"The X-Files: I Want to Believe" and so Did I

Genres: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller, Adaptation and Sequel
Release Date: July 25th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violent and disturbing content and thematic material.
Distributors: 20th Century Fox Distribution
Starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Xzibit , Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly
Directed by: Chris C. Carter

JJ Rating: B-

Fox Molder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are no longer part of the FBI until a strange case brings them back for one more ride with what they do best. Creepy-creepy. The X-Files: I Want to Believe.

I rarely watched the TV show. I did see the first movie in 1998. I enjoyed that movie. I like the characters of Molder and Scully. They are pop icons as is the X-Files Theme. But this film was like an elongated episode. There was nothing remotely cinematic about it that made it necessary.

The story was so slow and drawn out that I was feeling my eyes wanting to just rest a moment. Coupled with what it is that I actually do for a living I was really on the verge of sleeping. I have slept through some good movies because of how tired I was but this one wasn't one of those.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson were awesome to see together again. Watching them return was the best part of this entire film. I cannot dislike the film totally because they were both a part of it and that is, for me, well worth a viewing. The great scene is the one with Anderson and Billy Connolly. It was a great exchange between two characters and the best writing of the entire film. If the film was more like that conversation and less like a slow walk through the woods after a winter blizzard it would have been one of the better films this summer.

What could have made it better? A better story, better villains, better reason for them to come back and more on Molder's sister than just a mere mention. They should have taken a page out of the Sex in the City handbook and did a montage at the beginning of the film to remind everyone of any back stories that were going to be mentioned in the film.

I can't say who would like this but if I were to take a wager it would be, of course, those that like the TV show. But I even think that they might have qualms with this film, but enjoy it enough. X-Files: I Want to Believe was a movie that I so wanted to believe in because I do think that Molder and Scully are two of the best characters ever created, but this film failed on so many levels and I just was overall disappointed.