From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Jun 29 10:55:46 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lejonet.se!newsfeed5.telia.com!masternews.telia.net!news-nyc.telia.net!howland.erols.net!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: Scott Renshaw Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: The X Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 29 Jun 1998 04:11:17 GMT Organization: None Lines: 92 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6n7455$jg0$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer13.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899093477 19968 (None) 140.142.64.7 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #12979 Keywords: author=renshaw X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer13.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12184 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1953 THE X FILES (20th Century Fox) Starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, John Neville, William B. Davis, Mitch Pileggi, Blythe Danner. Screenplay: Chris Carter. Producers: Chris Carter and Daniel Sackheim. Director: Rob Bowman. MPAA Rating: PG-13 (violence, adult themes, profanity) Running Time: 115 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. Two key questions surrounded the big-screen incarnation of THE X FILES, one applicable to each of the film's two potential audiences. For devoted fans of the television series -- and "devoted" doesn't do justice to the fervor of X-Philes -- the question was whether the film would reveal too much of the government/alien conspiracy FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) have battled for five years, laying bare the "mythology" at the heart of the show. For those unfamiliar with the series, the question was whether the uninitiated could follow a labyrinthine plot even die-hard fans don't entirely understand. Chris Carter, the series' guru and the film's writer/producer, faced a delicate situation: he stood to alienate absolutely everybody. In retrospect, it's hard to believe the first question was ever a question at all. After all, how many revelations could you expect in a film where even the title was a source of conflicting information -- was it THE X FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE? THE X FILES MOVIE? Just plain THE X FILES (for the record, the only title that appears on screen)? Yes, the story does launch from this year's season finale, placing Mulder and Scully on a relatively mundane detail after the FBI shut down Mulder's paranormal-focused project "The X-Files." Yes, it does reveal the nature of a mysterious "black cancer" featured in several episodes. Yes, it does expand on the involvement of the Well-Manicured Man (John Neville) and the Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis) in some dark plan involving alien visitors. And yes, it does give Mulder and Scully a bit of quality personal time together. But does it throw open every door and tie up every loose end? Please...you'd be more likely to find the Cigarette-Smoking Man chomping away on Nicorette gum. THE X FILES is not, repeat, _not_ the Place Wherein All Things Shall Be Made Known Unto Thee. Essentially it's a two-hour long episode of the series with amped-up production values, taking our cell-phone wielding protagonists from North Texas to the Mexican border to Antarctica on a quest for the truth that is out there. Yet there's something strange about moving the show's moody claustrophobia to the big screen. Cinematographer Ward Russell maintains the high quality which has long made "The X-Files" one of the best-looking shows on television, but the problem is less one of style than it is one of scale. Blown up larger than life, the conspirators seem less sinister, the situations less sublimely creepy. The atmosphere may leave some fans wondering who took their Mulder and Scully and dropped them into a summer action blockbuster. Which brings us to question number two: how does THE X FILES play if you've never seen Mulder and Scully before in your life? Quite simply, it's an sharp suspense thriller which sets up the characters and situations with impressive effectiveness and economy. Director Rob Bowman complements the necessary exposition with energetic, visually arresting set pieces, creating a visceral entertainment as satisfying as anything else you'll find in a multiplex. Though "X-Files" novices may be left behind with references to the Lone Gunmen and Mulder's notoriously deadpan demeanor, it doesn't take familiarity with the series to get a charge out of the well-paced chases, or a chuckle out of Mulder using a poster from a certain 1996 blockbuster as an impromptu urinal. It's important for those viewers to know that they can have a perfectly enjoyable time with THE X FILES and still not understand exactly what's going on after the film has ended. In fact, THE X FILES may work best as a cunning lure, drawing potential new viewers into the fold with a final shot that might as well have included a "To Be Continued..." caption. Regular viewers, on the other hand, have seen better stories with these characters. Maybe that should have been the real first question: how do you make a unique film event from a series where the quality already regularly surpasses most theatrical films? The truth is only partially out there in THE X FILES, and the truth is that X-Philes with high expectations may be much harder to please than the average summer movie-goer. On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 secretive agents: 7. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit Scott Renshaw's MoviePage http://www.inconnect.com/~renshaw/ *** Subscribe to receive new reviews directly by email! See the MoviePage for details, or reply to this message with subject line "Subscribe". -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Jun 29 10:55:50 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!135.173.83.24!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: "Harvey S. Karten" Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 29 Jun 1998 04:28:08 GMT Organization: None Lines: 114 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6n754o$rjq$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer24.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899094488 28282 (None) 140.142.64.7 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #12982 Keywords: author=karten X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer24.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12161 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1948 THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE By Harvey Karten, Ph.D. 20 Century Fox/ Ten Thirteen Production Director: Rob Bowman Writer: Chris Carter Cast: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, John Neville, Mitch Pileggi, William B. Davis, Blythe Danner, Armin Mueller-Stahl I had never seen an episode of the super successful "The advantage--sort of like the guy who goes to "The Truman Show" before seeing a trailer or commercial and is as much in the dark as the title character. I did, however, zip through one of the sci-fi novels based on the series, written by Kevin J. Anderson, "The X-Files: Ground Zero," enough to know that an X-file is an FBI document which details a strange incident, one which the FBI does not really want solved. "Ground Zero" is about a nuclear weapons researcher who is burned to a cinder when he opens a special delivery package with a Honolulu postmark and finds a box of mysterious black powder inside. How dumb can a brilliant scientist be to open a box which does not have clearance and gets through a high-security zone? The scientists in the movie "The X-Files: Fight the Future," are not so dumb at all: in fact they are using the information they have for a global conspiracy to gain emergency powers not enjoyed by any U.S. president since the lesser-known Truman. In doing so, however, they become part of a plot that is ever more complicated than the supernatural--but quite accessible-- "Ground Zero." Though "The X-Files" has already enjoyed a five-year run on TV where it rose to the number one spot in Canada, there is a place for a yet another version: on the big screen. Given the high-tech accoutrements and the exotic, James-Bond-like locations, the story can exploit its advantages , particularly since "The X-Files: Fight the Future" hops the globe from Washington to Bethesda, from England to Antarctica, from Tunisia to Dallas. The focus of this and all other X-files narratives is on two FBI agents, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and his partner, Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). The two agents have (pardon the oxymoron) a platonic chemistry, willing to do anything to continue working together but never developing an intimate relationship. At one point, though, Chris Carter--who created the eminent TV series on September 10, 1993 and who has written the screenplay--puts a romantic spark into the team who are about to kiss (to the disbelieving gasps of the audience) when a busy-bee schedule prompts them to drop this bit of whimsy. Regulars to the series know that the two are distinct opposites in one way: Mulder, having once witnessed the abduction of his sisters by extraterrestrials, believes in supernatural answers to unexplained incidents; Scully, who gave up a medical practice for the more exciting career of special agent, is a strict rationalist who subjects every such occurrence to the demands of science. The film opens in northern Texas in 35,000 B.C. as a couple of fire-bearing aborigines who don't look at all like Native Americans explore a cave only to find that they have activated a deadly, long-buried force. Since the state did not have capital punishment to threaten criminals at the time, a couple of murders result. Cut to the present- day area in the American southwest and we find a 12-year-old in similar trouble for letting his curiosity run wild in a crevice near his home. When the dead lad mysteriously disappears only to be found later, a victim this time of a terrorist bomb in a Dallas federal building, agents Mulder and Scully pursue the case until they begin messing around with what some agencies of the U.S. government do not want the public to know. Mulder and Scully are caught on the one hand by a bureau's need to use them as scapegoats and on the other by a mysterious cabal of cryptic characters. These individuals include an OB-GYN physician who knows too much (Martin Landau); a classy British dude known throughout the series as The Well-Manicured Man (John Neville); a high-level government investigator, Cassidy (Blythe Danner); and Strughold, (Armin Mueller-Stahl) whose European accent signals us that he must be one of the bad guys. Turning up regularly at the headquarters of the conspirators gives the agents the opportunity to save each other's lives from time to time, though we wonder how agent Mulder was able to arrange transportation from Washington to the Antarctic given that the FBI wants to stop him. "The X-Files: Fight the Future" has a good deal of humor provided by the conspiracy-fighting partners but does not try to be campy despite the many opportunities for director Rob Bowman to steer the narrative in that direction. The big screen is well-utilized by the special effects people of Amalgamated Dynamics, a company in the business of scaring us by showing the horrific disfigurement that a lowly virus can cause, the effects of fire on cave walls, and a couple of stylized scenes involving the violent murder of good citizens by creatures imprisoned in giant cakes of ice. According to some high-school kids who are groupies of the five-year-old series, Chris Carter has done everything to keep his plot under wraps until the picture opens, like a Woody Allen or a final-show Seinfeld who uses such secrecy to drum up a larger potential audience. Carter throws a lot of details at us during the two-hour sci-fi fantasy, but his need to set us up for sequels is so strong that nothing is finally resolved. In fact, the audience might be hard-put to figure out what's going on, since editor Stephen Mark's rapid cutting away of Ward Russell's impressive images ends each scene just at the point of explanation. Chris Carter has succeeded so well in keeping the plot under wraps that even after you watch the imposing imagery, you leave the theater wondering who's conspiring against whom for what purpose. Rated PG-13. Running Time: 120 minutes. (C) 1997 Harvey Karten From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Jun 29 10:56:29 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!135.173.83.24!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: Michael Dequina Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 29 Jun 1998 04:28:59 GMT Organization: None Lines: 106 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6n756b$174k$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer26.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899094539 40084 (None) 140.142.64.7 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #12989 Keywords: author=dequina X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer26.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12164 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1949 The X-Files (PG-13) *** 1/2 (out of ****) Fox's _The_X-Files_ one of television's most curious phenomenons. It's not a question of quality; though it has a dud episode here and there, the science fiction sensation is a consistently engrossing, well-thought and -put-together series that deserves all the critical accolades it has garnered in its five seasons. What makes the series' hard-fought-for mass popularity so astonishing is the uncommon demand it places upon the viewing audience: concentration. This is especially the case with its trademark "mythology" episodes, which address a ridiculously convoluted conspiracy involving the coverup of extraterrestrial life. Now FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully take their quest for the "truth" that lies elusively "out there" to the big screen, and the result is a most unusual summer blockbuster: one that delivers the thrilling goods with an uncommon dose of intelligence and complexity. As fans of the show (_X_-philes, as they are known) such as myself are aware, _The_X-Files_ centers on Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully's (Gillian Anderson) ongoing investigations into paranormal phenomena--cases called, yes, X-Files. Of course, Mulder and Scully are mismatched partners. Mulder is a true believer in the fantastic after having witnessed his sister Samantha's abduction by aliens when they were young; medical doctor Scully is a skeptical woman of science who was paired with Mulder by FBI superiors to debunk his work. In a move that, surprisingly enough, does _not_ alienate any _X_-virgins, the film (unofficially subtitled _Fight_the_Future_) begins where this past season's cliffhanger left off, with the X-Files closed and Mulder and Scully reassigned to standard FBI duty and a seemingly standard case: the investigation of a terrorist bomb threat in Dallas. The operative word there is "seemingly," for some suspicious circumstances surrounding the case thrusts Mulder and Scully neck-deep into the ongoing conspiracy that has served as the backbone of the series. Much effort has been made by Fox and the _X-Files_ cast and crew to keep the plot under wraps, so I will not divulge any specifics here. What I will reveal, however, is that this time around Mulder and Scully find some hard answers to questions that have long lingered in the series, such as the true nature of the conspiracy and the "black cancer," the oily alien goo that infects human hosts. It should be noted, however, that many of the series' focal mysteries, such as the identity of the enigmatic conspirator known as the Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis), remain unanswered when the end credits roll. What I just wrote may sound baffling to _X_ newcomers, but series creator and screenwriter Chris Carter (working from a story he devised with Frank Spotnitz) accomplishes the impossible--making the knotty story accessible to new viewers. Mulder and Scully's backstories are efficiently explained in succinct passages of dialogue, as is all the background knowledge required to follow and understand the conspiracy. A few bones are thrown to appease the _X_ faithful, such as vague allusions to the harrowing ordeals Scully has gone through in the series, and a cameo by the Lone Gunmen, a trio of conspiracy freaks that often assist Mulder and Scully. But by and large, no one is likely to be lost. In the lobby following the screening, I overheard a fan answer a newcomer's questions, and his queries were about issues that are irrelevant to the general understanding of the film. A large part of what makes _Fight_the_Future_ satisfying to all audiences is the highly suspenseful story Carter and director Rob Bowman tell. The plot is as intricately structured and unpredictable as the conspiracy itself, and while there is a greater emphasis on action and spectacle here, those sequences are integral to the story and free of gratuitous violent shocks. Bowman is a veteran of many _X_ episodes, and as such, he knows how to milk the maximum amount of tension from Carter's labyrinthian scripts. He also handles the film's increased yet still modest-by-Hollywood-standards budget quite well, employing some imaginative effects to create some truly scary creatures. Bowman's huge miscalculation, however, is one that could have been easily sidestepped: the virtual absence of Mark Snow's (who also composed the film's score) memorably eerie theme music. A single bar of the theme's trademark whistle accompanies the film's first frame, and an upbeat interpolation is featured in a sequence where Mulder and Scully drive. But that unmistakable _X_ theme is featured more in the trailers than the film itself--a fact that is sure to irk even the most casual of _X_-philes. For all the scary aliens and other creatures that pop up in _The_X-Files_ week after week, the key to the show and, now, the movie's success is its leads. Duchovny and Anderson's natural rapport shines through even stronger on the big screen, and apparently Carter recognized this, for the sexual tension between Mulder and Scully reaches unprecedented heights of palpability in _Fight_the_Future_. I won't spoil anything, but Carter comes up with a clever way to have his cake and eat it too, one that will please all series fans. The solid work of the other series semi-regulars, Davis, John Neville (the Well-Manicured Man), and Mitch Pileggi (FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner) carries over to the big screen; however, members of the Pileggi "Estrogen Brigade" are sure to be disappointed with Skinner's diminished role in the film. Martin Landau (filling the Deep Throat/X/Marita Covarrubias "informant" role) and Armin Mueller-Stahl (as a conspiracy figurehead) join the ensemble, and they appear very much at home in the _X_ world. For a big screen, interseason episode of a series that is still running strong on the small screen, the satisfying _X-Files_ movie is remarkably self-contained. Yet it should come as no surprise that, in addition to the existing unresolved questions, some new ones arise--ensuring plenty of fodder for many more TV seasons and feature films. As one character declares, "One man cannot fight the future." __________________________________________________________ Michael Dequina mrbrown@ucla.edu | michael_jordan@geocities.com Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://welcome.to/mrbrown CompuServe Hollywood Hotline: http://www.HollywoodHotline.com __________________________________________________________ From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Jun 29 10:56:34 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!masternews.telia.net!news-nyc.telia.net!howland.erols.net!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!135.173.83.24!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: James Berardinelli Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 29 Jun 1998 04:29:27 GMT Organization: None Lines: 128 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6n7577$1256$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer32.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899094567 34982 (None) 140.142.64.5 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #12995 Keywords: author=berardinelli X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer32.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12173 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1951 THE X-FILES A Film Review by James Berardinelli RATING: *** OUT OF **** United States, 1998 U.S. Release Date: 6/19/98 (wide) Running Length: 1:58 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Violence, gore, mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cast: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, Blythe Danner, William B. Davis, Armin Mueller-Stahl, John Neville, Terry O'Quinn Director: Rob Bowman Producers: Chris Carter, Daniel Sackheim Screenplay: Chris Carter Cinematography: Ward Russell Music: Mark Snow U.S. Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox There are two kinds of viewers for THE X-FILES movie: those have seen at least a few episodes of the TV series and those who have never watched it. I am a member of the latter group, so that's the perspective from which this review is written. As a result, I cannot assess how the film will appeal to a die-hard follower of the program. But, for the "uneducated" movie-goer, THE X-FILES offers two hours of solid entertainment. (Of course, one unanswered question is how many non-X FILES aficionados will exhibit sufficient interest to venture into a theater showing this picture.) Transferring a television program to the big screen has become a routine procedure for a film industry starved for ideas, but this is a rare occasion when the movies continue the adventures begun on the small screen, with no re-casting involved. To date, the only TV-to-motion picture series to successfully make the transfer is STAR TREK, which brought the tales of Captain Kirk and his crew to the theaters, then eventually transferred command to Captain Picard after STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION went off the air. Twentieth Century Fox is hoping THE wrinkle: the television series is still going strong. In interviews, writer/producer/series creator Chris Carter has stated that his goal with THE X-FILES was to make a movie that could stand on its own. There's no question that he has succeeded. The script can be followed by someone with literally no previous knowledge of the characters or situations. FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are introduced as any motion protagonists might be, and we're presented with bits and pieces of information about their background through cleverly constructed dialogue. (By "cleverly," I mean that these passages don't cry out, "Character exposition!") Although I'm told that the storyline picks up where the last season of the TV program left off, there's no sense that new viewers are entering in the middle of things. The only obvious concession to the ongoing series is the ending, which includes several hooks that can be used to launch stories in the upcoming season. As the film opens, the X-Files special unit of the FBI has been disbanded. Mulder and Scully have exchanged their investigations of things paranormal and extraterrestrial for more mundane matters such as terrorism. But, when an Oklahoma City-like bomb explosion destroys a $45 million building in Dallas, Mulder and Scully appear to be the FBI's first choice for fall guys. Their research to clear their names reveals what could be the tip of a massive cover-up of alien activity on Earth. And, as their search stretches from Texas to Washington D.C. to Antarctica, they come face-to-face with the dark secret that endangers the future of the human species. Plot-wise, THE X-FILES bears more than a passing resemblance to 1996's alien invasion/conspiracy movie, THE ARRIVAL. (In fairness to THE X-FILES, the TV program preceded THE ARRIVAL by several years, and the latter probably owes more to the former than the other way around.) Although things get sloppy near the end, when several story holes are ignored or ineffectively plugged, the script as a whole exhibits an uncommon intelligence for this type of movie. In addition, director Rob Bowman (who has helmed a number of the TV episodes) maintains a fairly high level of tension as the complexities of the multi-layered plot mount. The movie is perhaps a little too long; cutting ten or fifteen minutes would have made for a better focused adventure. It's not hard to understand the appeal of Mulder and Scully. Both are competent, intelligent, and resourceful, and their different approaches to their jobs (he's a believer; she's a skeptic) enable them to compliment one another. It also doesn't hurt that they're both likable and neither is hard on the eyes. Actors David Duchovny (who's no stranger to movies; his most recent foray being PLAYING GOD) and Gillian Anderson (who is more familiar to viewers of the small screen than the large one) are both accomplished and entirely believable in these roles. Of course, we would expect no less of them, since they have been inhabiting these fictitious shells for five years. The chemistry between them is palpable, blending camaraderie and respect with a little subtle romance. The supporting cast is comprised of faces from the TV show, such as William B. Davis' mysterious cigarette-smoking figure and John Neville's "Well Manicured Man", and movie actors who are around for one-off appearances. These include Blythe Danner as the by-the- book FBI assistant director who is looking into the Dallas bombing, Martin Landau as a conspiracy theorist who occasionally feeds hints to Mulder about what's going on, Armin Mueller-Stahl as the leader of the cartel behind the global betrayal, and Terry O'Quinn as Mulder and Scully's (temporary) boss. Having seen the movie, it's easy for me to comprehend why so many people are enamored with the series. Although a lot of the material explored in THE X-FILES isn't new or revolutionary, the style of presentation and the quality of the writing set this above most other conspiracy theory/alien invasion pictures. I won't claim that the experience of having watched this film will suddenly convert me into a weekly viewer of the TV show, but at least now I'm aware of what awaits if I choose to catch an episode. In a summer that has been characterized by over-hyped and largely pointless big-budget films, THE offerings. Copyright 1998 James Berardinelli - James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net Now with more than 1400 reviews... The ReelViews web site: http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/ "My belief is that no movie, nothing in life, leaves people neutral. You either leave them up or you leave them down." -- David Puttnam From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jun 30 13:37:45 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!news-peer-europe.sprintlink.