The X Files: I Want to Believe 2008

This week I will be reviewing the second X Files film. This film was made six years after the end of the popular television series. It sees the return of Mulder and Scully and where they are in their lives now. It also sees the return of AD Skinner in a brief cameo. This film has a smaller budget than the first film but I think it a much more intimate piece as it focuses on Mulder and Scully's relationship. It also co-stars Billy Connolly who plays a less than pleasant character in the form of Father Joe who may or may not have physic connection to the case. The film begins with the disappearance of an FBI agent from her home and later a severed arm is found in the snow.

The FBI ask Scully who is now a doctor to find Fox Mulder as they need his help in order to find the missing agent in time. In the six years since the show ended we last saw the two characters on the run from the FBI, Mulder is now a recluse who has grown a beard and spends his days cutting out newspaper articles about the paranormal and throwing pencils up on the ceiling when he is bored. Mulder is reluctant to join the investigation even though the FBI says it will drop all charges against him. He soon joins the case as it stirs up old memories of his own sisters disappearance. This film captures the atmosphere of the snow covered Vancouver (although the film is set in West Virginia). The acting is top class from David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson and from Billy Connolly who plays against type here. There are several inside jokes to the TV series which will appeal to fans of the show. That doesn't mean you have to be a fan of the series in order to enjoy this film. The score by Mark Snow is eerie and I think the snow covered landscape is beautiful. Even though some fans didn't like the film I think its great, I think it was smart that the writers did not involve the alien conspiracy story line from the show as this would have confused people as it has been of the air for six years. Bring on X Files 3. I give this film 9/10. Next week I will be reviewing The Silence of the Lambs 1991.