Unbound I's Review Of "The X-Files: I Want To Believe" (SPOILERS)

I've never been to any of my high school reunions. There isn't a great mystery behind this. It's actually very simple - I couldn't stand 95-98 percent of the people I went to high school with.

During my formative years in high school I grew to strongly dislike small-town minds and attitudes. So when I got the chance to get away from all that, I did so as quickly as I could and I never looked back. Not once since have I wondered what so and so was up to or how was this person or that person who I haven't seen in the 20-some years it's been since I graduated high school.

However, I have occasionally wondered what it would be like to have been a part of a different environment and what it would be like to have a reunion I actually did look forward to. What would it be like to see this person or that person or see this couple who I genuinely liked and enjoyed spending time with? How would that be after so many years apart?

Those thoughts crossed my mind this past week as I prepared to see the long-awaited sequel to the first "X-Files" film. It seems like ages ago since I first reported this film was in development after an interview with a representative from 20th Century Fox. But now, six years after the series came to a bitter, disappointing end, the latest installment in the series titled "The X-Files: I Want To Believe" has been unveiled.

When the first film came out 10 years ago, the show was at its peak of popularity. I was caught up in the excitement of the first big-screen installment. I downloaded everything connected to the film I could find and I was part of the opening night crowd which helped the film take home a tidy $30 million when it premiered.

A decade later, I found myself not having the same sense of excitement toward the sequel. That isn't to say I wasn't looking forward to the film. I was. But that sense of excitement, that thrill of seeing "The X-Files" on the big screen wasn't quite as powerful as it was when the first film came out. Now, a large reason for that was because it had been six years since the show ended. So there wasn't the same sense of excitement going from the end of one season directly to the film. But another was I just had a sense of trepidation I could not shake.

Some of it stemmed from the lack of publicity the film was receiving the past several weeks. That's usually a strong clue the studio believes it doesn't have a hit. And when I watched David Duchovny's appearances on Letterman and Leno in the past week I was struck by how little discussion there was about "The X-Files" or the film itself. It was almost as if Duchovny knew the film wasn't strong and he wanted to avoid talking about it as much as possible.

So when I went to the film Saturday night my expectations were low. Unlike a decade ago, I didn't expect to be dazzled (which I was then). I was merely hoping not to be disappointed. I was hoping for the best but prepared for the worst.

The verdict? Well, it felt like I was at a reunion with two people I really missed but ultimately none of us really had anything very memorable or exciting to say or do. We saw one another, we laughed a bit, smiled a little and it was nice to see two old friends. But then it just kind of ... ended.

That's not to say the film is terrible. It isn't. There were the seeds of a strong X-File in place. Young women are being abducted and a former priest who "buggered 37 altar boys" (as Scully coolly observes) is having visions of the women and their abductions. When one of the women turns out to be a federal agent, the FBI intensify their search and bring in Fox Mulder to help them assist in the case. When we last saw Mulder six years ago, he and Scully were spooning in a Roswell hotel room after he had been broken out of a federal prison after being convicted of murder. The feds have apparently been looking for Mulder ever since but are willing to forgive and forget the trumped-up murder charge if he'll help them with the investigation.

Now I don't mean to nitpick ... oh, who in the hell am I kidding, of course I do ... but I'm wondering just how hard were the feds looking for Mulder? After all, one of their agents found Scully rather easily (probably because she's now working as a doctor using her real name). So if it was that easy to find Scully, couldn't they have just followed her ... well ... to ...

HER HOME?

I'm not sure how to break this to the feds but all they had to do then was ...

WALK INSIDE.

Lo and behold, there's Mulder.

Wow, that was a backbreaking manhunt, fellas.

Seriously, how inept are these guys? Is Doggett running the bureau now?

Anyway, Mulder and Scully are shacking up. Scully's a doctor for a Catholic hospital but no longer refers to herself as a "medical doctor" and Mulder's gone all Ted Kaczynski, wearing a beard and turning his den into a mini version of his office at the FBI, complete with a brand new "I Want To Believe" UFO poster. Or did he track Doggett down and beat the shit out of him for stealing the original one?

Dare to dream.

So Mulder decides to help the Feds while Scully reluctantly tags along. Joined by two new FBI agents (played by Amanda Peet and somebody named Xzibit) the story is now put into motion. The stage has been set for what could have been a glorious return to the big screen for Mulder and Scully.