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!wn3feed!135.173.83.25!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: schirmer@uslink.net Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 30 Jun 1998 05:08:01 GMT Organization: TDSNET Internet Services(http://www.tds.net) Lines: 65 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6n9rrh$172a$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer36.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899183281 40010 (None) 140.142.64.4 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13013 Keywords: author=schirmer X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer36.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12191 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1955 THE X-FILES a review by Josh Schirmer === * * * * * out of * * * * * === We've already had our share of summer blockbuster fodder that was never meant to be. Godzilla, the movie that opened in the most theaters EVER in history, is flopping. Deep Impact, in spite of an attempt at a touching storyline, falls short of what was expected. I've even heard negative reviews on the Truman Show -- I find that hard to believe. Nevertheless, we've had a nice, typical summer so far -- where movies designed to be big end up being flops. All we need to make it TRULY summer are about thirty thousand sequels. Now, I'll admit it -- I'm an avid veiwer of the X-Files television show. Well, maybe avid isn't the word I'm looking for. Maybe "devoted" is more like it. Or "obsessive". Heck, I'm so into the show it's almost unhealthy. Nevertheless, I maintain a remotely active social life and don't usually let me geekiness shine through. But when the X-Files comes to the big screen, let me tell you -- I AM THERE. Decked out in a sloshed Mulder and Scully tee and a baseball cap that reads "The Truth is Out There", I made it to the first showing of the film on opening day. And although I kept trying to tell myself that I had built myself up for another letdown in the summer movie department, an avid X-Phile is bound to lose himself as soon as the lights dim. I was ready. Let me tell you, you come out of this movie dazed, Phile or not. The $60 million film lives up to every expectation I would have dreamed, delivering answers to some of the long-posed questions from the series' run as well as opening up a whole slew of new ones. The special effects are undeniably fantastic (you will actually believe Mulder and Scully are trying to escape the collapsing ice trailing them in the arctic) and the plot is everything you could hope for in a summer movie -- an unfolding mystery, easily flowing, with TONS of action. I got so into it, I ended up locking my hands on the chair handles and tensing up, causing my arms to fall asleep and begin to tingle. My only small bit of criticism is how they reintroduce the characters for those who haven't seen the show before (y'know, one of those three exsisting people). If you aren't a fan of the show, or don't know who Mulder and Scully are, the creators do their best at trying to let you know who they are and what their personalities are. It's rather spotty, though; if you don't know head from tails in the X-Files universe, the film may be more confusing to you. Still, you'll be able to figure it out, even if it takes you a while, and you will still enjoy the movie. Critics have been complaining that the film is basically just an extended episode of the show. True, true -- a much BIGGER episode with much BIGGER action, but an episode none the less. But they're forgetting one thing -- the show is constantly on the Top 10 most viewed shows. It's an episode, but people LIKE the episodes. Why ruin what already works? Fan or not, take a trip to the theater and give The X-Files a try. Who knows? You, too, may find yourself believing that the truth is out there. -- Josh Schirmer josh_phile@yahoo.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jun 30 13:37:45 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!fu-berlin.de!newspeer.monmouth.com!news-peer-east.sprintlink.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news-backup-west.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!192.220.250.21!netnews1.nw.verio.net!netnews.nwnet.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: Walter Frith ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 30 Jun 1998 05:08:06 GMT Organization: None ~Lines: 271 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6n9rrm$18ie$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer05.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899183286 41550 (None) 140.142.17.35 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13014 Keywords: author=frith X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer05.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12196 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1956 'The X-Files' (1998) (Fight the Future) A movie review by Walter Frith Member of the 'Internet Movie Critics Association' http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/5713/index.html Member of the 'Online Film Critics Society' http://smart.sbay.com/ofcs/ AS A REVIEW OF THIS FILM, I FEEL IT IS IMPORTANT TO GIVE YOU AN EXPLANATION OF THE SHOW'S PROGRESS IN BETTER UNDERSTANDING THE FILM. HERE IS A RUN DOWN OF THE SERIES. ALL FIVE SEASONS ARE ANALYZED. IF YOU WATCH THE SHOW RELIGIOUSLY LIKE I DO, SKIP AHEAD TO ANOTHER OPENING PARAGRAPH LIKE THIS ONE, ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS, THAT WILL ONLY DISCUSS THE MOVIE. Once in a generation, you get a truly great visionary who has a knack for capturing the desires of the human imagination better than you could ever believe. Rod Serling had 'The Twilight Zone', Gene Roddenberry had 'Star Trek', and Chris Carter now has 'The X-Files'. Inspired by the early 70's t.v. series 'Kolchak: The Night Stalker' starring Darren McGavin, Carter has crafted a television series that doesn't only investigate the paranormal but it provides an examination of the human condition that borders on being a soap opera but doesn't quite cross the line because all the shows are not tied directly to each other like a soap opera usually is. 'The X-Files' chooses to make episodes that are isolated in their own stories as well as other episodes that are part of the show's overall mythology that pick up from where they last left off every several episodes or so that examines the strengths, weaknesses, morals and intelligent qualities that each character possesses is his or her own way. 'The X-Files' did not start out as a borderline soap opera. It began as a cult show that looked more experimental than progressive in its first season (1993/94). In fact, the first episode aired on the FOX network on September 10, 1993. The total scope of characters had not yet come into play as being very interesting except for the two leads, David Duchovny as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder and Gillian Anderson as Special Agent Dana Scully. Season 2 was more progressive and ended with its most intense cliffhanger in the show's five years. It was the first of a three part series that picked up with the first and second episode of season 3 that had Mulder and Scully involved in their most explosive adventure ever to date in the series. Season 3 is the show's BEST work to date. There is more diversity among the show's tone, both humourous and dramatic as well as its usual mystique. Season 4 is the show's most ambitious time as more story developments occur with splendidly addictive results. Season 5 is sort of an enigma. It's right in the middle. Better than season 1 and 2 but inferior to season 3 and 4. Mulder is a true believer in the paranormal and its relative ties. UFO's, extra-terrestrials, mutants and un-Earthly beings in general are Mulder's cause in life as a branch of the FBI has a category known as the x-files, cases where the only explanation (or lack of one) seems to be tied to the supernatural. Enter Scully. She is a skeptic, a medical doctor with a background in science who believes that the answers for every unexplained occurrence are there and that one just has to know where to look. Cancer, AIDS and many other diseases haven't been cured as we haven't learned where to look and that is the parallel to Scully's belief that science can explain everything or so she believes. Scully has been assigned to become Mulder's partner and he believes she is to spy on him for her superiors but as the show would progress, Scully, to this day, has her same beliefs but is the only person that Mulder ends up trusting. The show is basically tied to five important story lines. The first is Mulder's quest to find his sister, Samantha, who was abducted from her home at the age of 8 as Mulder, at age 12, watched as a supposed alien force took his sister in the same way the little boy was taken from his mother in 'Close Encounters'. Secondly is Mulder's quest to clarify his father's name. His father was murdered by forces inside a dark network tied to the government because he could expose too much about a secret government and military project that the men involved have supposedly been negotiating with extra-terrestrials for the revolution of a new way of life on Earth. His father has been shown in flashbacks from time to time as being involved in government experiments and the collection of data during the Cold War. These factors have included a mysterious alien entity in the form of a mysterious black oil that can infiltrate the human body and jump from person to person and is the main focus of a race between the United States and Russia to find a vaccine for it in fighting its effects that has been seen in the last three seasons of the five years the show has been on the air. Thirdly is the infiltration on society of a strange specimen of bees that appear to carry small pox, a disease thought to be almost eradicated by modern medicine but perhaps it will make a comeback for some sinister purpose. Fourth, Fox Mulder and his sister Samantha seem to be the focus of a reoccurring question. Who is their father? Fifth is the progression of Scully's health. She was abducted by a strange force, some believe by aliens and some believe by the government and some believe both that later caused her to develop cancer and her fight against its progression that seems to be arrested for the moment that occurred at the beginning of season five. Season five, which just ended on May 17, 1998 was the most "teasing" season of the series as many of the regular characters weren't seen as often as they were in the other four seasons and for good reason. EVERYONE appears to be in the movie which is supposed to appeal to die hard fans of the show, such as myself and people who have never seen it. The movie is supposed to answer serious questions raised by the show over the past five seasons and the movie will be a stop sign at its conclusion that will phase in season 6 in the fall of 1998. Mulder has had three secret sources of information that he turns to when he's stuck on a case. These people are like the deep throat character played by Hal Holbrook in 'All the President's Men'. In fact, Mulder's first informant, was named Deep Throat (Jerry Hardin), and he was murdered by conspiring forces at the end of season 1 and at the beginning of season 4, Mulder's other informant, Mr. X (Steven Williams) was likewise murdered by what we assume are the same people. Mulder's current source of information is from a UN employee named Marita Covarrubias (Laurie Holden). She is a woman who is the least trustworthy of all of Mulder's informants. Other reoccurring characters on the show are the Lone Gunmen. They are Byers (Bruce Harwood), Langly (Dean Haglund) and Frohike (Tom Braidwood). These men are often the show's comic relief but are serious and important enough to help Mulder with his quest for unexplained scientific and technical explanations he needs in solving a case. The Lone Gunmen work out of a lab that also serves as their apartment where they have computers and other high tech gadgets for analyzing and explaining certain types of data fed to them. There is Alex Krycek (Nicholas Lea). Krycek started off as what looked like an ally to Mulder but later we learned that Krycek was a double agent, working for the Cigarette Smoking Man and his consortium as well as for the Russians although Krycek's birthplace has never been established. He is one of the show's most interesting characters who hasn't been used as much as I would like to have seen. There was the introduction in season 5 of Special Agent Spender (Chris Owens). His character has not yet been utilized enough to really comment on but more should be explained about him in season 6 and should involve a relationship between him and the Cigarette Smoking Man. Or maybe not. Last but certainly not least is Mulder and Scully's boss, Assistant Director of the FBI, Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) who is the most underplayed character in the series. Very little has been explained about Skinner in the four years the show has been on. Skinner is a former Marine and Vietnam veteran who seems to hiding a secret pain in life. Skinner never smiles and when he tries to, it doesn't last long and is usually a smile reminding him of a happier time in his life or is a smile that reminds him of something strange and not something funny. He is a somewhat sympathetic character that you like, hoping he will always remain as a good guy but Chris Carter has portrayed him as uncertain more than any other character. Mulder and Scully are monitored by the government within the government, a consortium of men of considerable experience in their work who all look to be in their 50's and 60's. There is the 1st Elder (Don S. Williams), who seems to be the leader, the Well Manicured Man (John Neville), who appears to be an under boss of authority and the infamous Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis) who is the most focused upon character of the three men and the show's chief bad guy and one of the most intelligently portrayed villains in the history of television or the movies. If you are having trouble picturing these men, think of a dark room or dark outside scenario, where men, dressed in suits, plan their next move that will affect the lives of millions. They're the sort of men believed by many to have killed JFK, RFK and Martin Luther King, Jr. In fact, in season 4, an episode called 'Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man' is one of the series best episodes as its alternative presentation of ideas does in fact imply and it shows that the Cigarette Smoking Man killed JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr. Throughout the show, Mulder and Scully have each lost a parent and a sibling. Scully's father died of a heart attack in season 1 and her sister was accidentally murdered by assassins who meant to kill Scully, at the beginning of season 3. Mulder's father, as mentioned already, was murdered by conspiring government forces involving the Cigarette Smoking Man at the end of season 2 and Mulder's sister Samantha has been missing since before the series began. These losses have driven them further in living up to the old adage that for every action there can be an equally strong reaction and their experiences and bonding with one another have taken the show to progressive heights virtually unmatched by any other show. What keeps 'The X-Files' so interesting is that the relationship between Mulder and Scully hs always been kept professional an never personal. They have never been lovers and despite the desire of immature teenage female fans who watch the show but aren't really fans and can't tell you what's going on (I can't tell you how much people like this bother me), Chris Carter says that he will never do anything to rock the boat in making their relationship anything but professional. I and several of my 'X-Files' friends have vowed to stop watching the show if it ever becomes personally romantic between Mulder and Scully. The last episode of the show before the movie is the end of season 5. Fox Mulder's work, all of the x-files, were burned in his private office at the FBI Headquarters by the Cigarette Smoking Man who first removed Samantha Mulder's file. The x-files were apparently destroyed because a link in solving them all had allegedly been found through the mind reading abilities of a 12 year old boy. Solving all of the x-files would be a threat to the consortium's planned project involving extra-terrestrials and involving the Cigarette Smoking Man.......... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ..........HERE IS WHERE THE MOVIE REVIEW BEGINS WARNING: This review contains some spoilers which I never do but it is necessary in this case to appreciate the film. Fear not. Not all is revealed! 'The X-Files' movie begins in what we know in the present day as being North Texas. It is 35,000 B.C., and a pair of what can be described most understandably as cave men, are running along a thick winter like tundra that resembles the North or South pole, probably the climate of North Texas in 35,000 B.C. before the evolution of climate change to its present day climate. They fall through a weak spot in the snow and encounter alien entities in an underground cave where the black oil is exposed to them. Skip forward to the present day. Again, it is North Texas. A group of boys are playing and one of them falls through the ground. We are to assume that its the same spot the cave men encountered as the boy who fell through finds a skull and the boy is contaminated by the black oil. There is a quick rush to quarantine the boy after a call is made by a mysterious man on the scene to the Cigarette Smoking Man. The movie is clever in its opening scenes, as Mulder and Scully are not present right away and work their way into the story later in what would become another tie to the film's many plot points, all on a collision course with each other. When we do see Mulder and Scully, after about the first twenty minutes into the film, they are at the scene of a federal building in Dallas, Texas, where a bomb threat has been called in. Among their discussion is a phrase that tells the audience that the x-files have been shut down. After the bomb situation has resolved itself, Mulder encounters a doctor (Martin Landau), who was an old friend of Mulder's father and who knows the real purpose of the bomb scare scenario in Dallas. The consortium introduces us to new character, a man we assume is a scientist (Armin Mueller-Stahl), who has information about a new virus related to the uncovering of the black oil in North Texas. The regular consortium members are there. The 1st Elder (Don S. Williams), The Well Manicured Man (John Neville), and, of course, the Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis). We discover that not only has the government been working in control with some extra-terrestrial forces for the past fifty years, but we also learn that the consortium is working to prevent in part, a colonization of the Earth for which they have no control. This element is derived from season 5's two part story 'Patient X' and 'The Red and the Black'. We learn that the United States and Russia are working to find a vaccine that will prevent the colonization by extra terrestrials by spreading the black oil. The vaccine plays a major part in the film and progresses up to the film's conclusion where we learn the fate of the x-files in what will be the start of season 6 in the fall of 1998. Mulder and Scully face elements that they've never been up against before as their exploits take them to the South pole for their most difficult adventure ever and although the film is an expansion of the television series, Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) and The Lone Gunmen (Bruce Harwood, Dean Haglund and Tom Braidwood) are only used briefly. I was hoping the movie would create more depth than it ultimately did and although the creators of the movie say that you don't have to know anything about the television series to enjoy the movie, this is not entirely true. You can enjoy the movie if you've never seen the t.v. show but only about 75% of the movie will make sense. Without knowing anything about the black oil, the bees, and the consortium, audiences will have to watch repeats of the show to truly appreciate it. All in all, a good effort and certainly better than the first 'Star Trek' movie in 1979 and 'Twilight Zone---The Movie' in 1982 which failed to live up to the standards of their television pasts. 'The X-Files' movie does live up to the standards of its television past with a vision of the future which will keep true fans clued in for more. OUT OF 5 > * * * * Visit FILM FOLLOW-UP by Walter Frith http://home.netinc.ca/~wfrith/movies.htm From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jun 30 13:37:45 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!fu-berlin.de!news-peer.gip.net!news.gsl.net!gip.net!howland.erols.net!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!135.173.83.24!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: David Sunga ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 30 Jun 1998 05:30:55 GMT Organization: University of Washington ~Lines: 105 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6n9t6f$q9g$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> ~Reply-To: zookeeper@criticzoo.com NNTP-Posting-Host: homer03.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899184655 26928 (None) 140.142.64.4 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13025 Keywords: author=sunga X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer03.