Subject: Review: X-Files (1998)

From: [email-masked] (Michael Redman)
Date: 10 Jul 1998 03:55:55 GMT

The X-Files
A Film Review By Michael Redman
Copyright 1998 By Michael Redman

*** (Out of ****)

Is there anyone left who trusts what the government tells them? As we prepare
to exit the 20th Century, we live in a nation of people who believe that there
is a conspiracy behind every door. What has Bill Clinton really done? Where
did AIDS actually come from? Did we fight the last few wars for the oil
industry? Is everything going to collapse on January 1, 2000? And then there's
always that lone gunman thing.

Why do we think that there's a hidden truth behind the public statements? 
Millennium Fever has something to do with it. That we no longer have the
Soviet Union as the Evil Empire to blame everything on and have turned on
ourselves factors into it. Of course the fact that we've found out that our
government makes a habit of lying to us doesn't help matters.

It's no wonder that one of the most popular television series is one that
plays into the belief that we can never know what is going on around us.
Mulder and Scully are stand-ins for us as they attempt to get at the truth
each week. And it's as we fear: the truth is out there but it's unknowable,
wrapped in plots within plots within plots.

At the end of last season, the FBI unit devoted to investigating the
unexplainable had been closed down. Without the X-Files, Fox Mulder (David
Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are sentenced to solving mundane
crimes. The film picks up shortly afterwards as they fail to prevent an
Oklahoma City-like bombing. In the process of analyzing the situation, they
discover clues that lead them back on the alien invasion conspiracy trail.

It's almost impossible to talk about what happens during the film without
giving away too much. It's safe to say that somewhere between 35,000 BC north
Texas and 1998 Antarctica we do find out whether there are aliens and who's
behind the conspiracy. Unless it's all another red herring.

There are two very different audiences for the film: the 20 million fans who
follow the series and movie-goers who aren't familiar with it. "X-Files" big
daddy Chris Carter (writer, producer, creator) has stated that he wants the
movie to satisfy both. In some ways he has succeeded, however it falls a bit
short for either.

I can't imagine someone who hasn't watched the television show understanding
some of the scenes. The Cigarette-Smoking Man (William Davis) is probably a
mystery to them. (The conspiracies are so deep that many of the characters
don't even have names, but are referred to as the [Something-Something]-Man.)
The three conspiracy buffs have a walk-on that will make fans smile, but
others will be puzzled. Mulder and Scully's relationship makes sense to the
novice, but is much more interesting to those that know their history.

On the other hand, aficionados have to sit through a few scenes that they
already know by heart. Major characters have bit parts because there are too
many of them to explain to the newbies. Others are left out entirely.

So what is this exactly? It's a two-hour between-the-seasons episode with a
big budget. It doesn't tell us everything that we want to know, but there are
some major revelations. It changes the relationship between the two agents.
Not only are there more hints that they may be heading towards more than just
friendship, but now one of them knows that the other was right all along.

If there's a problem with the movie for devotees, it's that there's not
enough amazement. It's a good episode, but not a remarkable one. While it's
fun to watch, you won't leave the theater feeling much differently than you
did on Sundays at 10:00 when the weekly shows were over.

There are many unanswered questions. Why are the members of the conspiracy
involved in what they are doing? What do they have to gain? What do the corn
fields have to do with anything? Why do Texans react complacently when a
biohazard containment operation sets up camp next door?

Although the "X-Files" takes advantage of our national paranoia, I find it
difficult to believe that everything is a conspiracy. In my experience it's
difficult to keep a secret if more than one person knows about it.

(This Michael Redman is the same person who started writing this column 23
years ago. That's his story and he's sticking to it. Send your favorite
conspiracy to [email-masked]. We won't tell anyone.)

[This appeared in the 6/24/98 "Bloomington Voice", Bloomington, Indiana.
Michael Redman can be contacted at [email-masked]]
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