The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)

Mulder and Scully are called back to duty by the FBI when a former priest claims to be receiving psychic visions pertaining to a kidnapped agent.

Director:

Chris Carter

Writers:

Frank Spotnitz, Chris Carter

Stars:

David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Billy Connolly

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Amanda Peet	...	ASAC Dakota Whitney
Billy Connolly	...	Father Joseph Crissman
Xzibit	...	Agent Mosley Drummy (as Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner)
Mitch Pileggi	...	Walter Skinner
Callum Keith Rennie	...	2nd Abductor - Janke Dacyshyn
Adam Godley	...	Father Ybarra
Alex Diakun	...	Gaunt Man
Nicki Aycox	...	2nd Victim - Cheryl Cunningham
Fagin Woodcock	...	1st Abductor - Franz Tomczeszyn
Marco Niccoli	...	Christian Fearon
Carrie Ruscheinsky	...	Margaret Fearon
Spencer Maybee	...	Blair Fearon
Veronika Hadrava	...	Female Assistant

Storyline

Fox Mulder and Dana Scully both worked at the FBI as partners, a bond between them that led to their becoming lovers. But now they're out of the FBI and have begun new careers. Scully works as a staff physician at a Catholic hospital. Her focus these days is on a young boy with an incurable brain disease. Administration wants to give up on him. Scully, who feels a special bond with the boy, does not. Meanwhile, Mulder's focus is on clipping newspaper articles, throwing pencils into his ceiling and writing about the paranormal. Scully and Mulder are brought together as partners again when a special case requires Mulder's expertise and Scully is prevailed upon to convince him to help. The case involves a pedophile priest who claims he is having psychic visions regarding the whereabouts of a missing FBI agent.

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Plot Keywords:

fbi | psychic vision | psychic | priest | staff physician | 

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Taglines:

Um die Wahrheit zu verstehen, musst du glauben. (To understand the truth, you have to believe.)

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violent and disturbing content and thematic material

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

Czech English Russian

Release Date:

25 July 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

The X Files 2

Filming Locations:

10112 208 St, Langley, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$10,021,753 (USA) (25 July 2008)

Gross:

$20,981,633 (USA) (3 October 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Ten Thirteen Productions, Dune Entertainment III

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 108 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS (uncredited)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chris Carter: sits on a bench outside Scully's office. He is holding an urn containing the ashes of his dog, Frankie, who died during filming.

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Goofs

Scully and Mulder fly in on a helicopter from their house. The rotor is still turning after they land and exit the helicopter, but Scully's and Mulder's hair remain in place. In the next shot, they walking away from the helicopter with the rotor still turning. The rotor wash would blow their hair around.

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Quotes

Fox Mulder: What's up, Doc?

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Crazy Credits

Credits are accompanied by a picture of the person credits, and other behind-the-scenes photos of the cast and crew.

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Connections

Referenced in Think Like a Man (2012)

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Soundtracks

Movin' On Up
(1975)
Written by Jeff Barry and Ja'net DuBois (as Jeannette DuBois)
Performed by Ja'net DuBois (as Ja'Net DuBois)
Courtesy of Sony Pictures Television Inc.
Under license from Sony Pictures Music Group
(in Father Joe's apartment)

User Reviews

I can't point out anything bad, but nothing really stands out.

I think my title says it all. Really, I was entirely entertained the entire way through. I'm not going to give away the story because this film was marketed wonderfully. Going in, thanks to great marketing, you won't (shouldn't) know anything about the plot and this helps create a real sense of mystery. By now you know it has to do something with psychics but you really have no idea.

The writing, just like the show, is pitch perfect. The character development between Mulder and Scully is never off and they even introduce new characters. These characters aren't great (I suppose at times Xibit is kind of annoying) but they work pretty well to move the story along. This film also does something many movies have a hard time doing and thats creating sub plots that don't fall flat. There's a great sub plot involving a boy with a terrible disease, and its emotional and you never don't care about his fate even though it isn't the central focus of the story.

The acting is great. Duchovney and Anderson both flourish as the main characters while newcomers Amanda Peet and Xibit (is he trying to pull a Rock on us and change it to his birth name?) do their job admirably but never steal a scene from the real stars of the film.

I know I have a ton of great things to say about this movie and, yes, I loved it. I'd rank it among the greatest summer films this year (for those wondering Dark Knight and Iron Man both trump this). This is on par with how I felt about The Incredible Hulk, which I also loved. I just can't say that it's great and honestly I'm not sure what it is. Probably that it felt like a really epic episode.

This feels right at home in the series and it's a real relief to say that because it could've been good but not at home within the series.

I give this film a B.