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 (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) worked at the F.B.I. as partners, a bond between them that led to them becoming lovers. But now they're out of the F.B.I. 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 F.B.I. Agent.

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Plot Keywords:

x files | fbi federal bureau of investigation | psychic vision | psychic | priest | 

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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:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz settled on the subtitle "I Want to Believe" really quickly into the writing stage, as it was a natural phrase with deep resonance for all X-Files fans. (It's written on a poster that hung on The X-Files office wall for the duration of the series.)

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Goofs

When Dacyshyn and the surgeon speak Russian, they switch between the familiar you (ty) and formal you (vy). Russians would never do that.

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Quotes

Dana Scully: What are you doing?
Fox Mulder: I'm trying to ignore you.

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Crazy Credits

During the opening when the 20th Century Fox logo comes on and fades away, the X in "FOX" lingers a little longer and is the last letter to fade off.

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Alternate Versions

The DVD release includes a "Director's Cut" of the film, which runs about 4 minutes longer. According to David Duchovny, this version includes some more graphic / disturbing scenes that Chris Carter did not use in order to avoid an R-Rating.

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Connections

Referenced in Chris Stuckmann Movie Reviews: 500th Video - Blu-Ray Collection!! (2013)

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Soundtracks

Ooh La La
Written by Deborah Poppink and Amy Roegler
Performed by Deborah Poppink
Courtesy of Deborah Poppink, by arrangement with Bug
(can be heard in Monica Bannan's car)

User Reviews

Better than your average MOTW...

The Good: - Duchovny, Anderson, and Connelly all deliver excellent performances. Mulder and Scully are still fun to watch. - The atmosphere of the show is very much kept intact. - The surprise appearance of a series regular is a great addition to the finale of the movie. - The Scully Subplot was done very well. - The few action sequences are well done. - It explains what happened to Mulder and Scully.

The Bad: - Xzibit's character is as one dimensional as a piece of paper. - The plot is very weak due to it being incredibly simplistic. - It's slow pace will turn off many. - It feels made for T.V, almost exactly like an episode from season 7. They should've made it a 2 hour special on T.V instead. - It's way more of a Drama film than a Sci Fi thriller, which is misleading since the previews showed otherwise.

Overall: I had mixed thoughts when leaving the theater. Though it was slightly disappointing and underwhelming, it was still a good movie, especially for X Files fans. Duchovny and Anderson have not lost a step and deserve either another season to close up the series or another movie. I'm leaning more towards the former, as the movies have illustrated that Carter excels far more in a T.V environment.

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English Russian Czech

Release Date:

25 July 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

The X Files 2

Filming Locations:

605 West Pender Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 1W7, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,021,753, 27 July 2008

Gross USA:

$20,982,478

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$69,363,381

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Ten Thirteen Productions, Dune Entertainment III

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 108 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS (uncredited) SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1