The X Files: I Want to Believe

Sometimes the best intentions yield utter mediocrity. That's The X Files: I Want to Believe's crippling factor. Picking up the plot threads of the long-dormant and frequently convoluted TV series would've been a daunting task, so Carter and co-writer/key mythology builder Frank Spotnitz abandoned the core story of the series altogether in favour of a deeply personal love story about faith disguised as a slightly paranormal crime thriller. After an F.B.I. agent is kidnapped and a disturbed priest claims to have psychic visions connected to her case, investigating agent Dakota Whitney calls in Mulder to sniff out the authenticity of father Joseph's visions. Scully is ever the resistant sceptic, attempting to distance herself from the investigation but is drawn to Joseph's faith even as she abhors him for his past. Scully's side-plot revolves around her resolve to save a young patient at the Catholic hospital she works at utilizing stem cell research. It's her classic inner conflict: attempting to reconcile her faith with scientific logic. The dialogue is largely devoid of the witty banter that made the best moments of the X Files cook. Without that humour, or a story with any amount of mystery or intrigue, all that's left is a serviceable thriller that would have been better suited as mid-season filler or at least a post-series TV special. The two discs of special features make the lacklustre accomplishment of the film even more disappointing. It appears everyone involved, especially Carter and Duchoveny, were really passionate about the project, as revealed in a disc-long "Making-Of" and commentary track with Carter and Spotnitz. The deleted scenes were excised for a reason, the extended footage was unnoticeable and there is a random anti-smoking PSA and an equally unnecessary Xzibit song set to a photomontage. On the positive side, there's a cool SFX feature, a great speech by Carter on the "Green" initiatives taken during the production and a gag reel that's way more entertaining than the movie and will satisfy the urge of any fan who's always wanted to hear Gillian Anderson shout that she needs "A four-inch, 18-gauge... fuck!" At least it looked like the film was a lot more fun to make than it was to watch.