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12217 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1960 Rating: 3.0 stars (out of 4.0) ******************************** Key to rating system: 2.0 stars - Debatable 2.5 stars - Some people may like it 3.0 stars - I liked it 3.5 stars - I am biased in favor of the movie 4.0 stars - I felt the movie's impact personally or it stood out ********************************* A Movie Review by David Sunga Directed by: Rob Bowman Written by: Chris Carter Starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, Mitch Pileggi, William B. Davis Ingredients: Aliens, conspiracy theories, two FBI agent partners Prior to a catastrophic bombing in Dallas, FBI agents Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson)and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) are able to evacuate the building. But when a few bodies are mysteriously found in the rubble, the partners are placed before an FBI panel investigating them for professional negligence. A discredited author named Kurtzweil (Martin Landau) tells Mulder that the bombing was a coverup: the bodies were actually dead long before the explosion. The victims died of a peculiar alien virus: once the virus is implanted into a human host, an alien fetus begins to form which uses the human tissue for food and breaks out of the corpse as a malevolent, full-fledged alien humanoid. Kurtzweil also insists that the coverup is the work of a shadow government, a powerful cartel whose very existence remains a secret. Although it sounds like a hoax, Scully and Mulder check out Kurtzweil's tale. In order to acquit themselves before the FBI panel, Scully and Mulder search for proof of the existence of either Aliens or of the secret government, but as they investigate, sinister anonymous forces try to stop them. As a result, the two partners begin to question their dedication to each other, and their commitment to finding the elusive truth. Will partners Scully and Mulder continue to support each other? Will their insistence that "the truth is out there" ever be vindicated by a glimpse of the actual truth? Opinion: Imagine a dangerous fictional world where the truth of a situation is carefully hidden from the public. For example, suppose an international totalitarian corporation, selling unrelated products through fake 'front' companies, filled key scenes in Hollywood movies with conveniently placed products, using product placement to subconsciously influence movie audiences to buy things. An unobservant person living in such a world might imagine he/she lives in a world devoid of influence, a world of complete free will, laissez faire capitalism, with diverse products to choose from. Another person, carefully noticing the product placement in movie scenes, might deduce that he/she lives in a world of free will, but with substantial advertisement from competing companies. Finally, the person who digs the deepest might describe the same world as superficially free, but in reality controlled by a cartel - - whose main objective is to get people to part with their economic dollars, political votes, and other forms of power in order to monopolize power for a sinister oligarchy which exterminates competition and keeps the truth hidden from ordinary people through the use of press releases, spin doctors, Hollywood agents, and an army of lawyers. THE X-FILES occurs in a similar imaginary world - - a cosmos where truth is deliberately obscured by powerful groups who keep the truth hidden behind illusory levels of misinformation. It seems there are three main power groups: the US government (fairly benign, but always a good candidate for secret agendas), the shadow government (people in powerful positions, who for the last 50 years, have had access to advanced technology and some ability to counter it), and finally Aliens from outer space. The government, the secret government, and the Aliens all have their own agenda: each group deliberately obscures the truth, each group infiltrates the other, and each group may act in collusion with or defy the other groups when a situation serves its purpose. Finally there are also rebels and informants in the X-Files world. In such a convoluted world deluged with information and misinformation, heroes are defined as ordinary people capable of honest love and loyalty, who strive against all odds to perceive the truth - - and occasionally glimpse a measure of it, despite the antagonism of powers that be. In other words, heroes are individuals like government workers Scully and Mulder. The main goal in the average summer action movie is for the heroes to endure lots of chase scenes, and then wrap up by solving all the problems and defeating a clear-cut villain by the end of the movie. On the other hand, the main goal for an X-Files hero is to get a glimpse of the truth in a decidedly untruthful world. As long as that distinction is kept in mind, THE X-FILES is an enjoyable movie. Reviewed by David Sunga June 21, 1998 Copyright © 1998 by David Sunga This review and others like it can be found at THE CRITIC ZOO: http://www.criticzoo.com email: zookeeper@criticzoo.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jun 30 13:37:45 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!135.173.83.24!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: ChadPolenz@aol.com (Chad Polenz) ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 30 Jun 1998 05:30:50 GMT Organization: None ~Lines: 123 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6n9t6a$lhc$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer37.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899184650 22060 (None) 140.142.17.35 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13024 Keywords: author=polenz X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer37.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12220 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1961 The X-Files: Fight The Future Chad'z rating: **1/2 (out of 4 = okay/average) 1998, PG-13, 122 minutes [2 hours, 2 minutes] [thriller/science fiction] Starring: David Duchovny (Special Agent Fox Mulder), Gillian Anderson (Special Agent Dana Scully), Martin Landou (Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil), William B. Davis (The Cigarette-Smoking Man); written by Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz; produced by Chris Carter, Daniel Sackheim; directed by Rob Bowman; based on the television series created by Chris Carter. Seen June 20, 1998 at 12:00 a.m. at Crossgates Cinema 18 (Guilderland, NY), theater #1, with Chris Wessell using Hoyt's Cinema Cash. [theater rating: ***: good sound and picture, average seats] Most movie versions of TV shows are usually based on old, canceled series, not on-going ones. Therefore, "The X-Files: Fight The Future" poses a dilemma since it's not so much inspired by the popular show, as it is an extension of it. Not being a fan of the show, am I qualified to view the film fairly, since I have little background on the basic scenario? Yes I am, because as a film critic I must remain unbiased before viewing anything, and in this case my unfamiliarity allowed me to see the film completely within its context. What I saw was a terrific thriller trapped behind a confusing, sloppy script. The story is basically self-contained, but many of the details are rooted in the series, which allows the film to take certain liberties it probably wouldn't have (or shouldn't have) had it been a completely original concept. For example, the basic essentials such as characterization of the two leads are virtually non-existent, nor much of, if any, definition of the "X-Files" division itself. It's difficult to sympathize for characters we are never formally introduced to while working for a covert operation we're not given any background on. FBI special agents Fox Mulder (Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson), are presented as though we're already familiar with them, and their initial case involving the bombing of a federal building seems like just another episode in their continuing adventures. But it wouldn't be a movie if something unusual didn't happen to shake things up. The first two scenes sketch out the supernatural elements at play. These scenes depict some kind of alien encounter with earthlings over time, portrayed in a generic manner. We get slimy, violent creatures jumping out of shadows, loss of innocent humans, and a subtle establishment of how powerful the extra-terrestrial is (its virus lives on thousands of years after its death). The scenes are shot well enough to be suspenseful, but it's really no different than countless other sci-fi movies, especially the "Alien" series. Mulder and Scully manage to safely evacuate a building from a terrorist bomb (which is discovered in the typical "accidental" manner), but instead of being rewarded, they are separated because they've learned there's a connection between the alien's revival and the bombing. Here, the script is crafted in such a way that we are able to put some of the clues together ourselves, instead of having the characters figure it out through coincidences and lucky breaks. It's clear a conspiracy is unfolding, which creates for a good sense of mystery, and it's not too difficult to follow.... at first. More characters and plot elements begin to crop up as the film shifts to the second act. As is the case with all conspiracy stories, a shady character must come into play to provide our heroes with insights and tips they wouldn't and couldn't have gotten anywhere else. Martin Landou co-stars as this film's rendition of that character - Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil, a man with conspiracy theories so fantastic he must be either a raving lunatic or a genius. Kurtzweil is Mulder's "Deep Throat," always providing him with clues in dark, steamy, wet alleyways, about the alien project and a plot to take over the world. Kurtzweil's theories and the clues he drops are interesting, but described in such vague manners the story quickly becomes hard to swallow and very confusing. The characters can't keep track of who's who and what's what, so how can we be expected to? The great thing about conspiracies is the fact they can be woven with such intricacy and yet still make sense in the right hands. It is in this aspect that the film is severely flawed, since there doesn't seem to be any motive behind it all. We do encounter the people behind the massive plot Mulder and Scully are trying to break, but the villains just aren't vile enough. They supposedly wield tremendous global power, but how they got that power and how they use it is never explained. At times they are afraid of being exposed by Mulder and Scully, and yet they clue them into the big scheme. None of the conspirators have genuine emotion, they seem to be simply going through motions they cannot explain, resist, or justify. Surprisingly, as complex as the story is, the film still manages to work at least as a big-budget popcorn flick. The various sub-plots allow the film to focus more on individual scenes and conflicts rather than the final payoff. The result is back-to-back chase scenes, hiding scenes, scenes of miraculous revelation, and the special effects to tie them all together. On the surface they suffice simply as of-the-moment thrills, but upon closer inspection they really aren't anything intelligent. All the time the film spends on having Mulder and Scully run and hide might have been better used to develop the story instead of the superficial action. And perhaps this is why the film falls just short of greatness. It keeps us guessing with its complex story, but it still feels the need to dumb itself down with melodrama. The final act clinches this as it's a life-or-death situation for both of the characters that involves act after act and feat after feat of sheer luck and coincidence. The climax doesn't have nearly the impact it should as it's really just an exaggerated version of the mini- climaxes that occur throughout the film. And in the end almost nothing seems to have been resolved, it's as if the entire story existed for the ending. In fact, when the closing credits began to roll, someone in the audience yelled out, "That's it?!" It's clear "The X-Files: Fight The Future" was made with the right intention, that is, to be a good movie. The film is full of possibilities, original ideas, and an overall sense of depth, but why does it feel the need to cop-out when it comes to executing its resources? ****************************************************************** Please visit Chad'z Movie Page at: http://members.aol.com/ChadPolenz - over 200 new and old films reviewed in depth, not just blind ratings and quick capsules. e-mail: ChadPolenz@aol.com (C) 1998 Chad Polenz Member of: The Online Film Critics Society The Internet Movie Critics Association The Online Movie-Goers Academy From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jun 30 13:37:45 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!fu-berlin.de!howland.erols.net!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!135.173.83.24!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: number.6@mindspring.com (John W. Collins) ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.current-films ~Date: 30 Jun 1998 05:31:00 GMT Organization: MindSpring Enterprises ~Lines: 111 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6n9t6k$q9i$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> ~Reply-To: number.6@mindspring.com NNTP-Posting-Host: homer35.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899184660 26930 (None) 140.142.64.2 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13026 Keywords: author=collins X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer35.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12205 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1957 A Review From the Middle Seat Center THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE F.B.I. special agents, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), search for that elusive "truth" each week on the hit television show, "The X-Files." Week after week, millions tune- in to see the two delve into the strange and bizarre cases that the rest of the bureau won't touch. While most of the cases they investigate deal with unusual, and even sometimes supernatural, phenomenon, the "guts" of the series deals with Fox Mulder's search for proof of the existence of aliens, and the mysterious group of men that will stop at nothing to prevent him, or the rest of the world, from finding out "the truth." And now, Mulder and Scully's quest for that "truth" moves to the next level, because... THE MOVIE IS OUT THERE Series creator, Chris Carter, director Rob Bowman, and Twentieth Century Fox, have brought the hugely popular television show to the big screen with the release of THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE. It must have been a fairly easy task (although I'm sure they would disagree with me). They already had developed characters, a relationship and history between those characters, a recognizable framework for a story to be woven around, and millions of fans as a built-in audience base. The only real question was whether or not non fans could follow the film and enjoy it. The answer to that question is, "yes" and "no." The film can be followed and enjoyed as a work standing on its own, but, speaking as a fan, it must be like eating a bowl of banana pudding after all the bananas are gone. You can enjoy the pudding part, but you are kind of missing the whole point. Carter, who wrote the screenplay, tries to let the uninitiated in on the fun with bits of "background information" sprinkled throughout the dialogue, but that really isn't enough. There are several situations throughout the film that cannot be fully understood unless you are a fan. The same is true with a handful of characters that pop up. Unless you have watched the show, you will not know who they are, or what they are doing there. It may have been better to have had a script that dealt with a basic "X-Files" story, instead of the series mythos. That would have pleased the fans, and allowed X-Files "newbies" to get to know the characters, and get a "feel" for the show. Instead, the film opens where the season finale left off, to a certain degree. None of the characters or the situations set up in that episode remains except for the fact that the Cigarette-Smoking Man has returned, and that the X-files have been shut down. The movie starts with Mulder and Scully having been assigned "normal" duties. But as it often happens when this pair is involved, the "normal" has a way of turning into something "paranormal," and soon the two find themselves pulled into a conspiracy that threatens to wipe out life on Earth as we know it. What follows is a two-hour television episode with higher production values, bigger and more expensive special effects, familiar supporting characters (to the fans anyway), and some four-letter words that are not allowed on network television. This film has the distinction of being the only movie based on a prime-time television show that will still be in production when the networks start the new television season. But that is also its greatest flaw. Since we already know that Mulder and Scully will have new adventures this fall, we are not concerned with their well-being throughout the movie, thus killing any suspense. In addition, we also know that circumstances will only allow for just a small bit of that "truth" that our heroes have been searching for to be revealed, and that something will happen that will cause the X-files to be reopened. Paramount may have had the right idea with its "Star Trek" features; wait until the series finishes its t.v. run so you can have more freedom with your characters and story lines. Another flaw is that the film doesn't play on its strongest elements. One of the things that draws viewers to the show is its creepiness. Some of the episodes are very scary. That comes from the writing and the different, bizarre things that Scully and Mulder look into. With a "mythos" script, you don't get to go explore those dark, scary places. All you mainly have to deal with is intrigue. But what really brings viewers back each week are the characters of Mulder and Scully. Viewers want to see these two characters react to situations and play off each other; they want to see them interact, both professionally and personally. Sadly, there is very little of that in this film. Make no mistake. This is David Duchovny's film. He is in nearly every scene, and by the middle of the movie, Gillian Anderson's part has been reduced to that of "damsel-in-distress." Basically, THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE is just a reward for all its loyal fans; a chance to see Mulder and Scully do their stuff on the big screen. Also, it is a chance to pull in some new fans, and establish some new characters and situations for the up coming season. New fans mean a bigger audience base for the next feature. Oh, yes...... A SEQUEL IS OUT THERE Cast: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, William B. Davis, John Neville, Mitch Pillegi, Blythe Danner, and Armin Mueller-Stahl. Rated: PG-13 for violence and some intense situations I give it ** out of a possible four. That was the view from The Middle Seat Center - John Collins number.6@mindspring.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jun 30 13:37:45 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!erix.ericsson.se!fci-se!fci!masternews.telia.net!news-nyc.telia.net!news.idt.net!news-peer-east.sprintlink.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!newsfeed.direct.ca!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: me@alanine.ram.org ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.current-films ~Date: 30 Jun 1998 05:32:28 GMT Organization: Movie ram-blings: http://www.ram.org/ramblings/movies.html ~Lines: 168 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6n9t9c$mba$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer03.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899184748 22890 (None) 140.142.17.35 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13034 Keywords: author=samudrala X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer03.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12207 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1958 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- THE X FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE A film review by Ram Samudrala Spoilers ahead. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- /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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- email@urls || http://www.ram.org || http://www.twisted-helices.com/th Movie ram-blings: http://www.ram.org/ramblings/movies.html From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jun 30 13:37:45 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!news-feed1.tiac.net!newshub.northeast.verio.net!howland.erols.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: Doug Skiles ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 30 Jun 1998 05:32:54 GMT Organization: Performance Motors, Ltd. ~Lines: 112 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6n9ta6$md4$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> ~Reply-To: rskiles@mail.win.org NNTP-Posting-Host: homer35.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899184774 22948 (None) 140.142.64.5 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13038 Keywords: author=skiles X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer35.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12212 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1959 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." From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jun 30 13:37:45 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!sunqbc.risq.qc.ca!newshub.northeast.verio.net!howland.erols.net!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: "Berge Garabedian" ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 30 Jun 1998 05:32:07 GMT Organization: None ~Lines: 85 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6n9t8n$tqk$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> ~Reply-To: NNTP-Posting-Host: homer31.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899184727 30548 (None) 140.142.64.2 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13030 Keywords: author=garabedian X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer31.