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		    THE X FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE
		    A film review by Ram Samudrala

			   Spoilers ahead.
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/The X Files/, the TV series, reflects a phenomena that points to the
very heart and nature of America: a strong sense of individualism
combined with a deep (and healthy) distrust of authority.  While these
aspects are present only in a minority of the populace, I believe a
large percentage identify with it.  As Chris Carter, the series
creator, said "it goes as far back as the Boston Tea Party in a
sense."  Like in /The Truman Show/, /The X Files/ attempts to show how
most of society are manipulated like puppets by our public servants.

Analysts of the show have said that people relate to it because
conspiracies provide explanations and answers to real world
questions. I personally look at it as warnings about what has happened
or could potentially happen in the real world when you trust authority
(or anyone else---"trust no one" is /The X Files/ watchword) without
questioning it.

While the sinister-paranoid aspect of the TV show is present in the
movie, it is relegated to the background.  Instead what we have is an
intelligent and thought-provoking film with a bit of action.
Intelligent and thought-provoking, I'd add, probably only to fans of
the /The X Files/ show, as it tries mainly to clarify and confirm what
fans have long suspected, and present a coherent picture of The
Conspiracy.

The basic premise for /The X Files: Fight the Future/ is actually the
worst part of the plot: an anonymous caller warns about a bomb in the
FBI building in Dallas.  While FBI agents scour the building, Agent
Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) believes the bomb is in an another
building nearby and, together with Agent Dana Scully (Gillian
Anderson), he investigates and finds the bomb in a vending machine.  As
Scully barks orders to evacuate the building, Special Agent Darius
Michaud (/Millenium's/ Terry O'Quinn) orders Mulder out.  As Mulder
and Scully escape, the building blows up.

An inquiry is held and Mulder and Scully end up being scapegoats for
the loss of property and the five lives instead of being hailed as
heroes for finding the bomb in the first place.  But besides the
presence of agent Michaud, the building was thought to be completely
empty.  This sets a convenient stage for the entrance of Dr. Alvin
Kurtzweil (Martin Laundau), a friend of Mulder's father, who refers to
a conspiracy to hide the truth about the bombing.  He prods Mulder
into investigating the deaths of the other four people.

Mulder and Scully find that the four other people, from North Texas,
were actually killed by an alien virus black ooze that has been
present on the planet since at least 35,000 B.C.  The Elders, powerful
men in various governments across the world, have conspired with this
alien species, and covered up, to remake Earth as a colony for the
aliens, with the humans as the subservient species.  However, when
they learn of the killings in North Texas, they realise that
colonisation is not the goal of the aliens, but rather extermination
of the human species is.

The Elders' hands are tied because they are still in the process of
secretly developing a antidote/vaccine while aiding the aliens in
colonising the earth through the use of bees with virulent stings and
transgenic corn containing the alien DNA (for the first time, a goal
of the Elders/Syndicate is alluded to be a benevolent one).  They also
see Mulder as a threat to them but cannot execute him because that
would make him a martyr.  So they decide to kill someone close to him
and somehow manage to arrange it so Scully is kidnapped after being
stung by one of the bees (which travelled with her all the way from
Texas) carrying the alien virus.

However, the Well-Manicured Man (John Neville), his conscience
bothered by new threat posed by the alien life form to his grand
children, gives a vial of weak antidote/vaccine to Mulder and points
to Scully's location (a vaccine alone would not treat a disease after
it has been acquired).  Mulder travels to Antarctica and finds the
Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis) in charge of an operation
involving a large number of humans infected with the alien virus, one
of whom is Scully. As he administers the antidote/vaccine to Scully,
it contaminates the network of aliens and creates a shutdown of the
process.  Mulder and Scully escape as the aliens awake from their
stasis and the entire "operation", which is really a spaceship, flies
off into the sky.  This is the part of the movie that raises the
biggest question: if the Cigarette Smoking Man is aware of the true
nature of the alien "colonisation", then why does it continue to help
them and why has he not informed the Elders?  If the Elders are
unaware of the existence of the Antarctic space ship, how did the
Well-Manicured Man know?

