances with cold objectivity. The worst circumstance she's exposed to in the movie is a dying boy, a patient of hers, whom she can't save. With the amount of tears she exhibits in the operation room one wonders how she's allowed to be there at all. Gillian Anderson has proved time and again her diverse range of expressions as an actress, in the role of Dana Scully alone. Yet, her expertise and talent is squandered, as her character does little other than cry for the majority of the film.Mulder is far too eager to jump on to the "psychic" bandwagon. I've recently been re-watching the first season, and I can't tell you how many times he's actually been the one debunking supernatural claims. He may have been a "spooky" conspiracy theorist, but he's a spooky conspiracy theorist who wants to be taken seriously. Rather than immediately jumping at the first unreasonable suggestion anyone offers, like in this movie and in the late seasons of the show, Mulder actually used to be the one looking for fraudulent claims of alien abduction. This helped establish that an otherwise crazy position might have some scientific merit to his ideas, and it established Mulder as an intelligent, qualified FBI agent willing to sometimes believe in extreme possibilities if the evidence points to them, rather than as a complete nutjob who believes literally anything anyone says, no questions asked. Although Duchovny brings his all to his performance here--which is impressive to see how effortlessly he becomes Mulder once more, even after re-inventing his image as Hank Moody--like Anderson, it's hard to take his performance seriously when the words coming out of his mouth doesn't resemble anything his character might say.By far the most overtly irritating aspect of the film is the obnoxious presentation. The editing and camerawork is simply horrendous. Cameras are zoomed so far in on the characters' faces that it's difficult to understand what's happening on screen because most of the action is left out of frame. Any scene with a slight bit of action it must have a ridiculously shaky camera so that, again, it's impossible to make heads or tales of what's going on in the moment. Finally, and this is the worst sin of all, the film will not stick to a single shot for more than 2-5 seconds, and I make no exaggeration here. Count for yourself--I did myself at several points in the film--how long it takes before a shot changes. It's particularly disappointing, given that the masterful camerawork and directing in the tv episodes was once a major asset.The plot is an utter mess, and it smacks of a complete lack of understanding of the typical X-Files episode's format, which again comes as great surprise given Carter and Spotnitz wrote it. I don't know how they expected anyone to buy the idea that the FBI solve cases by following "psychic" pedophiles on goose hunts. From the moment the plot is even introduced, it's already lost all credibility. Then there's the question of why exactly they needed Mulder and Scully there. The two seem to just tag along, following whatever the "psychic" claims to experience. It isn't until well into the film that Mulder actually contributes to solving the case.The way an X-Files episode typically works is there's a teaser, showing us some side character, either the initial victim or supernatural entity or perpetrator to be captured. Some incredibly shocking, perhaps brutal scene occurs, cut to opening credits. Then we go to our protagonists in the FBI headquarters, with Mulder sharing with Scully (or vice versa) the details of some new case, which is either similar, related to, or the exact event shown to us in the teaser. Based on what little information the two are given, they begin their investigation in the area of the crime scene. On the way there, they hypothesize potential explanations--Mulder seeing the possibility of something supernatural here, and Scully pushing back, instead looking for a more down-to-earth, simpler explanation. At the crime scene, they conduct forensic