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12222 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1962 THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE RATING: 7 / 10 --> Good movie Review Date: June 20, 1998 Director: Rob Bowman Writer: Chris Carter Producer: Chris Carter and Daniel Sackheim Actors: David Duchovny as Fox Mulder Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully Martin Landau as Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil Genre: Thriller / Science-Fiction Year of Release: 1998 Popular FOX TV series makes its big screen debut helmed by a veteran director of at least 25 of the small screen episodes, Rob Bowman. The paranormal vibes. During this year's last episode, the X-Files were shut down by the FBI. That's pretty much all the intro you need to know before you see this film. PLOT: A bomb blows off a big chunk of a federal building in Dallas, Texas. As Mulder and Scully step up their investigation into the bombing, they begin to uncover many zany theories and cover-ups about the puzzling explosion. While delving further into the case, the defiant duo find themselves trapped in an international game of intrigue, mystery and extra-terrestrial politics. ***Understand that my critique comes from a solid streak of experience with the show. Having said that, an inexperienced viewer can also enjoy this critique, since you need not have seen one episode of the TV series, to truly appreciate this well-developed movie*** CRITIQUE: Mysterious, moody, exciting at parts, this movie succeeds in bringing the spookiness and interest of the television series to the big screen. Having said that, the film did at times feel like one big television episode, with a larger plot line and greater special effects. Also, it did seem to go on for a tad too long. The plot of the film is interesting, the characters are believable, and the action is exciting and scary at times (The scenes with the aliens are very cool and exciting). Mulder and Scully have no discernible problems tackling the big screen, while adding words like "shit" to their vocabulary. While the suspicions about their possible romantic entanglement in this film are also answered, they certainly will not be given away by JoBlo here. Also, there did seem to be a touch more humour on the big-screen than the show, which helped many long-winded and jargon-filled scenes move along at an easier pace. The creators of the film also took the time to "piss" all over the greatest box-office science-fiction success from 1996, INDEPENDENCE DAY (6.5/10), in a most interesting and "subtle" way. Overall, the movie worked for me as a thriller and a science-fiction fable, but somehow seemed to run a little too long, and lacked the earth-shattering ending that I was expecting. Having said that, they have now added many new elements to explore in the TV series, which will most certainly pick up many new viewers after this slick film. Warm up your nachos and cuddle up with your love-bunny on this one, folks...it's gonna be a bumpy ride! Little Known Facts: David Duchovny once played a transvestite detective on the Twin Peaks television series, and read for the replacing role for Val Kilmer as Batman in BATMAN AND ROBIN. David William Duchovny stands 6", was born in NY, New York, and earned an undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a graduate degree in English Literature from Yale University. While at Yale, he began commuting to New York to study acting and was soon appearing in off-Broadway plays. In 1987 he abandoned his doctoral studies at Yale to pursue acting full time. Duchovny means 'spiritual' in Russian. Gillian Anderson stands 5"3, was born in Chicago, Illinois, and has a daughter named Piper. She was married to husband Clyde Klotz on the 17th hole of a golf course in Hawaii by a Buddhist priest, and claims her favourite film to be the 1993 English animated comedy THE WRONG TROUSERS. Chris Carter worked for 13 years as writer and senior editor for "Surfing" magazine. -------------------------------------------- Visit JoBlo's Movie Emporium http://www.microtec.net/~drsuess/ -------------------------------------------- (c) 1998 Berge Garabedian From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Jul 1 11:24:19 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!fci-se!fci!newsfeed1.swip.net!swipnet!howland.erols.net!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: cjc@interport.net (Cheng-Jih Chen) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 1 Jul 1998 04:28:14 GMT Organization: Interport Communications Lines: 117 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6ncdsu$e56$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer35.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899267294 14502 (None) 140.142.64.5 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13039 Keywords: author=chen X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer35.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12247 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1967 I'm not sure how many TV series have been moved to the big screen before the end of its small screen run. Actually, I'm not sure if there are that many TV series that are brought to the big screen at all: it seems to be an 1990s phenomenon, though there was Star Trek all those years go. Mostly, what we see are nostalgia trips ("Flintstones", "Lost in Space", the "Avengers") ironic revivals ("The Brady Bunch") or Ideas That Should Not Have Been Thought ("Dennis the Menace"). But we'll probably never see (thankfully, actually) a "Friends" movie, though it may feel like that each and every Jennifer Aniston or David Schwimmer romantic comedy is an alternative history of the TV show. So, on Friday, "X-Files" has joined "Beavis and Butthead" and "MST3K" as the three TV shows I can name off-hand to have made it to the big screen before their runs have finished. It should be more successful than its two predecessors. While it may not make the American Film Institute's Top 100 films (not exactly an authoritative list), it isn't disappointing, like "Beavis and Butthead", or why-bother like "MST3K". I had hoped "X-Files" would have been more ambitious. Considering the series internal mythology and its threads of continuity, my idea of an "X-Files" movie would have been a movie that could have been dropped into the existing series as-is. It would have been a vehicle to carry the myth arc from the season finale, and leave questions for the season premiere. The series would have torn down the increasingly tattered curtain between small and big screens. Yes, this would have shut out people who don't watch the series, but it's unclear if it'd be that much of a loss. I don't think that many non-fans will see the movie, and there are some 20 million people following the series. At $5 a pop, you have a $100 million movie. Plus repeats, because people will watch it several times to dig out the myth-arc clues or the tiniest indicators of the Mulder-Scully relationship. The strength of the fan base depends in large part on exploring these mysteries. Yes, it'd make less than "Godzilla", but Chris Carter et al wouldn't have staked $200 million in a movie that'll make $150M. The "X-Files" movie, as it turns out, was made to be more accessible to general audiences, and this robs it of a lot of punch. Whether the movie will be well-referred to next season is open to question. Certainly, the elements of the past finale aren't present, beyond an off-hand reference to the closing down of the X-Files as semi-organized activity. A recurring character does die, so I suppose they have to say something. He, however, was not as significant as Deep Throat, Mr. X or the Cancer Man. In any case, the centerpiece Conspiracy plays a little like a Monster of the Week. The uninitiated have perhaps heard of the Conspiracy, would expect to see it in the movie, but it feels there more for scares and chills than for advancing the myth-arc. Yes, things are revealed about the nature of the black oil and what the Conspiracy is up to, but not much more than we know already. The main datum is that the Conspiracy itself, in setting up a double-cross, has itself been double-crossed. Besides this, Scully has to be rescued by Mulder. At the end, Cancer Man is talking to someone else, and there's a "curses, foiled again by Mulder" moment. General audiences may wonder why they don't just kill Mulder -- they've offed others. I suppose, in the space of this movie, it was too much to go into the Mulder-is-an-unwitting-pawn (i.e., "Luke, I am your father") thread that was touched on in the past two seasons. Yes, the speculation was wrong, but there still seems to be something special about Mulder. One thing that surprised me was the apocalyptic themes in the film. While apocalypse and millennium may have lurked in the background of the "X-Files" (and is the centerpiece of Carter's other series), there has never been a sense that the Conspiracy would lead towards an almost Biblical end of the world scenario. Yet that is what the movie implies, in no unclear terms. I think it's an interesting change, though I'm not sure if it's a good one. The movie, being a summer movie, isn't the height of originality. There are clearly bits and pieces from "Aliens". Actually, this reduces the extraterrestrials a fair amount. Prior to this, the aliens lurked in the shadows; it wasn't clear if they even existed outside of Mulder's mind. Now, we see them a bit more clearly: not quite men in rubber suits, but they've lost the sense of the sinister, the diabolical. There are also Lovecraftian influences. "X-Files" has had Lovecraftian stories before, but mainly having to do with funguses hiding deep in the ground. This is similar: underground viruses that have existed for eons, a trip to Antartica. Perhaps it's more fitting for the end of the century: viruses and things that violate internally, rather than Great Old Ones menacing externally. Oh, one somewhat cute thing: Mulder and Scully finally lock lips, but only in a Xena-Gabriel or Xander-Buffy sort of way. This is actually unrelated to any Shipper revelation. As a tease, a bone was tossed to Shippers earlier. It's unclear if this bone will lead to anything else in the upcoming season. The Scully-Mulder interaction is fairly good in the movie, a bit looser than it has been for most of this season. There's a personal-crisis-must-happen-in-movies theme, of Scully being transfered to Utah. It, of course, is resolved by re-opening the X-Files as an investigative unit at the end of the movie, but I thought it'd make for a nice way to move the series to Los Angeles: Mulder and Scully are sent out there as a condition of re-establishing the X-Files. All in all, I liked the movie. I thought it could have been more ambitious, but I was entertained. It's nice to see scenes unfolding in Washington or Texas, instead of South Vancouver or East Vancouver. "The court determined that Fox TV does not impede free and fair competition in the teen-angst soap-com genre, therefore Party of Five need not be broken into five 'Parties of One,' one being distributed to each of the other networks." -- "The court determined that Fox TV does not impede free and fair competition in the teen-angst soap-com genre, therefore Party of Five need not be broken into five 'Parties of One,' one being distributed to each of the other networks." From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Jul 1 11:25:18 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!erix.ericsson.se!fci-se!fci!newsfeed1.swip.net!swipnet!howland.erols.net!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: "Rick Ferguson" Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 1 Jul 1998 04:29:12 GMT Organization: None Lines: 102 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6ncduo$dti$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer34.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899267352 14258 (None) 140.142.64.5 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13040 Keywords: author=ferguson X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer34.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12240 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1965 THE X FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE Starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson Written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz Directed by Rob Bowman Let me preface this review by stating up front that I am not a fan of THE X FILES. Not that I have anything against the show - it's just that I watch so many movies that if I watched TV too, I'd really have no life. I am wired into pop culture enough to know the basics: about abducted sisters and black ooze and a cigarette-smoking villain who may be Mulder's father. I know that the show has grown more popular every year it's been on, making it the first serious rival to the uber-fandom of STAR TREK that has consumed the lives of so many otherwise rational adults. A movie version of this phenomenon was perhaps inevitable, but its success was by no means guaranteed. Series creator Chris Carter and director Rob Bowman had, really, a daunting task before them: to make a feature film that would satisfy their core constituents, entertain newbies and make enough money to avoid embarrassing themselves. Did they succeed? From this outsider's perspective, I'd say they did. THE X FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE is an entertaining piece of fiction, and the first truly original release of this otherwise lackluster summer movie season. If you're a fan of the series, you will no doubt have already seen the picture by the time you read this review. On the off chance that you're reading this from your hospital bed or on a cruise ship, however, I'll refrain from spoilers. Suffice it to say that the plot stems from events which occurred in the last couple of episodes of the series, events which involve a "black oil" which is really the vanguard of an extraterrestrial viral invasion of Earth. The film opens in Texas in 3500 B.C., in which two primitive travelers stumble upon the virus in an icy cave. This is some virus: it mutates rapidly into a deadly intelligent humanoid life form which seems to exist solely to disembowel unsuspecting humans. We fast-forward to the present day, when a Texas youth falls into the same cave and releases the same virus. This event leads us to Dallas, where we find FBI agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) relieved of their X-Files duties and reassigned to an anti-terrorism unit. The death of the infected boy leads directly to the destruction of the Dallas Federal building, which in turn leads Mulder and Scully back into the massive alien-invasion cover-up helmed by the mysterious Well-Manicured Man (John Neville) and the even-more-mysterious Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis). Before they know it our two intrepid agents are back in the familiar territory of illicit autopsies, nervous informants, unmarked black helicopters, secret government installations and sublimated sexual energy. It looked to me like you X-philes out there had everything your paranoid hearts could desire. Like the STAR TREK movies, THE X FILES works in a cinematic shorthand of sorts, introducing its main characters without the typically-required exposition because they already have a long history together. This history resulted in a lot of enthusiasm in the friendly audience with which I saw the film: they cheered Mulder when he appeared, cheered loudly for Scully when she started barking orders at the security guards in the Federal Building, and laughed at all the in-jokes. They didn't seem to mind that the plot is all a lot of hokum. There are a couple of tense and clever set-pieces, including a brilliant one involving a monstrous swarm of bees and a field of corn (don't ask). But the picture was hurt by the lack of a true villain and the need to keep things open-ended enough to avoid interfering with the on-going series. Carter and company can't really wrap things up when there's a new season's worth of skullduggery to consider. But the plot is beside the point. What I learned from watching this picture is that the alien conspiracy is really just window dressing for the true key to THE X FILES' success: the central love story. Mulder and Scully are passionately in love with each other. To succumb to their feelings would be to destroy their working relationship and thus imperil the fate of the Earth; it is therefore our treat to watch them physically strain against the chains wrapped around their libidos. These two make Sam and Diane look like pikers. Duchovny and Anderson, five year series veterans both, are in full command of this knowledge and are thus able to inject real emotion into their scenes together. If you watch closely, you'll realize that the picture is even structured like a traditional love story. It doesn't matter whether your setting is the Civil War, the Bolshevik Revolution, a doomed ocean liner or a vast government conspiracy - the point is to keep the lovers apart as long as possible, because that's where the drama comes from. So THE X FILES seems to satisfy old fans and create new ones - at least on the night I saw it. It offers a refreshing sci-fi vision that stands head and shoulders above all the Alien clones and refried INDEPENDENCE DAY-style claptrap splattered on the movie screens this decade. It also has a future as a franchise, if its creators can maintain this level of quality. Not only did it demonstrate exactly what drives the show's success, but it made me a believer. I just might have to start scheduling time on Sunday nights. GRADE: B+ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Please visit the FilmGeek website at: http://www.filmgeek.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Jul 1 11:25:22 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!fci-se!fci!masternews.telia.net!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!newsfeed.direct.ca!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: "Yen, Homer" Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 1 Jul 1998 04:31:51 GMT Organization: None Lines: 61 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6nce3n$17ng$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer26.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899267511 40688 (None) 140.142.64.4 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13053 Keywords: author=yen X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer26.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12233 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1964 Intriguing "X-Files" Reveals More Questions than Answers "The X-Files: Fight the Future" is the first attempt to leverage the appeal of the popular television series onto the big screen. Incorporating elaborate sets, a complex yet intriguing tale that weaves government cover-ups with deadly viruses and aliens, and the familiar presence of two determined FBI agents, the result is a quick-paced, conspiracy-laden movie that is somewhat hokey but enjoyably quirky. After a supposed act of terrorism that results in incredibly horrific disaster, our two heroes, FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are being pointed at by the finger of blame. As an inquiry into their incompetence begins, Mulder is approached by an eccentric man (Martin Landau) with wild ideas of conspiracies, cover-ups, and a theory as to why the act of terrorism was actually an act of our own government. "The government is secretly negotiating a planned Armageddon," he urges. Skeptical at first but ultimately open to any idea, as wild as they may be, that would reinforce his personal quest to expose government cover-ups and to get to the truth, Mulder begs a tired and defeated Scully to help him in his pursuit. Meanwhile, someone has been watching their every move and is taking steps to make sure that they never find out the truth. As a story about conspiracies, it gives us a nice long list of elements that keeps the audience involved while allowing the movie to easily transition from one sequence/location to another. These include: the informant with his personal agenda that periodically gives out questionably reliable information, characters that appear once early on and then re-appear much later as murky warnings to oncoming danger, narrow alleyways and clandestine meetings that provide a backdrop where secrets are learned and business is taken care of, and a smattering of clues that ultimately guides Mulder and Scully toward the truth. Having watched only two or three episodes of the popular tv series, I can't really comment on whether this is better or worse than the average episode. Virtually every person that has appeared in the series does make a brief appearance. However, they amount to only cameos and don't complicate the main focus of the story. Also, there is a good deal of exposition on the motivations of our two intrepid agents - for example, we learn why Mulder has engaged this personal quest of his and why he is viewed less-than-seriously by his peers. Meanwhile, we hear why Scully was assigned as his partner. These are things that devoted fans already know, so it is for the benefit of people like me. Fans will probably find these sections protracted and boring. The spirit of the X-Files is geared towards things that are 'not easily categorized or referenced.' As such, the story will raise more questions than reveal answers. For example, what was the motivation behind the government perpetuating an obviously self-destructive course of action? And, if the conspiracy is global in nature, why are there only two lone FBI agents trying to solve the whole thing? Perhaps this is all part of the mythology of the series. Regardless of my lack of viewership and the questions that I had, I thought that overall, the movie worked in delivering a witty string of sequences that melded conspiracy and science-fiction, and I did like the general look and the atmosphere of secrecy that it projected. Grade: B From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jul 7 11:49:16 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!news-stkh.gip.net!news-peer.gip.net!news.gsl.net!gip.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!wn3feed!135.173.83.25!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: Martin Thomas ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 7 Jul 1998 04:52:09 GMT Organization: IDES Of MARCH ~Lines: 131 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6ns9hp$ffo$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> ~Reply-To: drmartin32@earthlink.net NNTP-Posting-Host: homer37.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899787129 15864 (None) 140.142.64.4 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13089 Keywords: author=thomas X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer37.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12276 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1971 There's this Sci-Fi tv show my roommate and I used to scramble to watch every weekend and I can't remember the name of it. The leads were a man and a woman, and I remember that their relationship was platonic. The woman was a sexy redhead and the guy was more normal looking than your average lantern-jawed action hero. The premise of the show was that every week they would go and investigate a new paranormal phenomenon. Yeah, that was it! And the name of the show was...uh...uh... ...Aw, damn. I'm not leaving here until I remember. THE X-FILES movie picks up where the highly popular tv show leaves off with the continuing adventures of FBI agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson). This time they're on the trail of a conspiracy to cover up the existence of a prehistoric virus that's connected to aliens. Being that the show is heavily centered around secrets I won't reveal any more of the plot, other than to say it asks as many questions as it answers. Like the movie STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT, the story is the conclusion to a season finale. One big concern has been that non-viewers may get confused, but let assuage that fear right now. You don't need to be a regular viewer to understand THE X-FILES movie...you just need to be a regular viewer to enjoy THE X-FILES movie. The two movies I would probably most compare it to would be CONSPIRACY THEORY and THE ARRIVAL, but it wouldn't be a fair or favorable comparison. Despite how you may feel about either of those movies, in terms of plot, pacing, dialogue and character development they are out of THE X-FILES' league. The X-FILES is not so much a ‘movie' as it is the latest of the new genre of Movie/ Current TV Show hybrids (see also BEAVIS &BUTTHEAD DO AMERICA; STAR TREK: GENERATIONS ). Like the others X- FILES comes off as more of a two hour episode with better production values and slower pacing. While it does have the look of a ‘real' movie, its inexperience shows. The action sequences are shot at such close proximity that all you can make out are indistinguishable flashes. It's lazy in its characterizations, relying on the fact that you already know them well enough from watching the show. Often I knew that phrases or characters meant something important only by how long the camera stayed on them, the audience's reaction or how dramatic the music was. There's nothing clever or unique about the dialogue and, except for an action scene near the end that takes place in the arctic, it's very low on a main ingredient that even the worst summer movies have: Cool parts! Even the obligatory appearance of ‘The Lone Gunmen' is meaningless and gimmicky. Originally, I felt that I should exempt myself from reviewing THE show...and believe me I've tried. I desperately want to like it. So many of my friends, whose opinions I respect, love the show. I don't know about you, but to me the only thing better than watching a good show is talking about it the next day with friends. And don't mistake me for one of those people who don't like something just because it's popular. Please! To me those people are worse than bandwagon-hoppers because they live under the delusion that they're hipper and less manipulated. No, I've watched The X-Files about 12 times (how many chances would you give a show you don't like?) and I've liked only 3 episodes...and from what I hear those episodes were anomalies. I think that to like the show you maybe have to be open to a few concepts such as: David Duchovny as a good or charismatic actor- With the notable exceptions of his turns on THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW and TWIN PEAKS, I've always found David Duchovny to be something of an Eckerd's brand Richard Gere...and let's face it, even a ‘top shelf' Richard Gere is not always desirable. On a more personal note: Duchovny physically reminds me of an ex- boss. My only enjoyment from the show used to be watching him get dissed and beat up by the other agents. Conspiracies! Conspiracies! Conspiracies!