There are plenty of problems with the plot, many of which can be
rationalised only with the show's /modus operandi/ in mind: Why was
the X Files shut down? (Rationale: all the files were burnt in the
season finale preceding this movie.)  Who called in the bomb threat
and why, if the purpose of the bomb was to destroy the bodies killed
by the alien ooze? (Rationale: Kurtzweil did, since he knew about the
bodies, but his call was deliberately misdirected by Michaud.)  Why
were Scully and Mulder blamed for the bombing when they should have been
thanked for saving lives? (Rationale: the FBI wanted scapegoats and
they received orders from higher up to place the blame on the two
agents so they could be separated.)  How could the child and the
fireman killed by the alien ooze end up in a building allegedly
attacked by terrorists? (Rationale: The Federal Emergency Management
Authority, an arm of the Syndicate with the power to do away with
constitutional rights in the event of a national emergency, took
charge of the bodies by stating that it was the Hanta virus that was
responsible for the deaths.) How could the bee that stung Scully have
chosen that time and place, and how could Mulder's subsequent 911 call
be intercepted knowing that Scully would be stung by a bee?
(Rationale: this indicates the powerful nature of the Syndicate ("who
know Dallas", a reference to the Cigarette Smoking Man's hand in the
killing of John F. Kennedy).)  As Mulder arrives in Antarctica, the
gas gauge in his snowmobile is empty. But yet he makes it back to
civilisation after the alien spaceship takes off; how could this be?
(Rationale: The Lone Gunmen help him out.)  What convinced the FBI to
re-open the X Files in the end? (Rationale: Assistant Director Walter
Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) helped convince the inquiry that it would be
the wisest course of action.)

There are plenty of unanswered issues in relation to series (including
the clones, the aliens with toxic green ooze which change shape, the
chip in the back of Scully's neck responsible for her cancer, Mulder's
sister, the relationship between Cigarette Smoking Man and Mulder, the
enigmatic Krychek, etc.), but I expect time constraints would make it
impossible to address all issues (besides that's what the next seasons
are for). I think a wise choice was made in focusing only on the black
ooze aliens even though it is not entirely consistent with the series
story line.

The main thing the movie provides for fans of the show are constant
references to the show, and the purpose of the Syndicate/the Elders is
finally spelled out explicitly (even though it could've been guessed
from the show).  People who are not fans of /The X Files/ will
probably not consider this movie to be anything spectacular, unless
they have a special interest in science fiction and some tolerance for
unexplained plots.  Such people will not understand the Cigarette
Smoking Man, Skinner's relationship to Mulder and Scully, the Elders,
the Lone Gunmen, and even the significance of the black ooze, the bees
and the transgenic corn. Further the presence of characters like
Michael Kritschgau, a character from past episodes, that even hardcore
fans will have a difficult time rationalising, only obfuscate the
issues for the average viewer.

There is a lot of camp and humour in the movie at least initially
which works well to endear fans and non-fans alike to the movie (a
scene which included the /Independence Day/ poster was a classic). As
the situation gets serious, the humour appropriately disappears, but
it was good to see Scully not looking completely sombre all the time.

The score has its moments.  But yet it is vastly underdeveloped and
under used.  In general, the theme should have been present more
prominently, and variations of the theme should have been used to render
suspense and fill in awkward moments of silence.  The references to
/Star Wars/ and /Alien/ (in the final scenes) I thought were pretty
cool.

I cannot believe I am thinking so much about the show.  I rarely think
much of TV shows, but this is a show that has made me think a lot not
only about philosophical connections to the real world, but also
/about/ the show.  It is true, what some critics have said, that the
movie is just like a long episode, and that there have been better
episodes.  Still, I think /The X Files: Fight the Future/ is /the/
movie of the summer, and is one of the best movies I've seen. I can't
wait to see what they come up with on Season Six.

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