analysis or speak to locals, and find something that they can send to FBI labs, ask opinions of professors, or do research on. The research comes back, and they discover something new, so they explore some other location. There they find another piece of evidence, and that leads to somewhere else. The process continues, with both Mulder and Scully refining their theories as they try to piece together what's going on. They may even completely abandon earlier theories and pose new ones that later prove to also be wrong. Of course, this all builds up to some major action scene, with the supernatural threat ending up captured, on the loose, or revealed to Mulder (but no proof left for him to show).My point is, there's got to be a logical sequence of events. C happens because B happens because A happens. In "I Want to Believe," A happens. Then B happens. Then C happens. There's no causal link from one plot development to another, so it's hard to take what's going on seriously. For example, at one point a group of police just randomly start interrogating the obvious bad guy (complete with obvious bad guy accent). For what reason do they even suspect him...? It's not shown. They just randomly do in order to move the plot forward. The film is full of unrelated, unconnected moments like that, which just spontaneously occur. The writing is as amateurish as the shoddy editing, which again, strikes me as so bizarre given Carter of all people led this film's development. Chris Carter gave us some outstanding episodes in the early to middle seasons, to say nothing of the show itself, but man did he really lose his edge over time.Come to think of it, the movie doesn't even work as a love letter to the show or its fans. Mulder and Scully spend most of their time on-screen apart from each other. Apart from one sweet scene with the pair in bed together, the two spend a great deal of their time arguing over whether or not to take the case. No matter how many "happily ever after" endings the X-Files seems to promise, for some reason the two always seem to go their separate ways. For God's sake just let the two of them settle down already. The conspirators are long-since dead, the aliens lost (sort of), Mulder came to terms with Samantha's loss, and Scully had her baby. Their story should have just ended there with Mulder and Scully living as a married couple, raising William. Even after the ridiculous series finale, you still could have had the two of them living together, even if in the middle of nowhere (or a country without extradition pacts with the U.S.). The movie basically tells us they went their separate ways after the show ended, had a brief reunion, and are now set to go right back on their separate ways in life. What kind of a way is that to leave the characters?Anyway, this review has gone on long enough, so I'll wrap it up now.I'm a diehard fan of the series, and even an average film with the X-Files name and characters added on it would have sufficiently pleased me, but there wasn't a single aspect of this film I could appreciate. The X-Files, especially in its first five seasons, was a tv show so well made that each individual episode felt like a classic film all its own. This second movie, on the other hand, is the polar opposite. It actually is a film, but it feels like a really bad episode of tv. Not more than a handful of the original 201 episodes were as bad as this movie. (Maybe Season 7's "Closure," Season 9's "William," and the series finale "The Truth." That's about it. Even the show's weaker episodes still felt like X-Files episodes. This does not.)Verdict: 1/5 stars for a movie that fails at even being mediocre.Edit: I nearly forgot to mention, Mitch Pileggi is in this film, but a character as pivotal and iconic as Assistant Director Walter Skinner is relegated to cameo status. And even then it doesn't really make any sense why his character is there nor is any explanation is given. Credit where credit is due though, Pileggi rocks the 2 or 3 scenes he does get in the movie.