- I'm probably one of the least paranoid people you'll ever meet. I do, however, believe that all professional sports are ‘fixed' to one degree or another. I also think our government is guilty of every corrupt thing they've been accused of...EXCEPT covering up the existence of aliens. Extraterrestrial beings inhabiting the Earth- We all look to the skies for the answers we can't find here. Some find religion and some, well... Without putting you through a session in the Total Perspective Vortex let me throw a few facts at you: We are 500 light-seconds from the sun. The next nearest star to earth is 4.3 light-years away- something like 23,000 billion miles away! Even traveling at one million miles an hour, it would take more than 2,500 years to get there. Despite the probability of intelligent life on other planets, any signal from any planet in the universe broadcast in any direction is unlikely to be in the path of another inhabited planet. Waiting for a signal might require a wait longer than any life on any planet might last. If we were to get a signal, the waves carrying that signal left hundreds or thousands of years earlier and by the time we tracked its source down, the sending planet may no longer be habitable or even exist. An extraterrestrial would have better odds winning Lotto three times in a row than finding Earth. ****************************************************** If you think I don't see the absurdity of religiously watching XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS but not ‘buying' THE X-FILES, you're wrong. But shows like XENA, and even HIGHLANDER, aren't ashamed of their cheesiness. They cut right to what's adventurous and fun, and don't exert so much energy trying to convince everyone how ‘serious' they are. Don't tell me about X-FILES being ‘tongue-in-cheek'. I know that some of them are (like the 3 that I liked) but the majority are not. After all, we are talking a bout a show that's won awards for Best Drama as well as Actor(??) & Actress (okay,I admit she's pretty damn good). I didn't say all of this to try to convince you to not like the show. Being that it is a Sci-Fi genre movie, no critic can accurately predict how you'll feel about it. THE X-FILES means something different to each person. My goal was to give you an idea of the filter you should use on my comments. If it helps to know, the theater I saw it in was packed with ‘X-fans', and they all seemed to dig it. Hey, "The truth is out there"... ...I'm just not sure you should pay $7 for what you see every week for free. OH!! I just remembered the name of that tv show I was thinking of! It was FRI--- What? Who said X-FILES?...No, no, it was FRIDAY THE 13th: The TV Series!. Gee, nothing new under the sun, huh? -MARTIN From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jul 7 11:49:16 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!news-ge.switch.ch!news-fra1.dfn.de!news-was.dfn.de!nntp-out.monmouth.com!newspeer.monmouth.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: "Mikel J. Koven" ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.current-films,alt.tv.x-files,rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 7 Jul 1998 04:52:27 GMT Organization: Memorial University of Newfoundland ~Lines: 195 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6ns9ib$f80$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer22.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899787147 15616 (None) 140.142.64.5 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13092 Keywords: author=koven X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer22.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.current-films:242308 alt.tv.x-files:356106 rec.arts.movies.reviews:12301 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1976 The following was printed in the St. John's Express, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. All views are the authors, but copyright is held by Robinson-Blackmore, 1998. Movie Review by Mikel J. Koven I think that saying that The X-Files is one of this summer's most anticipated films is safe. For five years, "The X-Files" television show has developed a dedicated fan culture, whose rabid devotion to the series rivals that of "Star Trek" fans. The premise of both the movie and the television series is two FBI agents who investigate the paranormal; Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is the avid believer whose quest to find the truth about extraterrestrial life borders on the paranoid, and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is the scientific skeptic trying to find a rational explanation to Mulder's flights of fancy. Outlining the plot of The X-Files movie is virtually impossible, since to be general would result in confusion, yet to be specific would give too much away. Nevertheless, I will try. "The black ooze," and extraterrestrial, virus-like substance is threatening Earth. A "shadow government" is aware of this, but tries to cover-up the alien existence. Mulder and Scully know "the truth is out there," and so try to expose both the invasion and the cover-up. There are three central questions I have heard asked about this movie: 1. Will those who don't watch the series be able to understand the movie? Yes. Isolated as an individual text, The X-Files can stand alone. They have given enough background for anyone, familiar with the show or not, to understand the movie. Although some of the secondary characters' histories may confuse the uninitiated, those characters are not essential to the film. This is a major problem: they trot out token secondary characters from the series out for an appearance and then disappear just as quickly. Why bring Superintendent Skinner into the picture in the first place, and then have him sat silently on an FBI internal affairs committee? Why bring in "The Lone Gunmen," three computer geek conspiracy theorists, for an even briefer appearance? These characters are recurrent on the series, and their appearance in the film was met with whoops from the audience (suggesting their popularity among fans - actually most of the audience could pass for "the Lone Gunmen"). Still, then they vanish just as quickly. 2. The television show never gives us any answers. Will the movie actually explain some things? Yes. In The X-Files we get a fairly complete history of "the black ooze," what it is and what it wants. We finally get some understanding of the motivations behind the "shadow government." There are even some subtle tie-ins with contemporary UFO-ology, including the "greys" and the Roswell Crash of 1947. 3. Is the movie any good? No. The X-Files is a dreadful movie and shows some fundamental problems with writer/creator Chris Carter's talents and the relationship between cinema and television. First off, the screenplay by series creator Chris Carter is sloppy and cliched. After approximately forty-five minutes (the length of a television episode minus the commercials), the pace drops to a snail's crawl. Not long after that point, when Carter attempts to answer some questions we have had about the series, we wish he had not. The explanations are so trite and ridiculous that one would have preferred it had Carter not explained quite so much. I am willing to suspend my disbelief a fair bit, but the absurdity Carter wants me to swallow was just too much. Breaking the suspension of disbelief destroys the movie - and listening to other fans leave the cinema, maybe the series too. The explanations are not only absurd, they are tired and unoriginal. The extraterrestrials breed and gestate like those from the Alien series, and their craft looks like a leftover set piece from Independence Day. Note that the Alien movies, ID4, and The X-Files are all from 20thCentury Fox - a studio that is beginning to cannibalize itself I think. The X-Files is noteworthy for being the only movie based on a television series to be produced while the series was still running. In comparing the movie and television series certain aspects of the respective media emerge. The avoidance of the series to answer the questions it raised annoyed and frustrated many people. However, I rather liked that about the series. Television allows you to impose as much, or as little, meaning on a show as you want. It is the proverbial "blank screen" which we project our minds on. Meaning on television is open and ambiguous; it is the nature of the medium. Cinema, on the other hand, is the opposite. It projects onto us the filmmakers mind. We can, in some films, fill the textual gaps ourselves, but that almost never happens in an American film. Meaning, in cinema, needs to be self-contained and determined. So, when The X-Files made that jump from small to big screen, Carter needed to take into consideration the differences in the medium as well. He did not. By making explicit, what the television show left implicit, Carter reveals the limits of his creativity and skill. When they say that "fans" make a TV show, it is not far from the truth. On television, fan culture must impose its meanings on the text because there is nothing there. How true that is when we see the "explicit" X-Files - there is nothing there. Rating: * (out of four) --------------C6203DBE2EE2D65EFCC41C3B The following was printed in the St. John's Express, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.
All views are the authors, but copyright is held by Robinson-Blackmore, 1998.
 

Movie Review
by Mikel J. Koven

 I think that saying that The X-Files is one of this summer's most anticipated films is safe.  For five years, "The X-Files" television show has developed a dedicated fan culture, whose rabid devotion to the series rivals that of "Star Trek" fans.
 The premise of both the movie and the television series is two FBI agents who investigate the paranormal; Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is the avid believer whose quest to find the truth about extraterrestrial life borders on the paranoid, and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is the scientific skeptic trying to find a rational explanation to Mulder's flights of fancy.
 Outlining the plot of The X-Files movie is virtually impossible, since to be general would result in confusion, yet to be specific would give too much away.  Nevertheless, I will try.  "The black ooze," and extraterrestrial, virus-like substance is threatening Earth.  A "shadow government" is aware of this, but tries to cover-up the alien existence.  Mulder and Scully know "the truth is out there," and so try to expose both the invasion and the cover-up.
 There are three central questions I have heard asked about this movie:
 1.  Will those who don't watch the series be able to understand the movie?  Yes.  Isolated as an individual text, The X-Files can stand alone.  They have given enough background for anyone, familiar with the show or not, to understand the movie.  Although some of the secondary characters' histories may confuse the uninitiated, those characters are not essential to the film.  This is a major problem: they trot out token secondary characters from the series out for an appearance and then disappear just as quickly.
 Why bring Superintendent Skinner into the picture in the first place, and then have him sat silently on an FBI internal affairs committee?  Why bring in "The Lone Gunmen," three computer geek conspiracy theorists, for an even briefer appearance?  These characters are recurrent on the series, and their appearance in the film was met with whoops from the audience (suggesting their popularity among fans - actually most of the audience could pass for "the Lone Gunmen").  Still, then they vanish just as quickly.
 2.  The television show never gives us any answers.  Will the movie actually explain some things?  Yes.  In The X-Files we get a fairly complete history of "the black ooze," what it is and what it wants.  We finally get some understanding of the motivations behind the "shadow government."  There are even some subtle tie-ins with contemporary UFO-ology, including the "greys" and the Roswell Crash of 1947.
 3.  Is the movie any good?  No.  The X-Files is a dreadful movie and shows some fundamental problems with writer/creator Chris Carter's talents and the relationship between cinema and television.
 First off, the screenplay by series creator Chris Carter is sloppy and cliched.  After approximately forty-five minutes (the length of a television episode minus the commercials), the pace drops to a snail's crawl.  Not long after that point, when Carter attempts to answer some questions we have had about the series, we wish he had not.  The explanations are so trite and ridiculous that one would have preferred it had Carter not explained quite so much.  I am willing to suspend my disbelief a fair bit, but the absurdity Carter wants me to swallow was just too much.  Breaking the suspension of disbelief destroys the movie - and listening to other fans leave the cinema, maybe the series too.
 The explanations are not only absurd, they are tired and unoriginal.  The extraterrestrials breed and gestate like those from the Alien series, and their craft looks like a leftover set piece from Independence Day.  Note that the Alien movies, ID4, and The X-Files are all from 20thCentury Fox - a studio that is beginning to cannibalize itself I think.
 The X-Files is noteworthy for being the only movie based on a television series to be produced while the series was still running.  In comparing the movie and television series certain aspects of the respective media emerge.
 The avoidance of the series to answer the questions it raised annoyed and frustrated many people.  However, I rather liked that about the series.  Television allows you to impose as much, or as little, meaning on a show as you want.  It is the proverbial "blank screen" which we project our minds on.  Meaning on television is open and ambiguous; it is the nature of the medium.
 Cinema, on the other hand, is the opposite.  It projects onto us the filmmakers mind.  We can, in some films, fill the textual gaps ourselves, but that almost never happens in an American film.  Meaning, in cinema, needs to be self-contained and determined.
 So, when The X-Files made that jump from small to big screen, Carter needed to take into consideration the differences in the medium as well.  He did not.  By making explicit, what the television show left implicit, Carter reveals the limits of his creativity and skill.
 When they say that "fans" make a TV show, it is not far from the truth.  On television, fan culture must impose its meanings on the text because there is nothing there.  How true that is when we see the "explicit" X-Files - there is nothing there.

Rating: * (out of four) --------------C6203DBE2EE2D65EFCC41C3B-- From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jul 7 11:49:16 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!erix.ericsson.se!erinews.ericsson.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news01.sunet.se!news99.sunet.se!news-peer-europe.sprintlink.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: Matt Williams ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 7 Jul 1998 05:11:06 GMT Organization: None ~Lines: 80 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6nsala$18l4$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer12.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899788266 41636 (None) 140.142.64.2 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13104 Keywords: author=williams X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer12.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12290 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1974 THE X-FILES A film review by Matt Williams RATING: * * out of * * * * The X-Files joins the ranks of television shows moving to the big screen, but (in a rare occurence) it is doing so in the midst of its popular television run. Though this might serve to boost its audience, it only has a detrimental effect on the film, which ranks as an adequate episode of the series...nothing really worth the trouble of a feature adaptation. For those of you unfamiliar with the series, The X-Files are a division of the F.B.I. which investigates unusual cases (particularly those that are of a paranormal nature). The two agents who have been assigned to the X-Files are Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), the smart-alecky true believer, and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), the level-headed skeptic. The pair had begun to uncover a government conspiracy involving aliens. However, they came too close, and their office was burned and the At the opening of the X-Files movie, Mulder and Scully have been reassigned to an anti-terrorist detail. But that pesky alien conspiracy just won't leave them alone. Even when assigned to a routine detail, such as evacuating a Dallas federal building after a bomb threat, can turn mysterious when these two are involved. And sooner than you can say "extraterrestrial biological entity", they're hip deep in the paranormal again. Most of the standard X-Files supporting players are here. On the good guy's side, there's Mulder and Scully's semi-supportive boss, Director Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), and Mulder's three conspiracy obsessed pals, The Lone Gunmen (Tom Braidwood, Bruce Harwood, and Dean Haglund). In the Syndicate, the evil secret government organization behind the conspiracy, there's Well-Manicured Man (John Neville) and the ol' favorite Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis). And of course, no around, Martin Landau plays Kurtzweil, a man who passes some critical information Mulder's way. The strengths of The X-Files movie are the same as the series. Duchovny and Anderson are very engaging leads, displaying the same great chemistry here as they do on the tv show. Plus, the picture has a wonderfully paranoid atmosphere, which so enthralls the audience that they'll willingly follow along even the most ludicrous plot. However, the film is also hamstrung by the series. Since the series will continue next season, there can be no ultimate conclusion to the film. Everything must continue status quo for the series to resume. As a result, the movie feels more like a two-part episode of the series rather than a big screen spectacle. >From a purely narrative point of view, The X-Files movie falls apart. The entire plot is driven by an unlikely set of coincidences. Both sides, the good guys and the bad guys, cast their fates into the wind and let pure luck decide their outcomes. The underlying conspiracy is hopelessly convoluted, with even more loose ends than plot twists. Even in comparison to the overall series plot, the movie fails (actually altering a major component of the series "mythology" to conform with more cinematic tastes). For novices to the X-Files, the movie would be very confusing to follow. The movie assumes a base familiarity with the key characters, and even with some of the details of the overall conspiracy (which are summarized, but too briefly for newcomers). Devoted fans of the series will find that they are being treated with utter contempt. Not only does the movie fail to answer any relevant questions, but the movie's bungled mishandling of the Mulder-Scully romantic angle is sure to displease both 'shippers and anti-'shippers alike. The X-Files movie might have worked well as a television episode. As a movie, it generates a good atmosphere and has a pair of good performances from the leads...and that's about it. Copyright 1998 Matt Williams - Matt Williams (matt@cinematter.com) Reviewer for Cinematter: http://www.cinematter.com Home of over 500 reviews, and information on over 600 upcoming releases From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jul 7 11:49:16 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!fu-berlin.de!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: Craig Roush ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.current-films ~Date: 7 Jul 1998 05:28:50 GMT Organization: Exec-PC BBS Internet - Milwaukee, WI ~Lines: 74 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6nsbmi$18bq$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer25.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899789330 41338 (None) 140.142.64.5 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13117 Keywords: author=roush X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer25.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12280 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1972 THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE Release Date: June 19, 1998 Starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, William B. Davis, Blythe Danner, John Neville, Mitch Pileggi, Armin Mueller-Stahl Directed by: Rob Bowman Distributed by: 20th Century Fox Film Corp. MPAA Rating: PG-13 (intense violence and gore) URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1998/xfiles.htm For a long time one of the top-ten rated shows on network television, THE X-FILES has generated a cult following of enviable size. Its jump to the big screen format, then, is only a natural progression of evolution; similar, in some ways, to the movement of another staple of twentieth century pop culture, STAR TREK. Although producers of both television series are most concerned with box office dollars (requiring the movies to be watchable by viewers who are not fans of the show), the writer-director team behind THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE have managed to integrate some continuity with the TV show and at the same time make an enjoyable movie independent of its base. This success will surely garner it money that would otherwise be lost by bad word of mouth. The television show focuses on the activities of two federal agents. Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), the lead, is obsessed with the paranormal and devoted to a series of cases that can be classified as such. His partner, Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), is almost the opposite: a rationalizing doctor of medicine assigned by the FBI to debunk Mulder's claims. In the movie, Mulder and Scully investigate a bomb threat at a Federal Building in Dallas, Texas, but when the bomb goes off a committee is formed to assess blame. Mulder, suspecting the real intent is to break his partnership up, gets drunk and runs into a shady character named Dr. Allan Kurtzweil (Martin Landau). Kurtzweil tells him that the bomb was planted as part of a cover-up; the Federal Emergency Managment Agency offices in the building had evidence of a deadly virus that the government was concealing. Kurtzweil also points the inebriated Mulder toward the American Southwest to investigate further. It's in these opening scenes that the characters show both the greatest moments and their biggest shortcomings. The dialogue is the most strewn-out here - later on it takes second position to more intense action - and it offers the actors to show their talents. David Duchovny gets plenty of chance to show his talent as an actor, and even a line which makes fun of his own trademarked stoic look. Gillian Anderson, who mostly plays second fiddle to the leading man, is there to offer a bit of sexual diversity in a cast almost entirely composed of males. Her presence, though not outstanding in any particular manner, is rather welcome. The cast of supporting characters, too, highlights the story's focus on the paranormal and paranoia which is such a core component of THE X-FILES' ideology. As the story continues, it takes our heroes Mulder and Scully to more diverse regions, including the wastelands of Antarctica. There are quite a few memorable special effects sequences, and this is the movie's stronger point. Although the opening scenes give way to screen time exposure, what's actually being said is of little value to the uninformed viewer. Because the movie draws heavily on the characterization developed through several seasons' worth of network airing, there's not much to establish the characters in the movie. Although being a fan of the series isn't necessary, having watched a few episodes will be a great help, almost an extension of the characters in the movie. Having an enlightened friend explain it is also preferrable. Once the viewer is past the slow take-off, though, the tension meter steadily climbs, and this is what makes THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE a more enjoyable suspense-adventure film. FINAL AWARD FOR "THE X-FILES": 3.0 stars - a good movie -- Craig Roush kinnopio@execpc.com -- Kinnopio's Movie Reviews http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jul 7 11:49:16 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!fu-berlin.de!howland.erols.net!