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IMDbPro

The X Files: I Want to Believe

  • 20082008
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
91K
YOUR RATING
The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
  • Crime
  • Drama
  • Horror
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.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.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.
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
91K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Chris Carter
  • Writers
    • Frank Spotnitz
    • Chris Carter(television series "The X-Files")
  • Stars
    • David Duchovny
    • Gillian Anderson
    • Billy Connolly
Top credits
  • Director
    • Chris Carter
  • Writers
    • Frank Spotnitz
    • Chris Carter(television series "The X-Files")
  • Stars
    • David Duchovny
    • Gillian Anderson
    • Billy Connolly
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 521User reviews
    • 264Critic reviews
    • 47Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos5

    The X-Files: I Want to Believe -- Trailer #2
    Trailer 1:51
    The X-Files: I Want to Believe -- Trailer #2
    The X-Files: I Want to Believe -- Trailer #1
    Trailer 1:38
    The X-Files: I Want to Believe -- Trailer #1
    The X-Files: I Want To Believe
    Interview 0:23
    The X-Files: I Want To Believe
    The X-Files: I Want To Believe
    Interview 0:27
    The X-Files: I Want To Believe
    The X-Files: I Want To Believe
    Interview 0:27
    The X-Files: I Want To Believe

    Photos91

    Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny in The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
    Gillian Anderson in The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
    Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny in The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
    Billy Connolly in The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
    Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny in The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
    David Duchovny in The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
    David Duchovny and Xzibit in The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
    David Duchovny, Amanda Peet, and Xzibit in The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
    Chris Carter in The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
    Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny, and Chris Carter in The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
    David Duchovny in The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
    Gillian Anderson in The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)

    Top cast

    Edit
    David Duchovny
    David Duchovny
    • Fox Mulderas Fox Mulder
    Gillian Anderson
    Gillian Anderson
    • Dana Scullyas Dana Scully
    Billy Connolly
    Billy Connolly
    • Father Joseph Crissmanas Father Joseph Crissman
    Amanda Peet
    Amanda Peet
    • ASAC Dakota Whitneyas ASAC Dakota Whitney
    Xzibit
    Xzibit
    • Agent Mosley Drummyas Agent Mosley Drummy
    • (as Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner)
    Mitch Pileggi
    Mitch Pileggi
    • Walter Skinneras Walter Skinner
    Callum Keith Rennie
    Callum Keith Rennie
    • 2nd Abductor - Janke Dacyshynas 2nd Abductor - Janke Dacyshyn
    Adam Godley
    Adam Godley
    • Father Ybarraas Father Ybarra
    Alex Diakun
    Alex Diakun
    • Gaunt Manas Gaunt Man
    Nicki Aycox
    Nicki Aycox
    • 2nd Victim - Cheryl Cunninghamas 2nd Victim - Cheryl Cunningham
    Fagin Woodcock
    • 1st Abductor - Franz Tomczeszynas 1st Abductor - Franz Tomczeszyn
    Marco Niccoli
    • Christian Fearonas Christian Fearon
    Carrie Ruscheinsky
    Carrie Ruscheinsky
    • Margaret Fearonas Margaret Fearon
    Spencer Maybee
    • Blair Fearonas Blair Fearon
    Veronika Hadrava
    Veronika Hadrava
    • Female Assistantas Female Assistant
    Denis Krasnogolov
    Denis Krasnogolov
    • Male Assistantas Male Assistant
    Patrick Keating
    Patrick Keating
    • Slight Manas Slight Man
    Roger Horchow
    • Elderly Gentas Elderly Gent
    • Director
      • Chris Carter
    • Writers
      • Frank Spotnitz
      • Chris Carter(television series "The X-Files")
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    The X-Files: Re-Opened
    The X Files - Fight the Future: Blooper Reel
    7.7
    The X Files - Fight the Future: Blooper Reel
    The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Gag Reel
    7.7
    The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Gag Reel
    The Lone Gunmen
    7.4
    The Lone Gunmen
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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Vanessa Morley: When Fox Mulder and Dana Scully first walk back into the F.B.I. offices right before they walk into the bullpen, a female agent walks by that catches Mulder's attention and he watches her walk away. The woman is the actress who throughout The X-Files (1993) played the young Samantha Mulder, and is the same Samantha in the photo Mulder has taped to the back of his home office door.
    • Goofs
      In the film, they refer to the Richmond "DA" who appears later. Virginia has no District Attorneys; prosecutors are Commonwealth's Attorneys.
    • Quotes

      Fox Mulder: What's up, Doc?