Instead, the film just kind of moves along. The developments are interesting but never really shocking or frightening. Other than Mulder and Scully, only one member of the series returns (a nice cameo at the end of the film from Skinner) although given how nearly everybody was killed off, that was probably for the best. Mulder's still prone to recklessness in his pursuit of the elusive "truth," Scully's science proves critical in saving the man she loves from being chopped up and sold for 50 cents on the dollar and at the end Scully's faith in herself and her beliefs are restored.

Along the way, Mulder and Scully are allowed to show their age and how their experiences have affected each of them individually and together as a couple. The intelligent way both characters are presented as having been so strongly impacted by their work together is among the strengths of the script. Unfortunately, the X-File which brings them back needed to be stronger and more befitting of the strength of their partnership. But it never reached that level of greatness. 

Series creator Chris Carter directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with Frank Spotnitz. It was their intent to take this film back to the "scary stories" of the show's roots and so there was nary a reference of UFOs save for Mulder's poster and Xzibit's sly joke about how Mulder's sister was "abducted by E.T."

But while the intent was good, the execution often left a lot to be desired. Unlike the first film which was presented in grand fashion, the sequel lacked presence and panache. The first film felt like a BIG X-File which is what a cinematic version of the TV series should have been. This film felt smaller as if Carter the director had no idea how to make the story he was telling and the characters he created feel majestic. Everyone does their best but you could almost sense the actors involved knew this wasn't a grand adventure and so everything was kept to a minimum. The film just felt smaller than it should have and when you're talking about a sequel to one of the most successful TV series of the past two decades, nothing about it should have felt small.

This film should have been big. It should have been glorious. Instead, it was a simple story with Mulder and Scully in it. It was great to see them both again but couldn't they have been asked to do more or be a part of something more special? Couldn't the story have been (to coin a phrase) spookier? Was that really too much to ask?

The best moments came, not surprisingly, between Mulder and Scully. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson still radiate that rare type of chemistry that is so elusive and yet so magical when it can be found. That's readily apparent when projected against the rather bland duo portrayed by Peet and Xzibit. Their partnership was more paint-by-numbers acting whereas Duvhovny and Anderson bring forth something of far greater artistic talent and beauty.

Surprisingly, one of the film's strongest vines was the subplot involving Scully and her care of a dying young boy. Every second of that story was filled with Scully's longing for the son she gave away for adoption in the series' final season. Her pain and loss resonated through her being and Anderson was quite good in projecting both as she brings Scully's torment to the surface.

Color me surprised that after creating and butchering one of the most controversial developments in the series' history (Scully's pregnancy), Carter and Spotnitz actually gave it legitimate meaning to Scully's character for the first time. Instead of being a weak plot device, they effectively showed how the loss of her son enveloped who Scully has become and why she is trying so valiantly to save this young boy. One of the film's strongest themes is atonement, Scully's is as poignant as anything. That's good writing. It's a pity so little of that was on display in the series final two seasons when it came to young William.

But I digress.

What wasn't good writing was the rather surprising decision to have a critical plot development come after the credits. For those who departed early, you missed Scully (clad in a sexy black bikini) and Mulder in a rowboat heading toward an island, attempting to find some peace and tranquility. The two of them were together, hoping to find some light in the sea of darkness that has always surrounded them.

If this is to the final time I see Mulder and Scully, I can't complain about the last image being Gillian Anderson in a bikini. And a black one to boot. Smart is definitely sexy. But smart in a black bikini is off-the-charts sexy.

This brings me to my final point. It has long been Carter and Duchovny's hope that "The X-Files" could become a film series with new Mulder and Scully stories hitting the big screen every few years. Carter and Spotnitz have hoped this second film would be the first step toward making that happen. But with dismal returns of only $10 million projected for the opening weekend, it's possible this film will turn out to be a flop, thus putting a final nail into the coffin of a show and a pair of characters loved by so many for so long.

Hopefully, that won't be the case. Although Mulder and Scully deserved a stronger story, I still enjoyed watching them onscreen together. So I would definitely be enthused about another film occurring should that come to fruition. If it does, Carter has said he'd like to return to the alien mythology which provided the foundation for the series.

But I can't help thinking the image of Mulder and Scully heading toward a tropical island is the last one we'll ever have of the two of them. What this film should have been was a grand spectacle that re-introduced these two dynamic characters. It should have reminded those of us who loved the and show why we loved them so much and provided something magical for new viewers to grasp onto.

Instead, it felt like a nice reunion for those of us who had known them before. Meanwhile, newcomers may have been left wondering what the fuss was all about.