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: Steve Kong ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: The X-Files: Fight The Future (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 7 Jul 1998 05:30:43 GMT Organization: The Hard Boiled Movie Page (http://boiled.sbay.org/boiled/) ~Lines: 97 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6nsbq3$hei$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer04.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899789443 17874 (None) 140.142.64.4 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13136 Keywords: author=kong X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer04.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12287 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1973 THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE (1998) A film review by Steve Kong Edited by Cher Johnson Copyright 1998 Steve Kong Don't Miss The X-Files: Fight The Future! Am I biased? Maybe. I've been an X-Files watcher since episode one and haven't missed an episode since. I buy anything with the X-Files logo or name on it: I have stacks of X-Files books, an X-File cup, X-Files posters, fan. I guess you can imagine the wait I endured after I heard in June of 1997 that The X-Files movie was starting its shoot. When the teasers hit the big screen I was ecstatic; my two favourite FBI agents were going to be on the big screen. The X-Files: Fight The Future has to do two things: It has to satisfy the die-hard X-Philes, like myself, and it has to entertain casual viewers. Does the film do both? The X-Files starts with three TV-style teaser bits. The first starts us off in 35,000 BC, in the area of Texas. The second brings us to present time in the same place. The third is longer, more exciting, and is a fitting introduction to our favourite heroes. The third TV-style teaser shows a bomb blowing off the front face of a building in Texas. Special Agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) are being blamed for the explosion and the resulting deaths. Mulder doesn't want to be the scapegoat in such an incident and coerces Scully into investigating in order to clear their names. The investigation leads to the duo finding out more than we can imagine. If I tell you what the investigation turns up, I'll be spoiling the film for you. But, let me give you some hints to what it turns up: informants in dark alleys, a Smoking Man, a Well-Manicured Man, a deadly virus, corn crops, bees, and more questions than answers. Chris Carter, the creator of The X-Files, during the filming of the movie bombarded us X-Philes with misinformation, trying to keep the plot a secret. He did a good job. The last few episodes of The X-Files TV show builds up the story that leads into the film. But, there is no prerequisite of having seen the TV show to thoroughly enjoy the film. Carter, who wrote the screenplay for the movie, does an incredible job of introducing us to the characters and doing exposition in ways that don't scream "This is a speech to fill you in on background and characters!" Watch for Mulder in the bar to see how Carter intelligently hides exposition in a speech that fits into the story so well. Also look for the scene where Mulder and Scully come to a fork in the road; this scene so fittingly shows how well these two work together. As for the performances of the leads, both Duchovny and Anderson make the leap from the small screen to the big screen without a hitch. Duchovny brings his trademark under-acting to the big screen along with his dry humor. Anderson looks stunning on the big screen. She brings her trademark stoic acting to the screen along with her now famous scream, "MULDER!" Kudos to both Duchovny and Anderson for not trying something new for the big screen version of the show. Among the supporting cast, Martin Landau and Armin Mueller-Stahl are standout performances. I was sad not to see Krycek (aka "Ratboy") in the film and was somewhat disappointed with the small role that the Smoking Man (William B. Davis) was given. Other X-Files regulars show up also, including Assistant Director Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), The Lone Gunmen (Dean Haglund, Bruce Harwood, Tom Braidwood), and The Well Manicured Man (John Neville). Worth mentioning are the score by Mark Snow and the wonderful cinematography by Ward Russell. Snow's score is haunting and rhythmic. Russell's cinematography is the big screen extension of his work on the small screen. The film is dark and moody. A regular director on the TV series, Rob Bowman, directs this big screen version and keeps the movie clipping along at a good pace. He also keeps the scares coming. The X-Files: Fight The Future is a two hour-long big budget episode of the TV series. It is exciting to see Duchovny and Anderson together on the big screen. The movie itself serves its purpose well: it satisfies the die-hard viewers. I do feel that the casual watchers will get more satisfaction out of the film, though. Carter promised a lot when he promoted the film ("The truth is revealed") and there are still a lot of remaining questions, but that doesn't bother me because there's a sixth season of The X-Files right around the corner. The film serves to reinvigorate the series and to revitalize the story line. It also serves to introduce new viewers to some of the intriguing stories that are in The X-Files universe. Thank you, Chris Carter for putting out a wonderful movie that extends the small screen X-Files to the big screen. Don't Miss The X-Files! "Trust no one, Mr. Mulder." --- Steve Kong reviews@boiled.sbay.org reviews from a guy who loves the cinema http://boiled.sbay.org/boiled/ From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jul 7 11:49:17 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: Matthew Brissette ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 7 Jul 1998 05:28:32 GMT Organization: University of Washington ~Lines: 114 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6nsbm0$18bm$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer36.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899789312 41334 (None) 140.142.64.2 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13116 Keywords: author=brissette X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer36.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12300 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1975 I think the first thing this reviewer should mention is wether or not I am a fan of The X-Files. First , let me assure you that no prior experience with the series is required to fully enjoy this movie. The producers are not stupid , making a movie just for fans of the series is not profitable. You have to reach for a larger audience. Therefore , the movie is quite user-friendly. Altough , non-fans will only fail to understand certain emotions behind the looks many characters exchange. But fear not , Duchovny and another man later on provide more than adequate background info on what is going on. You will never feel as if you just walked in on the third act of some great opera. In any case , the answer is no. I am not a fan of The X-Files , I only watch it when nothing else is on and I prefer Millennium. However , since the Fox network as been so kind as to air several key episodes for several weeks before the movie's opening weekend I took that opportunity to test the movie. I taped all of these episodes and watched them only after seing the movie , I am glad to report that I learned nothing new. Everything you need to know is explained to the viewer by Duchovny and others. I know I am going maybe a bit too far to make my point but everybody should get the chance to experience this movie. Warning: Major Spoilers Follow! Please do not read , to fully enjoy this movie you must not be able know what is coming , what exactly is over that hill and what that weird "hummm" sound is all about. You have been warned. The X-Files is what a summer should be. Exciting , scary , great special effects ( unlike other summer movies the effects do not take over the movie and are only there when it is really necessary ) and good performances. This is coming from a guy who thinks David Duchovny is the human equivalent of a wooden plank. From start to finish , this movie does not let go of you. When I compare it with last summer's movies the best way to describe it would be : take the excitement and great score from Face/Off and the deadly use of sound from Event Horizon. This flick is scary , not in a B movie kind of way where you always know where and when the critter will jump at our heroes. In fact , the first time the critter in this movie makes an apperance it is totally out of the blue. You might as well bring ear plugs because this thing is louuuudd! The last time a monster scared me that much was when I first saw Aliens as a six year old kid. You know , when you are affraid to put you feet on the floor because the creature might be under the chair , or when you keep trying to cover your throat with your shirt? So yeah , the X-Files is scary. And guess what? You never even have to see the monster but your imagination works overtime and it sure beats having to watch a flawed , computer generated , Babyzilla , it looks like you could walk right through it not even scarier than your grandma in undies type of monster. Do not think that The X-Files is a monster movie. In fact , the creature is there for maybe three minutes total. No , The X-Files is definately a Mulder episode of the series. Scully is at his side , of course , but Gillian Anderson gets maybe half the screen time. She has a couple of good scenes with Duchovny , but she gets kidnapped during the last half hour of the movie so she does not get to do much. No , this is Mulder's time in the spotlight. By now , you have heard of the scene where Mulder "showers" Independence Day. If you have not then I will not spoil it for you , let's just say that due to recent events Mulder should be "showering" Godzilla instead. To those of you wondering if Mulder discovers that the truth is indeed out there...who cares!? If he did find it the series would over anyway so what are you complaining about? The dialogue in interesting and the director is marvelous. The camera is almost always looking over the shoulder of our heroes so we feel as if we are right there with them when they open a door or climb a hill. The script is spotless , every thing that happens happens for a purpose. If you are confused by something , do not worry because it will all become clear later on but , and I cannot stress this enough , PAY ATTENTION!!! Unlike most summer movies , the dialogue is twice as important as the effects. Miss one vital piece of information and , like most people who talk during movies , you will go home and tell all your friends how this movie made no sense. Also , to those people who need to go to the bathroom during movies...DON'T! The person who watched the movie with me had to go twice and twice she missed an important conversation. There is no time to take a breather between scenes because , again unlike most summer movies ( Godzilla anybody? ) The X-Files does not need to fill scenes between the suspense and the action with useless subplots , every scene is crucial and serves a purpose. Who needs to see the blond chiouaoua have a "big emotional scene" between Godzilla attacks? So far this summer I have seen only one movie who ranks higher on my list of movies I'd recommend and that is the Truman Show but it only wins by a nose. But The Truman Show is not what I would call a summer movie , The X-Files is. What more do you ask from a summer movie other than the chance to be excited? Cool effects? It's good some. Pulse pounding? Hell yes! Strangely enough , I think that fans of the series will hate this movie while non-fans will have a good time. It does not provide answers to the show's many questions , the status quo remains nearly the same and , no , Mulder and Scully do not get together. Rating: Four and a half out of Five stars for the best movie yet this summer , several jump right out of your seat thrills , many "Whoah , I never saw that one coming!" moments , four "Holy Shit , where the hell did that come from" and one heck of an ending. You may wonder where this movie lost half a star. Well , I swore never to give a movie the full five stars so I had to find something about The in his ice truck , the tracks it leaves in the snow behind him go on for several miles but then they just stop. It's pretty obvious the film's makers drove the truck for several miles to give the appearance that Mulder had been driving for a long time , but in the end it looks like Mulder just dropped from the sky and started driving. Nitpicking , I know. So sue me! Play safe and have a good time From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jul 7 16:14:18 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!newsfeed.sollentuna.se!masternews.telia.net!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: "Nathaniel R. Atcheson" Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 7 Jul 1998 04:52:22 GMT Organization: Film Psychosis (http://www.pyramid.net/natesmovies) Lines: 102 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6ns9i6$r7u$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer34.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899787142 27902 (None) 140.142.17.35 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13091 Keywords: author=atcheson X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer34.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12316 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1979 The X-Files (1998) Director:  Rob Bowman Cast:  David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, Blythe Danner, Armin Mueller-Stahl, John Neville, Glenne Headly Screenplay:  Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz Producers:  Chris Carter, Daniel Sackheim Runtime:  120 min. US Distribution:  20th Century Fox Rated PG-13:  some intense violence, gore By Nathaniel R. Atcheson (nate@pyramid.net) I find most of television so intensely boring that I simply never turn on my set, unless I'm watching a movie. I don't even have cable, so I went to Radio Shack to buy an antenna specifically for the purpose of watching "The X-Files" every Sunday night. It's the only show that's worth an hour of my time each week (though, since I don't watch reruns, I'm glad that I have six months of the year to avoid television altogether). I am an avid fan of the show, and have been for about three years now. And I love Gillian Anderson. The X-Files is the film that continues the story where the season finale left off. The film is like a two-hour episode, except that there are a lot more special effects, the plot is thicker, and the resolution is more satisfying. This is a terrific film, both for fans of the series and for those who have never seen it (I imagine that viewers unfamiliar with the show will find the film to be solid and riveting entertainment). I expected to like it more than any episode I've seen, and my expectations were met. Actually, the film takes a few risks in its story and plot devices, but, thankfully, the makers managed to do it right. When the finale ended, the FBI branch known as the X-Files had been destroyed, and our heroes, Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) were left stripped of five years of hard work. The film picks up soon after; and Mulder and Scully have been reduced to field agents investigating a bomb threat in a Federal building. But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. The film actually opens in the ice age, about 32,000 years prior, during which a couple of prehistoric guys get attacked by a vicious alien. The alien's blood infects them (fans of the show will certainly remember the Black Cancer), and the story jumps into modern times, during which a young boy is also infected with the cancer. It turns out that the bomb was planted to kill the boy, and Mulder and Scully uncover the cover-up despite the fact that Scully has resigned from her position in the FBI. Soon, they find out that the whole thing has to do with aliens. As I've written before, it's not easy to write plot summaries for films like this, because everything needs to be a surprise. Fans of the show will know what to expect, and I seriously doubt any of them being disappointed with the film. Director Rob Bowman has done a great job expanding the eerie feeling of the show to the big screen, making small adjustments and minor changes to utilize the possibilities that film allows over television. There are some truly suspenseful and well-created scenes here (late in the film, when they're in the alien spacecraft, you'll see one of the better action sequences in recent cinema). The special effects are very good, and the production design by Christopher Nowak is fantastic. What I find interesting is that The X-Files is actually a great way for series neophytes to get into the story. Our heroes are given subtle introductions (we're not expected to know them on the outset), and the film explains enough of the story that prior knowledge of the series isn't required to understand the film. There are, of course, little elements that the makers have included as payoff to the fans, but I'll keep those as surprises. It takes a lot of thought and understanding of the series to create a film using roots as complicated as the ones that the series provides, and then create a coherent film that anyone can understand clearly. The series is strong for a lot of reasons. It's original (though it has many ties to "The Twilight Zone" and owes some homage to Hitchcock), and impressively eerie for a television show. What really makes the series shine, however, are the actors. Duchovny has so much presence, and is just a fun guy to watch. He has that confidence that will someday make him into a bankable leading man. Anderson is equally good, and paralyzingly beautiful; she's also a strong actress. Both performers have acted in little more than their series, however, though I think they'll both get their chances to prove themselves very soon. I enthusiastically recommend The X-Files, both for fans and non-fans. 1998 is a summer filled with disappointing blockbusters, and this film should satisfy where most of the others leave you completely dry. It's an intelligent film, and takes you places that you might not have been (or, at least, might not have seen so many times that they feel familiar). The X-Files is impressive in concept, as well: fans of the series are likely to be highly critical, and to take the premise beyond the series is a risky move. It's nice to see a risk pay off for a change. Actually, it's nice to see a risk at all. ***1/2 out of **** (8/10, B+) **********/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\************ Visit FILM PSYCHOSIS at http://www.pyramid.net/natesmovies Nathaniel R. Atcheson **********/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\************ From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jul 7 16:14:23 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news01.sunet.se!news99.sunet.se!masternews.telia.net!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: uobared@aol.com (UOBared) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews,rec.arts.movies.reviews Subject: Review: X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 7 Jul 1998 04:52:40 GMT Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com Lines: 28 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6ns9io$rga$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer15.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899787160 28170 (None) 140.142.64.5 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13095 Keywords: author=shard X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer15.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:1977 rec.arts.movies.reviews:12307 I am not going to give away any plot details so this review, won't give anything away, read on. This movie strives for what every big TV drama wants. To become a box-office hit and still remain a ratings monster on TV. The X-Files may be the first to accomplish this. Chris Carter wanted to please fans, but also attract new fans to the X-Files. He almost succedes. I am a long time viewer, and I was a little dissapointed, as they don't reveal some answers to plots I was hoping for. I won't tell you which though. The new fans won't be dissapointed. Carter introduces each character perfectly, and it doesn't annoy regular viewers. As for content, it doesn't get better. Compare this Sci Fi movie, to others and you can see the quality. Mulder says this in a...interesting way. This is one of the best Sc-Fi films out. Where it does come short is in the fact that it strives to much to be like the TV show. This movie is just too long for that. 1 and a half hours through it I was ready for it to end, but it kept going and going and going. This is probably its only problem. Overall this is a great movie, one which noone should miss. Rating (scale of 1-5): 4.5 ~Bared, Aprentice Tailor, Member of COR, Baja Shard From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Jul 8 15:06:17 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!fu-berlin.de!howland.erols.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: "Dr. V. B. Daniel" Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 8 Jul 1998 04:54:44 GMT Organization: Stairwell Studios Lines: 123 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6nuu2k$shs$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> Reply-To: drdaniel@stairwell.com NNTP-Posting-Host: homer11.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899873684 29244 (None) 140.142.17.35 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13155 Keywords: author=daniel X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer11.