The X Files (1998)

Mulder and Scully must fight the government in a conspiracy and find the truth about an alien colonization of Earth.

Director:

Rob Bowman

Writers:

Chris Carter (story), Frank Spotnitz (story),

Stars:

David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, John Neville

3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Duchovny	...	Special Agent Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Special Agent Dana Scully
John Neville	...	The Well-Manicured Man
William B. Davis	...	Cigarette Smoking Man / CGB Spender
Martin Landau	...	Alvin Kurtzweil, MD
Mitch Pileggi	...	Assistant Director Walter Skinner
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Ben Bronschweig, M.D. (as Jeffrey De Munn)
Blythe Danner	...	Jana Cassidy
Terry O'Quinn	...	Darius Michaud
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Conrad Strughold
Lucas Black	...	Stevie
Christopher Fennell	...	Boy #2 (as Chris Fennell)
Cody Newton	...	Boy #3
Blake Stokes	...	Boy #4
Dean Haglund	...	Richard 'Ringo' Langly

Storyline

With problems appearing between FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, a dangerous conspiracy is starting to appear. A deadly virus, which appears to be of extraterrestrial origin has appeared, which could destroy all life on Earth. With the help of a paranoid doctor, Alvin Kurtzweil, Mulder and Scully must act fast in order to save everyone on the planet.

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Plot Keywords:

agent | fbi | texas | government | bomb | 

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Taglines:

Discover the past, live the present, fight the future.

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Genres:

Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some intense violence and gore

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 June 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blackwood

Filming Locations:

380 South San Rafael Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$66,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,506,148 (UK) (21 August 1998)

Gross:

$83,892,374 (USA) (9 October 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Ten Thirteen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The newspaper article Mulder reads at the end of the film (titled "Fatal Hanta Virus Outbreak in Northern Texas Reported Contained") was written by reporter Howard Dimsdale. The real Howard Dimsdale taught X-Files writers Frank Spotnitz and John Shiban at the American Film Institute, and was blacklisted during the McCarthy era, when he wrote under the name Arthur Dales, which was used as a name for the characters played in the series by Darren McGavin, M. Emmet Walsh and Fredric Lehne.

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Goofs

It would be almost impossible to go to the interior of the Antarctic continent in July (middle of the winter) due to extremely bad weather. Barring extreme medical emergencies, no U.S. flights land on the continent between April and October.

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Quotes

Special Agent Fox Mulder: After all you've seen, you can just walk away?
Special Agent Dana Scully: I have. I did. It's done.

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Connections

Referenced in Dead Man's Dream (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Red Right Hand"
Nick Cave

User Reviews

Not just for X-Files followers.

To start off with, I do not watch the TV show, so I'm coming from a place of ignorance when it comes to The X-Files: Fight the Future. However, even without knowing anything about the characters or story lines, I found that I enjoyed this movie a lot, and will probably now start watching the shows reruns.

The movie starts off tens of thousands of years in the past, where an alien life form is roaming in underground caves. Fast forward to the present, and that same life form is unearthed by some kids in Texas. No one knows what killed this boy, and the firemen sent down to save him. Or maybe, someone does know. Enter Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). A seemlingly unconnected terrorist bombing is linked with the mysterious deaths in Texas, and lead Mulder and Scully all over the world to figure out this global conspiracy. Who knows about this alien life form? And why are they trying so hard to keep it a secret?

From what I've been told, a lot of the regulars on the TV show make an appearance in the movie. But as I said earlier, even without knowing who these people are, the movie itself is good enough to stand on its own. What I found I liked the most, and the reason I'll start watching the show, is the interaction between Duchovny and Anderson. After 5 years together, these two work perfectly as a team. They know each other so well; you feel the chemistry and tension between them. The supporting cast was strong, and I liked the idea that an entire alien race is being hidden from the world by a bunch of old white men. The story itself, while again from what I hear doesn't really conclude any plot points from the show, nor start any new ones, manages to stand by itself. The scenery was terrific, especially the opening sequence in the underground caves. What I was disappointed with was it seemed as if Duchovny was in the movie a lot more than Anderson. It was as if he was the star of the film, and she was a supporting member. The story seemed to revolve around him, and she was there to play off of. I wish that Chris Carter (the series writer and creator, and screenwriter for this film) would have made her more of an equal. The other problem I had was that while the plot was good, at times it wasn't explained as much as it could have been. The reason for the cover-up wasn't made as clear as it could have been, at least in my mind.

Whether you're a fan or not, The X-Files: Fight the Future is a good way to spend a couple hours in a nice air conditioned environment.