Review: The X-Files: I Want To Believe

"I can hear her.

What is she saying?

She's calling out my name, over and over again. She's crying out for help but I can't help her. I can't move.

Are you scared?

I know I should be but I'm not.

Do you know why?

Because of the voice in my head. It's telling me no harm will come to her, and that one day she'll return.

Do you believe the voice?

I want to believe."

That's the end scene in the episode Conduit of Season 1 of The X-Files in which Mulder was asked under hypnotic regression therapy about witnessing his sister's abduction by aliens. The four words, "I want to believe" sum up the quest of Mulder and his fellow FBI partner Dana Scully to find out the truth in the 9 seasons of The X-Files from 1993 to 2002.

Now 6 years later in the return of Mulder and Scully to the big screen, those four words make it into the title of the new X-Files movie, The X-Files: I Want To Believe. There are no aliens this time. No werewolves. No monsters even. And Mulder and Scully are still wanting to believe.

Yesterday, I watched The X-Files: I Want To Believe at the premiere held by AXN Beyond, a new Sci-fi cable channel. They are also showing the old X-Files every Thursday. So do check them out aye. It's on Channel 100 on Starhub. Before the movie started, the folks from AXN showed a cool clip of what their new channel is about. Once that was done and all the customary ads were over, the audience could finally sit back, relax and watch Mulder and Scully in their new adventure.

In The X-Files: I Want To Believe, both Mulder and Scully are no longer agents for the FBI. Scully works in a Catholic hospital as a doctor while Mulder isolates himself in his little room in his house shared with Scully. Yup, they are living and sleeping together! While at work, Scully gets a visit from an FBI Agent who needs to locate Fox Mulder. The FBI wants their help to assist in the search of a missing FBI Agent. Mulder is hesitant but Scully says that all his sins will be forgiven by the FBI. A priest, Father Joe who is also a convicted pedophile and has mysterious visions and claims psychic connections to the missing agent gets Mulder interested in the case and he decides to go back to the FBI and assists them.

Soon more women are being abducted in the wintry hills of rural Virginia. The only clues to their disappearance are the grotesque human remains that begin to turn up. With officials desperate for any lead, Father Joe's questionable visions send Mulder, Scully and the FBI on a wild goose chase and straight to a bizarre secret medical experiment. Who's behind this experiment? Who took all these women? And what are they doing with them? You got to watch the movie to find out yourself.

The plot of The X-Files: I Want To Believe was so tightly guarded that no one really knows what it was about before the film's opening. But after watching the movie last night, I can't help but noticed that the plot was actually revealed way back in April in a photo that was released by the producers. So for those of you who really want to know...



Here's the photo. Now look closely at the newspaper cutting to the right of Mulder.



I enlarged it. "FBI arrests modern day Frakenstein doctor" is the headline. Yup. That's it! Frankenstein!!

The X-Files: I Want To Believe is nothing like the blockbuster movies that you have watched so far this year. It has no CGI, no special effects, no monsters, not even sex. Darn! And I thought I could see Mulder and Scully doing it in bed. It's basically a Mulder and Scully movie and a good old fashion thriller. Gillian Anderson who plays Scully is superb in her role and so is David Duchovny as Mulder. Their chemistry is unbelievable and they get pretty intense dialouges in the film. I also like the Father Joe character played by Billy Connolly. I kinda pity him as the priest that no one really believes because he was a convicted pedophile. He really thinks that his visions are god's way of giving him a chance to make up for his past sins. But is he for real?

I think this movie is definitely for the fans although I'm pretty sure those who do not watch The X-Files on TV can follow what is going on in the movie pretty easily. But yup, fans will love this because of the many references made to the old TV series. Do watch out for a cameo by Chris Carter (director, writer, creator of The X-Files) in a scene in the Catholic hospital. I also spotted the girl who played the young Samantha Mulder (Mulder's sister) in the TV series, wandering in the hall of the FBI. Oh and not forgetting FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner who also makes an appearance. Yay Skinner! Lastly, don't forget to watch right until the end credits are over. Trust me. You do not want to miss it!

Overall, I enjoyed The X-Files: I Want To Believe. It could have been much better and exciting but yes, I was smiling, screaming, shouting and clapping to the various scenes of the film. I think some of the audience found that funny. I could hear their giggles and laughter and some even joined me in my fanboy moments. Phew. Thankfully I didn't get thrown out of the theater for being noisy. The X-Files: I Want To Believe will not make all of you into believers but it might just make you want to re-watch the old X-Files again and again.