Saturday, January 3, 2009

The X-Files: I Want To Believe (2008)--2/5

What a copout this movie is, in every way. I’m not a huge fan of the series,* but even I can tell that “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” is a mediocre episode of the show.

The events are unrelated to any of the larger mythology of the series, which is fine. It’s just confusing why this story was written for a feature film. The by-the-numbers action takes place in small rooms and generic snowy plains. The special effects are minimal and unimpressive. Nothing in the movie is stretching a budget.

The question of Mulder and Scully’s “will they or won’t they” sexual tension has been answered—by a better movie from a few years ago that I seem to have missed. Instead, we get the pragmatic pillow-talk and side-kiss (“scratchy beard!”) of a *married* couple. They eventually share a passionate embrace, but by then it comes off as patronizing.

To pad the runtime of “I Want to Believe,” Scully has a terminally ill patient under her care. Rather than tying into the plot in any meaningful way, this sloppy addition only forces Scully to think about her creepy son William.

After all the supernatural events Scully has witnessed and been involved in, she is still skeptical about the relatively simple matter of a priest with ESP. Really? (This movie deserves its own “Really!?! with Seth & Amy” segment.) Scully and Mulder’s character regression is similar to that in the “Sex and the City” movie. Just ignore any advances made in later seasons of the show, not to mention the first “X-Files” movie. Chris Carter thinks the fans want to see these guys acting just like they did in the first episode.

Taking the copouts to their logical nadir, the priest dies before it can be determined if his visions are authentic. A connection between the killers and the priest is a laughable red herring. Or is it? Since truth and logic are still “out there,” who cares?


*My facts about the series may not be correct. Please correct me if wrong.

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