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12331 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1982 'The Big Leap to X-World' Dr. Daniel's review of The X-Files: Fight The Future Rating: in for observation (***) Starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, Blythe Danner, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Mitch Pileggi, John Neville, William B. Davis, Glenne Headly, Bruce Harwood, Lucas Black, Tom Braidwood. Directed by Rob Bowman. Rated PG-13. Okay, here's the deal. There's a big ol' rush nowadays toward anything along the lines of "unexplained phenomena," those weird head-scratchers that just seem to happen for no apparent reason. We get a lot of that stuff here in Carver Point, too, believe it or not. There's a man named Herbert Potterman, lived here 63 years, who always seems to get deathly ill about three days before his wife's people have their family reunion. He can be perfectly fine one day, then, Ethel Ann will remind him about her reunion this coming weekend, and he's in my office the next morning, poor soul. He always gets this mysterious aching in his back and stomach that we can't figure out, but I always have to tell Ethel Ann that Herbert'll need to stay home that weekend 'cause it pains him to travel. Usually, about Monday of the next week, Herbert's pain fades away, and he's back to normal. And, even more mysterious than that, on the Tuesday of that same week, I find a hundred-dollar bill in my mailbox, taped to a fruit jar full of a clear, slightly oily liquid that has a strong scent of distilled spirits about it. Oh, the oddities of the world.... I guess this new-found interest in the unexplainable could be traced to TV's new darling, the "reality" show, starring aliens and crop circles and haunted houses. But I believe it goes beyond that. I think it can be traced to a conspiracy within television, eminating from the Fox network. These people have secretly hooked a good part of the country on a show called "The X-Files", a show devoted to every unexplained mystery you could think of, and a few I bet you never wanted to think about. A sleek combo of sci-fi and horror, wrapped in the guise of almost-documentary style of filming, it plays us all like violins, pulling on every string we have that loves to be scared, and puzzled, and scared some more. And I love it. I love it to death. That's why I've been geared up for the new version of the show, this time in theatrical form, known as "The X-Files: Fight The Future." If there ever was a TV show that deserved to be a film, this is it. The show has pushed the limits of TV, and it was only logical that movies be the next output. They had the stars, they had the following, they had the creepy little supporting cast, they had it all. So, when the movie opened, I was there. Planted. The film stars the Dynamic Duo of the Nineties, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as FBI agents Mulder and Scully, and it literally picks up where the TV show ended its season a few weeks ago, a very interesting twist on the "cliffhanger" theory of TV season-enders. As we pick up, the two are investigating a network of power-brokers (played by John Neville, Martin Landau, and Armin Mueller-Stahl) that are involved in a project concerned with the colonization of the planet by means of alien life forms. The movie pulls all of the tricks it uses on the show, including my favorite semi-villain, the Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis). We get other quick hits like the "black oil" aliens and the super-bees. We also get a new, meaner-than-hay-ull bunch of aliens. I really don't feel comfortable going any further than that, because I'd get into divulging secrets, and, as any fan of the show can tell you, the only thing worse than a secret is a secret revealed. Let's do this. I liked the movie, and parts of it impressed me, but it never seemed to reach where it was shooting for. It's good, but it's nowhere near what I was expecting. When a show like The X-Files gets the chance to strut its stuff on a big screen, it ought to absolutely take it to the moon. The movie never makes that leap. Oh, there's more gore than we get to see on TV, and there's some profanity stirred in to spice things up, but, to dump this thing into the middle of a summer line-up, everybody was geared up for super action and heart-pounding suspense and some "WHOA!" special effects, and none of that ever really shows up. The movie is bigger in scope than the show, but it's not near better. At the same time, I almost think that this might have been the plan all along. Build a big hoo-rah for the movie, tease us with talk of a consummation of the romance between Scully and Mulder, spring some new villains on us, bait us for everything, and then leave us hanging until the new TV season starts. If this is the case, that's almost forgivable. But, if this is the best they can do, somebody might want to wash off the blackboard and start over. The "coincidences" we've learned to accept on TV don't play quite as well on a huge screen as they do on a 22-incher at home with the bulbs out. And, I have to admit, I was less than thrilled that Scully and Mulder act so surprised when they discover a conspiracy going on and alien life involvement. Just what have these folks been doing for five years now, bending spoons with their heads and walking on fire? They've stepped into bigger piles of governmental poo-poo on TV and never even blinked, so why be amazed that it's happening again? Deal with it! "The X-Files: Fight The Future" has a nice look to it, and, if you follow it as a glorified two-hour episode of the show, then, yes, it works fine. But, if the long-range plan is to pull a "Star Trek" with this, and go full-time cinema, Chris Carter and Crew better tighten some screws and do the same thing they did to make the TV show so popular. They're gonna have to quit playing it safe and push the envelope. Pardon the reference, but they will have to go where no movie has gone before. So, all that said, all you "X-ers" out there, relax. It works. Maybe not as well as you'll want it to, but it works. And, remember, the first "Star Trek" movie stunk, and they're still going. And there's no way Shatner's gonna get a chance to ruin any of these. With Carter in charge of the world, it could only get better, or worse, which always seems more fun in X-World. See more great reviews and movie fun at: Dr. Daniel's Movie Emergency http://www.stairwell.com/doc/ See our many other sites at http://www.stairwell.com ----------------------------------------------------- From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Jul 8 15:06:23 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!135.173.83.24!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: jammer@epsico.com (Jamahl Epsicokhan) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 8 Jul 1998 05:03:17 GMT Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Lines: 188 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6nuuil$p0s$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> Reply-To: jammer@epsico.com NNTP-Posting-Host: homer12.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899874197 25628 (None) 140.142.64.4 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13158 Keywords: author=epsico X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer12.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12332 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1983 This review contains some minor spoilers for the feature film "The concerning the plot. Nutshell: Entertaining and efficient. The plot doesn't really add up, but the movie works nonetheless. ----- The X-Files (USA, 1998) PG-13, 121 minutes Cast includes: David Duchovny (Fox Mulder), Gillian Anderson (Dana Scully), Martin Landau (Alvin Kurtzweil), William B. Davis (Cigarette-Smoking Man), John Neville (Well-Manicured Man), Mitch Pileggi (Walter Skinner), Blythe Danner (Jana Cassidy), Armin Mueller-Stahl (Conrad Strughold), Terry O'Quinn (Darius Michaud) Distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Screenplay by Chris Carter Produced by Chris Carter and Daniel Sackheim Directed by Rob Bowman Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan Rating out of 4: *** ----- The new feature-length "The X-Files" provides a good example of what "The X-Files" television series is all about. To that end, I was simultaneously intrigued, entertained, bemused, and frustrated--a perfect example of what the TV show tends to invoke in me these days. If (heavens forbid) you've never seen "The X-Files" on TV, you'll still get something out of this movie, which provides slick, efficient summer escapism and doesn't require you to be an "X-Phile" in order to understand the plot. On the other hand, even if you *are* an "X-Phile" who knows all the convoluted plot lines, you're not likely to gain much of an advantage over anyone else. This is a movie where plot pieces are based on events from episodes that, really, could've meant nearly anything a writer wanted them to. For anyone who doesn't know the general outline of the "X-Files" premise, the X-Files are bizarre, unsolved FBI cases that usually feature paranormal circumstances. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, who are destined to go down as one of the most famous character pairs in history, play FBI Special Agents Mulder and Scully, a pair that has benefited from an intriguing chemistry that isn't defined by a typical friendship or romance (though the two certainly are close to each other), but by a need to continue their mission in finding the truth, whatever that may be. Like much of "The X-Files" TV series' primary focus, Chris Carter's story for this film is paranoid, implausible, and without any concrete answers. And even though the movie tries to address a few questions, it doesn't actually come to any resolution. Really, anyone expecting to find believable circumstances or the answers to all their "X-Files" questions is probably going into this movie with the wrong attitude. "The X-Files" has proven over and over again that answers are probably the last thing Mulder and Scully will ever find on their quest. What they usually find instead are clues that lead only to new questions. The film brings back a number of elements that have been featured on the TV series, including pathogen-carrying bees, possible alien visitation and conspiracy, and bizarre parasites that cause people's eyes to turn to black. I must admit that I somewhat wonder why we have been given an "X-Files" feature at this point. The answer: probably because "The money. Dramatically, Chris Carter's screenplay covers very little ground that couldn't be traversed in two or three episodes of the TV show. The movie, naturally, has better production values and special effects than any television episode could realistically aspire to (Gasp!--location shooting on "The X-Files"!), but at the core, this is a story that could've happened any time on the TV series. It's interesting: Now TV producers don't even wait for their series to *end* before launching them into film franchises. Like a lot of thrillers, this film benefits from the mentality of cleverly executed set pieces. Scenes like one near the beginning of the movie where an entire downtown Dallas office building is decimated by a bomb explosion. Scenes like the one where the discovery of a mysterious facility somewhere in Texas leads to an attack of the largest swarm of killer bees I can remember in the movies. Scenes like the one where a massive underground facility in Antarctica turns out to be ... ah, but I won't say. Overall, this movie is a good way to spend a couple hours at the movies, but one thing that has always annoyed me about "The X-Files," and annoyed me in this movie as well, is the ability of a few all-powerful men to manipulate the story's other characters in ways that prompt near-complete incredulity and frustration. Are we, for example, to believe that, when these men decide they want to take control of Agent Mulder via the extremely roundabout way of abducting Agent Scully, they have the ability to control or predict a single bee, which manages to hide in Scully's collar for several hours so it can sting her at precisely the right time? So much of the mysterious men's "plan" is determinant on the most spectacular coincidences that I wondered why they didn't just use their apparently divine insight to control whatever in the universe they really needed to take control of. And who are these men, anyway? They all wear suits and recite vague dialogue that promises to spell trouble. Trouble for whom, aside from Mulder and Scully, we're never really sure. These men, of course, don't have names. (The most important of them are played by William B. Davis and John Neville, who are known merely as the "Cigarette-Smoking Man" and the "Well-Manicured Man," respectively). Mulder always talks about a global conspiracy, but what does that even mean? The conspiracies of "The X-Files" most often are the conspiracies of comic books; the stylistics surrounding the actions and dialogue of these shady men are far more important than what actually happens. But to that end, I enjoyed the riddles and mysterious dialogue. Martin Landau turns up in a supporting role as a conspiracy theorist to offer more mysteries, providing Mulder with ominous warnings of what these men plan to do. How he knows and what he says I'm not even going to begin to explain; this is a film that practically defies synopsis. Yet the plot, surprisingly, is fairly easy to follow, which is a credit to Carter and director Rob Bowman, who make sure we always know where we are, what is happening and why. Sure, none of it can possibly be believed in retrospect, but that's not really the point. Besides, the questions I have about "The X-Files" are not related to what various threads this movie will have either tied up or complicated. Asking such questions is futile; we're not getting the answers. My questions are a little more practical. Questions like, just why is it all aliens in the movies are slimy and plastic-looking, like the aliens in "Alien"? And why is it all aliens feel inclined to chase people through ventilation ducts and make squealing sounds like the creatures in "Jurassic Park"? And just how can Mulder and Scully survive the frigidness of Antarctica without shelter, and who could or would rescue them? And how did Mulder get to Antarctica in the first place? Did the FBI fund the trip? Maybe the plot is a bit ridiculous, but I don't really care. "The universe, and must be gauged on a different level of realism. "The the screen, and then wonder if it really makes sense. I urge you not to spend much time thinking about it, because it's more fun to just go with the flow. What I most enjoyed about this film was the relationship between Mulder and Scully itself. We learn that the X-Files have been recently closed due to a lack of reasonable progress. Mulder and Scully are back investigating "normal" matters, like bomb threats. The central theme of the film is whether or not Scully will choose to leave the FBI; finding no truth in the X-Files has taken its toll on her. Naturally, this incredible adventure will convince her to stay, but the real drama of the film is in the implications of her departure: it would be tragic, especially for Mulder. These two are symbols of a hopeless struggle against something--we're not sure exactly whom or what or whose interests are represented--that lives to perpetuate a sea of lies. But Mulder simply can't continue the mission alone. The payoff is in knowing that these two people will continue their crusades, no matter how insignificant, futile, and painful their efforts might be. As a storytelling setting, "The X-Files" is its own paradox. It claims to have a truth that's supposed to intrigue us, but it probably never will reveal that truth to its two central characters. The quest itself is what is supposed to entertain us, not the possibility of solving the mystery. Some people claim that "The X-Files" takes an infinitely long attention span to truly understand. I disagree. "The X-Files" shifts its own perception of the truth so often that it doesn't matter what is true from one day to the next. What matters is that we have Mulder and Scully in the middle of it all, trying to make sense of it, as if they're the sole constant in a twisted universe. At the same time, it might be nice if, in the event we do get another "X-Files" movie after the series is over, the filmmakers invest their time in a complete train of thought that doesn't play like a series of set pieces for the middle chapter of a story that has no discernible beginning or end. This "X-Files" film is certainly entertaining, but not really satisfying on narrative terms. The taglines for "The X-Files" read, "The truth is revealed." I doubt it. The truth may still be out there, but a tagline is still a tagline, and probably, in the most important ways, just a lie. ----- Copyright (c) 1998 by Jamahl Epsicokhan, all rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this article is prohibited. Jammer's Movie Reviews - http://www.epsico.com/movies/ Jamahl Epsicokhan - jammer@epsico.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Wed Jul 8 15:10:35 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!fu-berlin.de!howland.erols.net!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: "Christopher Null" Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: X Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 8 Jul 1998 05:03:47 GMT Organization: None Lines: 68 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6nuujj$tho$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer27.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899874227 30264 (None) 140.142.64.2 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13164 Keywords: author=null X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer27.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12338 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1984 . THE X FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE A film review by Christopher Null Copyright 1998 Christopher Null Little more than an expensive, flashy, and painfully drawn-out season finale, THE X FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE has little chance to draw any new fans to the TV show, if this is the best that can be done. The movie opens with Agents Mulder (Duchovny) and Scully (Anderson) finding themselves on a new assignment after the closing of the X-files. Of course, through a bizarre coincidence, their very first assignment leads them to uncover a conspiracy involving the hiding of bodies of some would-be aliens. The plot turns alternately confusing and ridiculous after that. It's surprising that a TV show which leaves so much to the imagination does so little for it in feature film version. At two hours, X FILES is really pretty boring. I found myself falling asleep in the especially dull first half, only to be revived later by one thing after another that *JUST DIDN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!* For example, if the bad guys went to so much trouble to *blow up a building* in order to hide four bodies, why were the bodies recovered in perfect condition? Why does the road the agents follow on gut instinct alone lead directly to the bad guys? Why did a bee wait 24 hours in Scully's coat before stinging her? Why does the Syndicate want to destroy the world - and if it has the power (imminently displayed in the film), then why don't they just do it!? Then again, if a vaccine to this destruction exists (again, displayed in the film), then why don't the good guys just release *that* into the world? Well, you won't find any answers to questions like these in the film. In fact, the movie goes a long way toward undoing the mysteries that the TV show has built up over the last five years. If this is a portent for the way things are going to go next season, I'm not sure I'm interested. Still, I am a fan, and there's enough juice to sustain a fan's interest for awhile. It ain't much, but watching Scully and Mulder inch closer romantically, and seeing some cool special effects is worth the price of admission. Okay, a matinee. (Recommended only for fans of the show; casual viewers needn't bother.) RATING: *** |------------------------------| \ ***** Perfection \ \ **** Good, memorable film \ \ *** Average, hits and misses \ \ ** Sub-par on many levels \ \ * Unquestionably awful \ |------------------------------| MPAA Rating: PG-13 Director: Rob Bowman Producer: Chris Carter, Daniel Sackheim Writer: Chris Carter Starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, Blythe Danner, Armin Meuller-Stahl http://www.xfilesmovie.com -Christopher Null / null@sirius.com / Writer-Producer / http://www.filmcritic.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu Jul 9 11:44:00 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!news-ge.switch.ch!news-fra1.dfn.de!news-was.dfn.de!nntp-out.monmouth.com!newspeer.monmouth.com!feeder.qis.net!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!135.173.83.24!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: Jon Zietz ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: X Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 8 Jul 1998 04:53:02 GMT Organization: The World's Usenet -- http://www.Supernews.com ~Lines: 49 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6nutve$11o2$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer24.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899873582 34562 (None) 140.142.64.7 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13137 Keywords: author=zietz X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer24.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12347 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1985 Every Sunday night, we have a ritual: at 9:00 p.m. sharp we hustle the non-believers out of the family room, shut off the phones, kill the lights, throw the dog a bone, fire up the big screen and tune in The X Files. So imagine our frustration when we spent last Friday night at the local cineplex for the premiere of The X Files Movie. We managed to get the lights killed alright, but the rest of the experience was conspiratorial at best. There were the pop corn-eating couples, the talking heads, and even one cigarette-smoking man. Halfway through the movie, the doors swung open and we were invaded by hordes of teenage, Can't Hardly Wait, refugees who took over the first two rows of the theater. Then the air conditioning mysteriously shut down. As if orchestrated by some malignant alien force, the air was being slowly sucked out of the auditorium, beads of sweat were dripping off me, and the odor of the unwashed theater denizens hung ominously in the thickening air. So I'd guess you'd say it was the perfect setting to watch that epic of paranoia, The X Files Movie, finally hit the big screen. The flick walks a shaky tightrope between being the "cult" movie we X fans wanted and a general audience movie for those who spend their Sunday nights watching Lawrence Welk reruns, or, god forbid, actually talking to one another. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't quite suceed in either category. The "regular" movie audience will be able to follow along, but to them it'll play like a familiar song sung in a foreign language. As for the X fans, well, like Dana Scully, we couldn't believe our eyes, and, like Fox Mulder, we desperately wanted to believe. But this was no Hollywood blockbuster movie up there on the screen. Instead we got a perfectly servicible T.V. two-parter. All the bells and whistles were present: bodies consumed by alien earthworms, mysterious old men plotting who-the-hell knows what, Mulder drunkenly obscessing on his dark theories, and Scully disbelieving in spite of herself. All of us party faithful with an intimate knowledge of the past 5 seasons have seen it all before. But, you know, that's the whole point of the X Files. We know it's out there! I mean of course, the dark atmosphere of conspiracy that Chris Carter creates so well. We didn't go to the movie to gag on special effects or Oscar-worthy acting. We just wanted to see Mulder and Scully in those familiar, ominous plot turns, and that's what we got. All things being equal, I'd have been much happier seeing it at home, where we could at least control some of those conspirators who tried so hard to mess around with our X Files flick. For more great reviews check out the Movie Review Archive from Jon's Ultimate Movie Review Page Thanx, Jon and Larry Zietz From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu Jul 9 11:44:01 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news01.sunet.se!news99.sunet.se!masternews.telia.net!news-nyc.telia.net!news.idt.net!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!135.173.83.24!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: "Mark O'Hara" ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 8 Jul 1998 04:54:03 GMT Organization: None ~Lines: 89 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6nuu1b$jh2$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer21.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 899873643 20002 (None) 140.142.64.4 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13147 Keywords: author=o'hara X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer21.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12350 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1986 Dear Steve -- Steve Kong at the Hard Boiled movie page gave me your address. I'm hoping to get reviews indexed through rec. arts. and IMDb. Could you tell me the requirements (format, etc)? Don't know if background is necessary, but I teach high school English and (as an adjunct) freshman English at Miami of Ohio. I've been publishing stories, poems and essays in lit mags since 1981. Went to Glassboro State College (in NJ) and Miami University. I'm enclosing a review for your review. Look forward to hearing from you. Thanks very much for reading! Hope it's OK I sent this to you at two addresses. --Mark O'Hara The X Files (1998) Although the first shots of THE X FILES are corny (c'mon, a location title that reads "North Texas, 35,000 B.C."