Chris Carter took a big chance here and put the characters ahead of the alien mythology he'd built over nine seasons. Indeed there are no little green men, alien bounty hunters, or pools of black oil. Fans originally felt cheated by this. (It didn't help that the series had ended on a cliffhanger.) I expected to feel let down too when I bought my ticket years ago. But then I ended up loving it for what it was rather than resenting what it was not. And since that time I have felt compelled to rewatch this one far more times than Fight the Future.I love the depth the two characters take on in this one. We get to see Mulder and Scully living life together outside the agency. We get to see Scully dealing with complex moral issues at the hospital where she works. And we get to see Mulder rock a beard.Plus, the film still fits in well with the series, more in the vein of the monster-of-the-week episodes. The plot twist comes ripped from the pages of Weekly World News. The film is chock full of ominous locations and creepy music. And it deals heavily with themes of faith and evil. So in these ways it is really just like old times.Let yourself believe, and it may win you over.

I liked the movie very much. One wonders what must have happened to Mulder and Scully after they were on run. One wonders how they have fared and if fared well, how they have been able to adjust to a low or obscure profiles from a previously much exposed profiles in FBI world and Power Circles.Not going into details of the movie, I would just like to mention that I loved to watch the slowing down mellowing couple who talk about coming home to each other as far more important than any dark case that they have to solve. And yet, in this sanctity of quiet home, filled with independence and love, living on with the emptiness of having lost their son, the true natures of Mulder and Scully play out in full passion.Throughout the X Files series, Mulder and Scully's characteristics have been known to their avid fans. And those fans will now again find the same traits that makes the partnership of these two work. And very interestingly without bringing Aliens or ETs into the screenplay, the essential nature of these two is brought out, its tested once again as to why these two click together and why they look for each other's support.It is all about what they are willing to believe and uphold. Inspite of their differences, that almost threaten their togetherness, what holds them together is their compassion for human life, to relieve people from suffering, to not give up as long as they can work to have the living live in dignity as it deserves.The compassion is not just for other people depending on them, it is also for each other even if it might not be in their best interest. For ex: Scully asking Mulder to help FBI to begin with, in hunting down the missing FBI agent. Scully could have known in advance what it might to do her if Mulder is asked to work, but she does it anyways in the better judgement of finding some work for Mulder, having Mulder obtain pardon from FBI from his previous charges. It obviously is going to help Mulder venture out of his protected territory.In conclusion, I have to say, I liked how the ability to believe and wanting to believe are juxtaposed for Mulder and Scully. It was this mould of their temperaments that led their success in X Files and finding for themselves a successful and fulfilling partnership at work and sharing their lives.Acting wise, Gillian Anderson brings out a lot of shades to Scully's character, a person who loves her partner Mulder for what he is and yet trying to break free of him and make sense of her own life. And while doing this, she is still able to maintain a transparent relationship with her partner. Scully's shades are more revealed than what has been scripted or brought out for Mulder. As usual there is not much conflict for him, in the way he works out details before him, but what has been nuanced nicely for him is, that he is reluctant to take up work without Scully besides him and feels deeply disappointed when Scully refuses to join him. Although his belief wont let him relent in going on alone on his investigation, he wont give up, it being his innate quality, we can start seeing his happiness sapped out of him, if Scully is not with him. Its like Mulder is really happy as a clam sitting all alone in his office in isolation, but there is no doubt how he gets excited if there was something he could with Scully involved with him. Scully on other hand does not have this kind of dependency on Mulder for her pursuit of her life's truths, but she does look for strength of belief from Mulder, the moment she is standing confronting truth out there.https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B006LS3Z16/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_4

This is an odd entry into the X-Files canon, and it is difficult to describe or even figure out what the point of it is. This sounds like a negative, but this is not necessarily the case. It seems to have been produced purely for the fans (of which I am one). It would have worked well as a two-part episode of the X-Files TV series, but as a film it falls a bit flat - yet for any long-time fan of the TV series it is simply a joy to see the characters back in action. On the plus side, the acting - Duchovny, Anderson and in particular our own Billy Connelly - is superb, and the main point of it all seems to be that Mulder is still useful to the FBI - thereby paving the way for another series (which did happen). It also works well as a stand-alone horror, and is extremely atmospheric. All in all, it is a mixed bag - but for die-hard X-Files fans, the promise it generated outweighs any negatives - I, for one, love these characters, and the atmospheric mysteries they investigate. Treat it as a belated two-parter X-Files episode and you will not be disappointed.

The X-Files second outing comes 6 years after the ending of the series and unlike the generated hype of the first film did not fare overly well at the box office, possibly due to the 'Hollywood Heavyweight' release of The Dark Knight. Mulder and Scully have now been out of the FBI for several years, Scully returning to medicine and Mulder still searching for the truth from his home office retreat which bears similarities to his former FBI office (poster and all). After being invited back to the FBI to help with the disappearance of a female FBI agent, they are paired with a psychic former priest and child molester who claims to be having visions which can help them. Their former boss Skinner makes a welcome appearance in this second outing which focuses more towards paranormal over conspiracy.Blu-Ray contains both the theatre and directors cut and a whole smorgasbord of extras such as bloopers, deleted scenes, behind the scenes featurette's and an isolated score track for the Mark Snow music lovers. Video and Audio presentation is as to be expected for a recent film with a decent budget, very good.

