The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)

Many years after the events from the first movie, a retired and isolated Moulder is convinced by his ex-colleague, now turned doctor, Scully, to join a case which involved a weird person who claimed he had visions of various events regarding crimes. It's a movie which, as opposed to the first one which focused on extraordinary and paranormal events, like aliens, decides to base its story on a series of apparently random murders, which can be "seen" in one way or another by a mysterious character who doesn't seem to be taken very seriously by the authorities. Moulder's involvement will prove to be decisive, as he's somehow determined to find the truth about the so called psychic.As you might have guessed by now, the story isn't much, to say the least. The action isn't either, being based on something which isn't interesting or fascinating to begin with, and ends up a bit more complicated but still as least impressive. The two main actors seem to be focused on different plans almost all the time, Scully simply not knowing what to do, concentrate on her work, on their relationship, or on his case. It all seems to be a bit chaotic, although it quite isn't, but still manages to bring boredom along the way. You simply don't get the suspense or the thrill which is are a must in this types of movies.It isn't what it supposed to be, it isn't as impressive or as mind- boggling as the episodes from the series or even the first movie, fact which leaves you with an apparently normal mystery which is bound to be solved in the end, thus making the finale even less satisfying than it actually is. Overall, it's not a bad movie, but it falls deep into the average trap, not managing to get out of it with absolutely anything, even being below it at times. It failed to deliver what a true X- Files movie/episode should have brought, thus leaving the viewer with mixed or even bad feelings.

As if it isn't enough to have a convoluted, ridiculous story that cannot be comprehended, lead actors who mumble continually, with scenes shot in almost-darkness, now the producers throw in the Scots comedian Billy Connolly with the heavy, purposeful brogue that is so difficult to understand. WHY don't Scottish people learn to speak more clearly??? The accent itself one can work through, but the muffled tones and the deep swallowed consonants are virtually impossible for all but natives. Once again "The X Files" presents us with a pointless 'adventure', this time clouded with snow and ominous music. but zero clarity. I've come to the conclusion that this programme is just a con, with no redeeming values other than possibly to aid the insomniac. I've watched about ten of "The X Files" and all have been pointless and silly. No, I'm not a dummy, have a high IQ and a doctorate. PROGRAMME NOT RECOMMENDED ~ Stay away, do anything else, even sleep !

More than anything, this felt like an extended X-Files TV episode, but neither fitting into a myth arc story or one dealing with the paranormal or a monster of the week. One could argue that the pedophile priest was a monster and his psychic ability helped point in the direction of solving the case, but this could have been a stand alone story without Mulder (David Duchovny) or Scully (Gillian Anderson) involved in it.The dynamic between Scully and Mulder is strained as well, not a good thing for fans of the series or the principals. There's acknowledgment of the loss of Scully's son, who by this time if you go by the end of the series run, would be about six years old. I thought Scully's bonding with the young boy Christian (Marco Niccoli) with Sandhoff disease brought those feelings of lost motherhood to the fore. But there was a huge unforced error in the script when Mulder responded to Scully's statement about his sister abducted by aliens and he responded as if it happened that way. Huge, huge error, and why Chris Carter allowed that to stand is just mind boggling.If the story had to bring back another regular character from the series, I'm glad it was Skinner, but his appearance was almost superfluous and not really necessary to the story line. He did make a key save at one point, but that could have been handled by anyone else. As a fan of the series, I found something to like in just about every show, and I don't think I rated any individual episode below a '7', but unfortunately, that's the highest mark I can give this film. If you're a completist, by all means, see the film. But go in knowing that much of the flavor and dynamic of the original series is not re-established here. Which is a shame, the movie could have been so much more.

Ten years after the first film and six years after the end of the series, a second film is brought up. Scully and Mulder are no longer FBI agents and dealing with the X files that must have disappeared. Yet they get mixed up in a strange story of a missing FBI agent who comes to the attention of Dr Scully in her hospital work because of some kind of psychic who pretends he sees the missing agent.Just that level of fable and the resistance Mulder airs are quite banal and in no way surprising. Yet of course the two will get involved in this abduction or disappearance. But it will become very gross and typical of George W. Bush's paranoia about the world and Russia in particular.The FBI agent was abducted because she was the proper genetic stuff to provide a body to the head of a man who would have been dying if he had not been hosted by a body that is worth little. No surprise of course that the head is that of a man, and the new body is that of an abducted female FBI agent. I guess in 2008 no one was particular about gender orientation any more, in spite of Proposition 8 in California.The worst part is that this Frankenstein research was performed by some Russian doctors who experimented on dogs, transferring one head to another body and vice versa, producing mongrels of another nature.Apart from the gruesome and out-grossing pictures, situations and ideas, this film has little to do with traditional themes in the X files. It is not even in any way paranormal since it is perfectly imaginable today, even in 2008, that such grafting techniques were possible. In the same way as the other film adapted from the series, this film is too slow in rhythm. I guess it takes some imagination to understand that the two media, TV and cinema, do not have the same logic and thus do not work the same way. For one, the screens are not the same size and the definition is till different.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU