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 | Horror | 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:

English Russian Czech

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 USA:

$10,021,753, 27 July 2008, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$20,981,633, 5 October 2008

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$68,369,434, 29 March 2010

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Duchovny was not a fan of his (fake) beard. He found it itchy and if they were spending a long time on a scene under the hot studio lights, it would start to melt.

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Goofs

When Scully is talking to Father Joe in the hospital after his cancer diagnosis, a shot from behind the Father's shoulder shows his head raised off the pillow. When the shot changes, his head is lying flat on his pillow.

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Quotes

Dana Scully: Listen to me! I need your help!
Agent Mosley Drummy: I'm sorry. I - I can't help you.
Dana Scully: Then let me talk to somebody there with some balls who can.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits contain a dedication to Randy Stone who died from heart disease at age 48 in February 2007. He was head of casting at 20th Century Fox Television, was responsible for casting David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson on The X-Files (1993), and worked in casting throughout the run of the series.

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Alternate Versions

The home video version has behind the scenes photos of the cast and crew over the end credits. The theatrical version did not have these behind the scenes photos.

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Connections

References The X-Files: Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose (1995)

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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.