    • Crazy credits
      The end credits run over images of ice, water and land, and finally we see Mulder and Scully in a small row boat off of a tropical beach. Scully is in a bikini, Mulder is in swim trunks and rowing toward a small island. They wave to the camera above as it pulls back and fades to black.
    • 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.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Mamma Mia!/Transsiberian/The Dark Knight/Space Chimps/Tell No One (2008)
    • 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 reviews521

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    A Nutshell Review: The X=Files: I Want to Believe
    It's not hard to imagine how time flies, when you realize that one of your best loved television series of all time had already ended its run, and you reminisce the times back when one of your weekend nights revolved around sitting in a bunk with your army mates, all glued to what Chris Carter had conjured as adventures for the two best known goggle box FBI agents, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). While we always needed to crank up the volume to try and make sense of the murmurs involving shadow governments and secret conspiracies, our favourite episodes almost unanimously were those one-off ones, so called the "monster" episodes.

    And it's been 6 years since The End, and 10 years since the first X-Files movie hit the screen. While that movie was intricately linked to the major conspiracy thread, this movie, as the trailer led us to believe, was a one-off monster episode, or so I thought. While it's indeed a one-off episode, it's no monster of an episode in the mould of those in the television series, though it really felt like an extended, stand alone episode which gave us a slightly more in depth look at the dynamics of our beloved duo, especially what happened to them in the last few years they went off the FBI radar. But as the saying goes, you can't put a good man, and a lady, down for too long.

    This is a story about obsession. As we all know, Mulder's obsessed with everything X- classifiable, and in the years of absence, here comes an opportunity for a breath of fresh air when Agent Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) comes knocking to seek his expertise, as the FBI now has a case on their hands and a psychic, convicted pedophile of a Catholic Father Joseph Crissman (Billy Connolly) who volunteers key information to help in that case. The FBI isn't sure if Father Crissman is a liar, or worse, connected to the crime, and hence Mulder's help is to be their lie-detector. Naturally with religion and her usual cynicism in the mix, Scully is disgusted by the sheer presence of the religious felon, and thus set the stage for some conflict with her beau.

    Like an old, quarreling couple who can't seem to give way to each other, their philosophies clash as their interests - Scully battling the hospital system to save her young chronically ill patient - differ, and threaten to pull the couple apart. He thinks that she's not being supportive of his venturing into an X-case even though they're now civilians, while she thinks he's latching onto Father Crissman to use his prowess, if proved true, to find Samantha Fox. Which I thought would probably make an excellent sub plot, but alas the potential was dangled like a carrot in front of us, and then went totally off tangent.

    Don't expect any big sets or intricate subplots here, as it really looked like it's done on a shoestring budget, with the look and feel of a typical classic television episode, a two-parter in fact. There are strange aberrations of course, but all these go unexplained, and you know they're just going to be glossed over since everything will be wrapped up by the time the end credits roll. However, there are adequate moments to keep you at the edge of your seat, and some developments do enough to leave your mouth gaping wide open, especially those involving extreme medicine.

    David Duchovny does look more comfortable reprising his role as Mulder, but Gillian Anderson, as interviews have revealed, required a lot more time trying to get back into character, and this uneasiness unfortunately shows on screen. The chemistry's still not lacking, but given that their respective characters have aged and grown more comfortable with one another, gone are the tensions between them, though the problems that surface here did try to rekindle some of the opposition they felt during the course of their long running series.

    Chris Carter and X-Files regular scribe Frank Spotnitz did incorporate a nice surprise in the movie, so do keep your eyes peeled as you will silently cheer when it happens. But I thought what was a ghastly way to bid farewell, was the little coda toward the end of the credit roll, which somewhat signals the finale of everything, though in a very out of place manner. Anyhow, this X-Files movie episode isn't going to win any new fans over, but for X-philes, I'd bet we're probably just satisfied already with our heroes appearing in celluloid one more time, that no matter how wafer thin the plot is, it's not going to dampen our collective fan spirit.

    And to thank our lucky stars that Mark Snow's iconic theme song, didn't get played in the movie under the horrific techno rendition.
    helpful•180
    104
    • DICK STEEL
    • Jul 24, 2008

    FAQ8

    • What is 'The X-Files: I Want to Believe' about?
    • Is this movie inspired by real-life paranormal activity like in the TV series?
    • Does this movie follow the "X-Files" alien conspiracy (mythology) storyline?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 25, 2008 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Canada
    • Languages
      • English
      • Russian
      • Czech
    • Also known as
      • The X Files 2
    • Filming locations
      • Capilano University, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Twentieth Century Fox
      • Ten Thirteen Productions
      • Dune Entertainment III
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $30,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $20,982,478
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $10,021,753
      • Jul 27, 2008
    • Gross worldwide
      • $69,363,381
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 44 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1
      • 2.39 : 1

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