The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)

Director:

Chris Carter

Writers (WGA):

Frank Spotnitz (written by) and
Chris Carter (written by) ...

Release Date:

25 July 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Believe Again

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

FBI | Psychic Vision | Psychic | Priest | Pedophile

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Aug. 2	1:30 PM	HBO
Sun. Aug. 8	5:20 AM	HBO

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

Also Known As:

"The X-Files" - USA (promotional abbreviation)
"The X-Files Movie" - USA (promotional title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

104 min | USA:108 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English | Russian | Czech

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (uncredited)

Certification:

UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | Ireland:15A | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Malaysia:U | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) (Canadian Home Video rating) | Hong Kong:IIB | South Korea:15 | Germany:16 | USA:PG-13 (Approved No. 44443) | Netherlands:16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Sweden:15 | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | Italy:T | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | New Zealand:M | Peru:14 | Austria:14 | Denmark:15 | France:U (with warning) | Brazil:12

Filming Locations:

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Gillian Anderson told The New York Times that it was harder than she expected for her to get back into character as Scully to make this movie after five years had passed since the end of the television show. The Times quoted her as saying, "I walked in thinking, it's going to be like riding a bicycle. It wasn't. It was like riding a [fucking] unicycle. I'd been trying so hard to stretch myself in other roles, and to catch myself when I did anything that remotely resembles Scully, that when I was put back in the ring with her, my brain started misfiring."

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mulder finds the snowplow truck after been pushed off the side of the road and looks inside for the tire iron, the snowplow's roof lights are on, as Mulder walks away from the snowplow in the next shot, the roof lights are off.

Quotes:

Margaret Fearon:If you were a mother, Dr. Scully, you would understand.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "20 to 1: TV Couples (#8.11)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Memories Child

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.