Being an x-file fan since the very beginning, (I have all 9 seasons on DVD, and they are still available at a great price)I was looking forward to seeing the new version especially since it is on Blu-Ray format.It is a genuine reminder of what the x-files meant to millions of fans around the world. A priest with a dubious background(Billy Connolly) is helping the FBI to find a missing FBI agent. He ends up frustrating the other agents (and the audience many who found the story a bit difficult to follow) during his many failed attempts, leaving agents Scully more sceptical than ever, and a bearded Mulder who hasnt lost his ability to "see through" a person or situation in order the find answers, after all isn't "The Truth Out There"?It does end in a rather bizarre scenario which I won't reveal here of course.It is good to see Mulder and Scully back together again, a little older, but are they any the wiser? It is also good to see that the friendship which had grown between them over the years hasn't diminished.The movie however, is rather slow and empty during the first part, although it does end rather well. I would have thought that there would have been a lot more references to the earlier x-file cases, indeed Assistant Director Walter Skinner does not appear until the final 20 minutes or so. Still, it's a worthwhile effort, although it won't go down as one of their better cases. There have been far better 2 parters in the past (Disclosure; Two Fathers, One Son; Dreamland etc)The Blu-Ray presentation is quite well done, although some critics have pointed out that the picture quality is questionable in some scenes. There are numerous extras which will please the fans, and the audio soundtrack is very good.A good buy though if you can put up with the first part of the movie which lacks suspense.

After such a long wait imposed by legal wrangles that bottomed out any prior plans to release a second X-Files movie, we now have Mulder and Scully back on the big screen (ok in this case it's in your home so the screen size may vary) and it is well overdue.First off, the quality of the Blu-ray image and the crispness of both picture ond sound are truly amazing. The texture of the snow, the city lights, the flowing hair is all just ultra detailed and a true demonstration of the power of the newest technology, and with the prices here on Amazon, I expect more people to begin upgrading to Blu-Ray discs sooner rather than later. The size of the BR discs is apparent from the back cover...Not only does it have a copy of the Theatrical movie, but a copy of the Directors cut, an 82min documentary as well as all the other outtakes, stills and such you would expect in any DVD/BR disc nowadays. You can even choose to watch the whole movie with only the soundtrack/score playing (i.e. no vocals effects etc...just the eerie music....a nice touch).The movie itself is basically an extended episode of the X-Files as we follow Mulder and Scully through a series of personal and public revelations as they attempt to find a missing FBI agent. The intertwined love story between Mulder and Scully, both of whom are out of the FBI, is interesting and the underlying plot and paranormal elements to this movie are good, but it fails to really make the most of the longer format for me. A very good double episode but not really capturing the action/urgency of the first movie. It needed a little more blast for the cash in my humble opinion - more action and somethign a bit extra than what we got in the TV series...However, one thing I really wanted to highlight was the extra disc containing a 'digital copy' function. This basically allows you to put the DVD (could be a CD i've not tested it out yet) into your computer and create a copy of the movie for use on your iPhone or other portable media device. About time this was offered too. Why can I create an MP3 version of any CD's I buy for use on my portable device but I am forced to "re-buy" a movie I have bought on DVD or BR just for use on a portable format? There is also a link from your BR-disc to a web content via a internet link (ideal for you PS3 afficionados out there).A good movie that could have been more, a possible 4-star, but an extra star for the quality and the digital copy function which I think really set this up as such a great buy....certainly at Amazons prices!

I'd pretty much consigned the X Files to the archives of my mind but saw this on tv and just had to have my own copy. None of the chemistry has been lost between the two leads, only, it seems that Scully is doing more of the prodding for her and Mulder to investigate the spooky goings on. Really great atmosphere to the film and a great reunion between these two to enjoy. Good turn from Billy Connolly too and usually, I can't stand him but he's a great actor.