

THE X-FILES (1998)

Starring: David Duchovny (Fox Mulder), Gillian Anderson (Dana Scully),
William B. Davis (The Cigarette-Smoking Man), Martin Landau (Dr. Alvin
Kurtzweil), Jeffrey DeMunn (Dr. Ben Bronschweig), John Neville (The
Well-Manicured Man), Mitch Pileggi (Walter Skinner)

Directed by: Rob Bowman, Written by: Chris Carter from a story by Chris
Carter and Frank Spotnitz

Rated PG-13 by the MPAA for violence, gore, and profanity

Reviewed by Doug Skiles

The truth is out there.

So, um, what's the truth?  Well, if you mean you want the truth about
what the new X-FILES movie is titled, I can't really help you.  The
movie titles only said THE X-FILES.  The advertisements all seem to say
THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE.  Well, take it either way.  I think it's
just THE X-FILES, but, well, I don't really know.

Oh, did you want the truth about the movie?  As in, is it any good? 
Well, I'm not the biggest expert in this area.  You see, I've only seen
maybe 4 episodes of the television series, give or take one or two.  So
I'm not a big X-Phile.  So it's safe to say that it's quite reassuring
that I can say - Yes.  It's good.  It's very good.  It's great, in
fact.  The first true RIDE of the summer is here, and you'll be kicking
yourself if you don't strap in to this one while it's in theaters - some
of the images just won't translate as well onto a TV screen.  If you
haven't seen the film yet, get up and go NOW.

Wait, not now.  You might want to read this review first.  Of course,
that's really up to you, but still, you might want to.  Don't worry, I
won't spoil anything.  I make a point to only talk about maybe five
minutes of the film and then leave the lesser-known details to you.

Okay, citizens.  THE X-FILES opens up with us seeing a freaky beast
attack ancient humans in the B.C. caveman ages.  The beast remains in
shadows so that we're not quite sure what it is.  Cut to the present
day.  We see a mysterious black ooze (I think fans of the tv series will
recognize this, or so I'm told) inhabit a little boy who goes to the
same spot where the cavemen were attacked so long ago.  Is there a
connection?  Does Bea Arthur look hideous naked?  And from there, we cut
to our heroes, FBI Agents Mulder and Scully.  Previously, they worked on
the mysterious X-Files, files found in the darker rooms of the FBI's
hallways, files which detail cases too strange to be explained by
rational thought and logical explanation.  Cases that seem to deal with
the supernatural, or the extraterrestrial... or both.  But that's
ridiculous.  Well, Scully thinks it's ridiculous.  Mulder believes all
of it.  Anyway, the files have since been shut down after Mulder pushed
his beliefs a little too far and annoyed the wrong people.  Now he and
Scully are still a team, but they're a team of ordinary FBI agents,
dealing with less interesting things, like terrorist threats.  Yeah,
that's a big yawn, huh Mulder?

Of course, when something goes wrong in their new line of duty, the FBI
looks for someone to blame for the foul-up, and even though it wasn't
their fault, Mulder and Scully were there, and they're first in line to
have the whole thing put on their heads.  Now they're going to try to
clear their names, and along the way, they're going to learn a lot more
about the mysterious conspiracy that's being run behind the scenes
worldwide, to hide the real truth about just the kinds of things that
Mulder and Scully used to investigate in the X-Files division.  Of
course, they can't learn everything - there's plenty more episodes of
the series to be had, and future movies to be made.

The performances are all acted by people who've handled these roles for
years on the tv show (with the exception of Martin Landau playing a new
character - and he's never bad, so of course that's just another good
point).  And since they've had to time to develop the roles, they make
us feel like we're watching developed, layered characters even if we
don't watch the show much, or at all.  We really care about Mulder and
Scully - they actually have deep personalities, which is truly something
to be appreciated, especially in today's film world.  The action scenes
are infrequent, but tense, and solid.  Really though, this story is
driven by plot and dialogue.  It's a winding plot that you have to pay
attention to, especially if you're not a series afficianado, but trust
me, it's worth it.  Some of the scenes are awe-inspiring, and the scope
of some visuals, particularly towards the end, make you truly appreciate
that this was made into a movie as opposed to just another episode of
the show.  The plot winds around and around but always holds your
interest, thanks in part to great performances and in part to great
writing that takes the time to give us characterizations of the people
we're watching instead of just putting them through the paces.  The
effects, when they show up, are also great.  Seems like this movie works
even for those who don't watch the show, and I also find it very hard to
believe that those who do watch would be let down by this.

If there's a flaw to this, it's that the villians aren't quite clearly
explained enough.  We understand their motives, but how did they come to
reach these motives?  There had to be some kind of communication that we
didn't learn about.  I know, I know, I'm keeping this pretty vague.  But
I can assure you, I'm not digging too deep here, this is actually a
question you need to ask yourself, and in the end, it's never quite
answered.  Maybe series fans know more on this subject.  Though really,
in such an otherwise great movie, why should I gripe about this?

I can't elaborate too much on things that were great because I wouldn't
dare reveal the plot.  You have to go and see it for yourself.  And
you'd better.  The summer has had some letdowns, and some fun, but so
far, this is the best ride out there, and it's a damn good ride that
could hold its own in any summer... or any season of any year, for that
matter.  One wonders if Chris Carter, the show's creator, can continue
to make X-FILES films that can stand alone as their own series and still
make them interesting and relevant to the viewers at home.  But there's
no need to worry about this now.  Now, all you have to do is go see THE

Rating: ***1/2

"Trust no one, Mr. Mulder."