The X-Files : I Want to Believe [Blu-Ray]

By Tosia Morris

The curtains close. The screen goes black. Cue the Mark Snow track.

Six years after they merged with the pixels in the box, the feisty sceptic and the dry-humoured believer return to the forefront of our screens – and by golly if fervent “X-Files” fans aren’t drowning in a pool of their sweat by the time they sink into their cushy cinema seats, anticipating the reintroduction of agents Mulder and Scully . “If you build it, they will come”.

Series creator Chris Carter, along with actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, dive back into a pile of manila folders for the highly-anticipated and long-awaited (the first draft was written in 2003) sequel to television’s greatest spook-serial. And like the first “X-Files” film – “X-Files: Fight the Future” – “I want to Believe” is an epic and imposing big-screen adventure, one that extends the theme’s of the series, whilst offering something for those that don’t know their Jeffrey Spender’s from their well-manicured men.

It’s been a long time between drinks for Mulder and Scully, and so admittedly their big-screen reprisal doesn’t come without risk. Not that they don’t still have an audience out there – they certainly do, you only have to do a Google to see how many “X-Files” websites and forums exist – but like an overseas tourist in the front row of a pantomime, it has to stand-up. So many TV shows-cum-films simply disintegrate due to poor structure – even the “Sex and the City” movie loses points, because it didn’t think of anyone else but those that watched the show; in this day and age, you have to! – “I Want to Believe” has been more thought out than a triple-homicide. it’s a meticulously plotted and imaginatively crafted piece of filmmaking that’s considered everyone from the get-go.

First a disclaimer: I love The X-Files. Always have… probably always will. They call us ‘X-Phile’s, and we collect anything and everything bearing the ‘X’ symbol – be it a DVD collection, CD soundtrack, pencil case or T-Shirt. So yes, it’s inevitable that whatever Chris Carter and company put together I was going to enjoy … but the question is: How much would I enjoy it? And could the film work for the non-fan? For the sake of the review, I’ve locked my bias in the basement. For the film to succeed I realize it has to do more than simply have Mulder and Scully admitting to their unspoken relationship (but that would be a good start).

I don’t want to touch on the plot too much – it’s best to walk in fresh, without knowing every jump, jolt and bit of dialogue back-to-front before you see the film. What I will say is that it involves a disgraced priest (Billy Connolly), “Dr” Scully (Anderson) and her reclusive beau Mulder (Duchovny) and a series of kidnappings – which, as to be expected, isn’t the doing of your usual ‘snatch and grab’ villain.

Filmed in beautiful Vancouver (the sequences shot in the snow look terrific) – where the series was shot for many years before relocating to L.A – “I Want to Believe” is a much smaller film than its predecessor, but no less thrilling. In fact, the intimacy of the storyline, and the central emphasis shifting from the ‘monster-of-the-week’ to the lead characters, might be an even more affecting stratagem than the conspiracy-centric ‘Fight the Future’.

Carter knows Mulder and Scully back to front – he really does. This is where the two characters would probably be six years from the series – there’s no doubting that. He’s also aware that their relationship, not just careers, would’ve changed since we last saw them – and welcomingly announces the duo as a couple from the get-go. And how could he not? The undeniable chemistry, not just between Mulder and Scully, but the actors that play them, is harder to hide than a slab of beer at an underage disco. Fans will be pleased with the number of sweeter scenes – scenes that wont leave you doubting the status of their relationship (and don’t leave before the end of the credits, as you will miss a fun little surprise that will make you smile).

Anderson shines as the long suffering Scully, still equipped with the huge heart we saw in the series, but also some newly-added gusto (she has balls!). Scully feels a little more grown and developed as a character while Duchovny’s Mulder has pretty much remained stagnant – but probably by design (once a believer, always a believer).

Though it’s clearly the ‘Mulder and Scully’ show – and rightfully so – Carter has assembled a terrific support cast. Amanda Peet (“Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”, “The Martian Child”) and rapper Alvin ‘Xzibit’ Joiner are the most noticeable of the new additions – she as Agent Dakota Whitney, he as Agent Mosley Drummy. Billy Connolly, as the disgraced priest Father Crissman, once again proves his versatility as an actor by taking on a role that’s about as fun as Cancer (Man). It’s also quite an accomplishment for an actor to play such a dislikeable character and yet not be seen ostensibly evil in the audience’s eyes.

Fans of the show will love it – there’s lots of in-jokes, cameos, and, of course, some surprises in store story-wise! – And I don’t see those off the street having a problem with the flick either. They’ll be sure to be drawn into the thrilling plotline and won’t feel too much of an alien in this unfamiliar terrain – anything they need to know can be explained in an easy sentence (Previous knowledge is not required as much here as it was in the previous film “Fight the Future” – it really is a great stand-alone piece)

Yes, the overall ‘X-File’ of the plot is a little wacky – they probably could’ve toned it back a bit, and it still would’ve worked just as well – and Duchovny is constantly overshadowed by Anderson (and no again fault of his, it’s merely the fact that the writers have chosen to evolve the character of Scully – more so Mulder; and that’s probably been the intention since day one) and devoid of a lot new to do, but they’re merely tiny holes in a grand ship – steered in style by the masterful Chris Carter and long-time cohort Frank Spotnitz.

“The X-Files: I Want to Believe” isn’t just a love letter to X-Philes, it’s a tremendous film in it’s own right – in fact, it might be just be the best film of the year! Believe it!

Blu-Ray Details and Extras

It took me a while to figure my way around the Blu-Ray – with so much on here, that’s to be expected – but once I worked out that ‘pressing this would take me to this’ and ‘by clicking this button I could bring up that’ I was in heaven (I’m actually still there – three days later I’m still exploring the guts of the release).

The disc is an absolute Valhalla of delight for Shippers. Let’s get onto the extras first. Of most interest to die-hard fans will be the ‘X-Files Complete Interactive Timeline’. This is insanely fun. You can scroll through each year – each year since Mulder and Scully have been on the case – and read about particular case files as well as view clips from them. The clips play in a small box to the left of the screen alongside a bit of scroll-down info about what you’re watching and the episode it comes from (Make sure your player has had its latest firmware update before playing the disc – some of the older machines might have a bit of trouble playing some of the more advanced of extras, like this video-heavy timeline).

Also great is the picture-in-picture commentary with series creator Chris Carter and producer Frank Spotnitz. The guys don’t start doing cartwheels or anything, nor do you see them cooking up fried eggs whilst talking, but they do talk – and talk a lot. Fans will love to examine the looks on their faces during specific scenes – it’s clear that both are extremely proud of certain parts of the movie.

There’s also a gallery – featuring pics, collectors items (like the books and so on); an Easter-egg (clue: look in the audio section) which is a funny little animated version of the trailer and some more bits and pieces. Bit of fun!