?), director Rob Bowman shows solid work in most other aspects of the film. One likable side of the film is acting. Perhaps because I have seen probably half a season's worth of shows throughout the run of the series, I was not used to David Duchovny's deadpan looks. I enjoyed his character's own reference to this stoicism, and soon got used to Fox Mulder's tendency to display emotion through actions rather than facial expressions. Conversely, Gillian Anderson's Dana Scully -- though governed by cold logic -- often seems more emotionally reactive. A certain glossiness about her looks in the film bothered me, the gloss extending to her eyes, as though she experienced discomfort with contacts or with tears of frustration about to spill at any second. Applause to the director and make-up people, who give Scully's cheeks broken blood vessels late in the film, after an ordeal that surely would have caused them. On the whole, Mulder and Scully exploit well their level of comfort, after several years of interacting. Layers of conspiracy lie at the center of the plot, and the aging white males cast as the conspirators turn in believable if humorless performances. Armin Mueller-Stahl, apparently the highest-ranking conspirator (operating beyond the ken and control of the FBI), does not get a great deal of screen time. But he is very good at using his scowl and his accent to portray a sinister secrecy. Martin Landau plays Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil, who is himself the victim of conspiracies - attempts to frame him and, no doubt, discredit his way-out-there writings. Kurtzweil has to scramble to convince even Mulder of his credibility. To me, the most incredible side of Landau's character is his wandering the dark alleys, unarmed, wanted by at least the local police, behind the bar in which he meets Mulder. The "cigarette-smoking man" plays the main heavy here -- besides the aliens themselves. What confuses me about his motivation is that, despite countless reasons to rub out Mulder, he and his secret agency keep letting the tireless G-man get away. The sets and special effects are grand in THE X FILES. "Grand" in the old meaning of the word -- full of wonder and modesty, like the behavior of an honorable person. I did find the bomb-sheared office building tacky -- too close to a re-enactment of Oklahoma City. But other catastrophes, afflictions and icky creatures find their ways seamlessly into the narrative. The implosion of the tundra -given away too much in trailers - is a superb computer creation that is edited with both patience and skill. Remarkable illusions are created with the large sets and their gruesome inhabitants in subterranean Antarctica. Mark Snow's music frequently lends suspense at the right places, though it seems a red-herring when the notes cut in as Mulder glances behind a soda machine that has cheated him out of his change. Some fast-paced pieces seem too densely New Age, layered as thickly as suspicions in viewers' minds. The script, by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, nicely sets alarms that go off later in the film at crucial times, including a joke from Scully just after she is resuscitated by Mulder. In a way that I don't believe would insult die-hard fans of the series, we are informed about the backgrounds, quirks and quests of the main characters. Just from the hype surrounding the movie I learned enough -- Scully's return to faith, for instance - to help me chip away at plot twists. I would rate THE X FILES as a satisfying and intelligent story, though it should not be mistaken for an important film. A question I have for SEQUEL? ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com From rec.arts.sf.reviews Fri Jul 10 12:32:39 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!genius.dat.hk-r.se!newsfeed1.swip.net!swipnet!howland.erols.net!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!135.173.83.24!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: redman@bvoice.com (Michael Redman) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 10 Jul 1998 03:55:55 GMT Organization: ... Lines: 87 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6o43cb$kao$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> Reply-To: redman@bvoice.com NNTP-Posting-Host: homer05.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 900042955 20824 (None) 140.142.64.4 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13185 Keywords: author=redman X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer05.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12371 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1990 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 redman@bvoice.com. We won't tell anyone.) [This appeared in the 6/24/98 "Bloomington Voice", Bloomington, Indiana. Michael Redman can be contacted at redman@bvoice.com] -- mailto:redman@bvoice.com This week's film review at http://www.bvoice.com/ Film reviews archive at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Michael%20Redman From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Jul 13 13:56:14 1998 From: "Ted Prigge" Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 10 Jul 1998 15:56:49 GMT Organization: None Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6o5dk1$a1u$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer25.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 900086209 10302 (None) 140.142.64.2 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13202 Keywords: author=prigge X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer25.u.washington.edu Lines: 111 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!news-ge.switch.ch!surfnet.nl!gate.news.unisource.nl!newsgate.cistron.nl!het.net!newsfeed.uk.ibm.net!ibm.net!news.freedom2surf.net!diablo.theplanet.net!dispose.news.demon.net!demon!woodstock.news.demon.net!demon!newshub.northeast.verio.net!news.idt.net!howland.erols.net!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!135.173.83.24!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12391 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1996 THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE (1998) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge Director: Rob Bowman Writer: Chris Carter (story by Carter and Frank Spotnitz) Starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, John Neville, Armin Mueller-Stahl, William B. Davis, Blythe Danner, Terry O'Quinn, Glenne Headley, Lucas Black, Mitch Pileggi The entire concept of "The X-Files" is extremely seductive: that we are being allowed to see things that we're really not supposed to be seeing, and that the more we know, the more mortal danger we are in. It's at once frightening and almost orgasmic to learn things that we're not supposed to be knowing, and that must be the real draw to the show...at least it that was the draw of the movie for me. I have perhaps seen the TV show twice, maybe twice-and-a-half, and one would think that since this is a film that does not try to pander to those who don't watch the show (like me), that I would have a bitch of a time following the complex plot this film lays out. True, the film does not insult those who have staked a living watching this show from the start (there is no formal introduction to anything that goes on, no explanation of what the "X-Files" really are), but it is able to walk on a tight rope between never annoying the regular viewers and also not perplexing any newbies to the area of X-Philedom. But it won't hurt to do some research, in fact it may really help a lot. >From the shows I've watched and the article I read in "Newsweek" last week, I was able to understand what the X-Files really are, the nature of the two protagonists' relationship, and also able to point out a couple of the supporting characters (Look! There's "Cigarette-Smoking Man!" Look! There's "Well-Manicured Man!" But who are those three dorks hovering over David Duchovny and why is everyone in the theatre laughing at them?!). The film, as I see it, is really an expansion of the TV series, not only coming off as a two-hour episode with a mighty-big budget and grade-A special effects, but also as a starting point for some explanations of some of the bigger secrets the series hides up. As the show often deals with the discovery and potential cover-up of extra-terristrials, the film decides to unearth some of the deeper conspiracies about this subject. The film's focus is on the discovery of a certain slimy alien that is first discovered in 3500 B.C. in Texas during the Ice Age (someone in the audience ACTUALLY shouted out "There's no snow in Texas!" - true story) and is then found out by an ill-fated little boy (Lucas Black, the kid from "Sling Blade"). After an admittingly sloppy-as-hell cover-up (which brings about disturbing memories of Oklahoma City), our two favorite Special Agents, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully (David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson), rightly smell something fishy and discover some alien virus cover-up material...only to find themselves separated by the big cheeses in the FBI (headed by none other than Blythe Danner). Of course, they secretly get back together, and begin to dig a little deeper. That's enough description of the plot, in fact it may be too much. Part of the fun of watching this film is being able to walk into it with very little knowledge of what's going to happen, and then being surprised by every big twist and turn. But I'm not exactly sure how much is revealed in this film, because I don't know everything that has gone on in the show, but the real power of the film is that the film is not so much about what we learn as it is about the fact that we're actually learning it. The direction by series regular Rob Bowman is wonderfully eerie, and the production design is icy and forboding. Everywhere they go looks unwelcome, and it gives off the feel that we just shouldn't be in there but we can't help ourselves. The show's power is that we all want to know the truth, but finding it can easily cost us our lives. However, the film often becomes a little cheap, and by the end, even the most ardent fan will not know exactly what has been found out. I suppose the fact that the show is still on the air (and there's still the potentiality of more films in the series) permitted the writers from revealing everything, and thus wrapping up the film nicely. And I have to admit that as the film goes on, it often forgets some of the things it started, thus confusing the audience a little more. But for every problem you can discover with it, there's at least two things to admire. The two leads nicely convert to the big screen, even Duchovny's deadpan deliver of almost all of his lines, and especially Anderson's intensity. Although we get very little character development, we honestly don't need any: they're so likable that any real expansion into their characters would be a distraction from the real points of the concept that is "The X-Files." And we also get some interesting performances from the supporting characters, the best coming from Martin Landau as a man who knows everything about conspiracies and lurks in the shadows and bars, trying to find the right person to spill his guts to, and another great performance coming from John Neville, continuing his role as Well-Manicured Man from the series, who's incredible amount of wrinkles make him look like the most eerie person on this earth (also look for a brief Armin Mueller-Stahl as one of the old creepy guys running the world). And, of course, the film has a sense of humor, not only in Duchovny's admittingly droll performance, but also in those little comic moments (my favorite being the scene where Duchovny and Landau share a piss on an "ID4" poster - ha ha). The best thing a film that is as serious as this can have is a great sense of humor. The best way to view the film is as a really intelligent popcorn flick. There's a lot of big action sequences, which are often extremely tense (a couple of time, yes, I gripped my arm chair), and are directed with the right amount of intelligence and intensity. And you always have to at least be intrigued by any film where the main intent is to try and discover exactly what's really out there. The way I see it, "The X-Files" is successful in two ways: for regular viewers, it whets their appetites to continue watching; for rookies, it just makes them want to watch the show on a regular basis. MY RATING (out of 4): *** Homepage at: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/8335/ From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Jul 13 13:56:14 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!news-ge.switch.ch!newsfeed.uk.ibm.net!ibm.net!dispose.news.demon.net!demon!woodstock.news.demon.net!demon!newsfeed.xcom.net!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: Kevin Patterson ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 10 Jul 1998 16:06:23 GMT Organization: None Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6o5e5v$15t4$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer36.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 900086783 38820 (None) 140.142.64.4 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13211 Keywords: author=patterson X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer36.u.washington.edu ~Lines: 116 ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12388 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1994 Film review by Kevin Patterson THE X-FILES Rating: ***1/2 (out of four) PG-13, 1998 Director: Rob Bowman Screenplay: Chris Carter Story: Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz Producers: Chris Carter & Daniel Sackheim Starring Cast: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, William B. Davis, John Neville. Having been an avowed X-Phile for several years, I wasn't sure how best to approach the task of reviewing this X-FILES feature film. I had thought that I should try to write the review as objectively as possible and distance myself from my fandom, but I realized that this would probably be a dubious endeavor on my part, to say the least. And since most of the other reviews I've read have been written by those who do not watch the show, I've decided to throw objectivity to the wind and offer the perspective of an admitted die-hard fan. Whether you watch the show or not, you probably know that it involves the efforts of FBI Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) to investigate paranormal phenomena. Over the show's five seasons, this assignment has led them into the increasingly dangerous depths of an international government conspiracy to conceal the truth about the existence of alien life. As the film begins, the X-Files have been closed and Mulder and Scully have been given a routine assignment investigating a bomb threat. Unfortunately, the assignment doesn't turn out to be quite so routine: the agents barely escape with their lives as the bomb levels a building in what appears to be a cover-up of several bizarre deaths in Northern Texas. Before long, the eccentric Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil (Martin Landau) contacts Mulder, claiming to have inside information which indicates that the bomb may have been the doing of the sinister conspirators that have frustrated Mulder and Scully for so long. THE X-FILES has been promoted as an action movie, but it's really more of a hi-tech political thriller with a science fiction backdrop. There are several big action set pieces, particularly a riveting sequence towards the end in Antarctica, but like the TV series, this movie is more about intrigue, paranoia, and searching for the truth than chases and explosions. It sets up the mystery effectively in the first half hour or so, alternating back and forth between the two agents' situation and the efforts of a shady government organization to conceal the existence of a seemingly alien-originated virus. While Mulder and Scully try to gather evidence of the mysterious circumstances surrounding the initial bombing, the conspirators, among them the Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis), the Well-Manicured Man (John Neville), and a German named Strughold (Armin Mueller-Stahl), scramble to protect their long-held plans for the future of the planet. Since part of the fun of political thrillers in general and of the ongoing storyline of the "X-Files" TV series is following the plot developments, I won't give away any more actual story elements. I can say, however, that the move to the big screen does seem worthwhile: the two agents' investigations have a much larger scope than they previously have, and the movie also injects a new dose of horror into the alien conspiracy thread. The ending, as one might expect, is somewhat open-ended: series creator Chris Carter, who wrote the screenplay, provides an effective temporary resolution while leaving the door open for further mysteries in coming TV episodes. And yes, fellow X-Philes, we do in fact get some of the long-awaited answers about the elusive conspiracy. As is the case in the show, the story is given an extra little spark by the Mulder and Scully characters, who have an interesting believer/skeptic dynamic (though Scully's skepticism is understandably waning at this point in the story) and who must have one of the most enigmatic relationships in Hollywood history. They clearly care for each other very deeply and depend on one another for support, yet they are almost obsessively dedicated to their work (particularly Mulder, who believes his sister was abducted by aliens) and are careful to avoid any overtly romantic gestures. This film finds them addressing what their quest for the truth means to them and what they mean to each other more openly than they ever have on the TV show, while managing to preserve some of the enigma and ultimately revitalizing the two characters. I especially liked the scenes in which each of them worries that he or she is somehow weighing down the other, that the quest has become too personal and their work too marginal to be worthwhile. It's interesting to see that they're thoughtful enough to consider this, even though Carter's screenplay rightly posits that their worries are unfounded: whether they realize it or not, Mulder and Scully are true crusaders for justice. The missteps in THE X-FILES are for the most part minor and scattered. The screenplay gets a little overdramatic at times, such as when a government agent worries that the "impossible scenario we never had a plan for" is now developing, or when the two agents shout "Mulder!" and "Scully!" almost a dozen times during a chase scene. Director Rob Bowman executes most of the action sequences perfectly, but he cuts from scene to scene extremely quickly in a few places; in one scene, for example, Mulder thinks he is being followed and ducks around a corner, and in the very next shot he's walking in his apartment door. There are also a few plot holes, most notably the fact that the conspirators don't seem to guard their secrets too carefully (though the TV series has gotten away with this conceit for a long time as well). The screenplay does manage to bring new viewers up to speed pretty quickly without indulging in overly awkward exposition: it should work as an entertaining, intelligent thriller even for those who haven't followed the show. The main disadvantage for non-X-Philes, I think, is that they might not have quite the same sense of the extent of the conspiracy and the ordeal that Mulder and Scully have endured in trying to expose it; for these viewers, a *** rating might be more appropriate. If you really want an objective analysis, however, I'd have to advise you to go read some other review. From my own hopelessly biased perspective, I'd say that it's about as good as I had hoped: it's essential to the "X-Files" storyline, it's worth seeing on the big screen, the characters make some important decisions, and yet enough of the mystery is preserved. The truth is still out there, and it's just as intriguing as ever. - - - - - Film Reviews Page: http://members.aol.com/KTPattersn/reviews.html From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Jul 13 13:56:14 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!fu-berlin.de!feeder.qis.net!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams ~From: jwyse@onlineworks.com (Joy Wyse) ~Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews ~Subject: Review: X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies ~Date: 10 Jul 1998 16:07:11 GMT Organization: None ~Lines: 42 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6o5e7f$se8$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer30.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 900086831 29128 (None) 140.142.64.4 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13216 Keywords: author=wyse X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Priority: normal Originator: grahams@homer30.u.washington.edu ~Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12396 rec.arts.sf.reviews:1998 Review: The X Files Starring: David Duchovny Gilliam Anderson Review by: Joy Wyse It's risky to try to bring a popular TV series to the big screen. Mainly you're trying to give something special to the loyal viewers who are overly familiar with the characters and most of the plot twists. At the same time, you want to attract and entertain those people who may not have ever watched the show before. How can you possibly familiarize these 'new" people without alienating those who can spout off every fact ever shown? However it's done, the producers have done it with The X Files. As the feature begins you are hit with extremely technical dialogue that makes you wonder if it'll all be like this. But it isn't. As different characters come on the scene, you immediately sense whether or not the person has an ongoing role. Obviously, the cigarette smoking man is to be "watched". There is a scene where three men come to the aid of Muldar. You could tell by the mumbling in the audience that these three have been seen before. They don't explain who they are, but you feel that you know them and that they are "good" guys. The movie moves along at a good pace. There is a lot of action: bombs, chase scenes, and all the usual, but you're never quite sure what's going on. But then, neither are Muldar and Scully. They have made careers of trying to learn about things that they can't explain. This movie really makes you think. When it's finally over, you're back where you started. You don't know what happened but it doesn't matter. It just makes you want to see more. They will probably have a lot more viewers when the new season begins. It is a highly entertaining movie with an interesting premise. I want to see it again and I will definitely be watching the series. I give it a B+. See you at the movies. From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu Jul 16 13:30:37 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!masternews.telia.net!news-nyc.telia.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!206.229.87.25!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!wn3feed!135.173.83.25!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: "R. L. Strong" Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 16 Jul 1998 06:08:55 GMT Organization: The Film Collector Lines: 96 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6ok5dn$k0s$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer39.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 900569335 20508 (None) 140.142.64.5 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13321 Keywords: author=strong X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer39.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12505 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2021 "THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE" Review by R. L. Strong **** out of 5. 20th Century Fox Film Corporation presents a Ten Thirteen Productions David Duchovny Gillian Anderson "THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE" Mitch Pileggi Blythe Danner William B. Davis Armin Mueller-Stahl John Neville & Martin Landau as Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil Music by Mark Snow Special Make-Up Effects by Alec Gillis & Tom Woodruff, Jr. Co-Producer: Frank Spotnitz Edited by Stephen Mark Production Designer Christopher Nowak Cinematography by Ward Russell Executive Producer: Lata Ryan Produced by Chris Carter & Daniel Sackheim Screenplay by Chris Carter Story by Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz Directed by Rob Bowman In an era when most Summer Event films combine the most elaborate special effects with the most insignificant story lines, it is indeed a slap in the face to the industry when a television series can show them how it show and can be done. This is no faint praise. "X-Files: Fight the Future" is so far the best Summer thrill ride. The plot opens in the prehistoric past as two Neanderthal men run across the frozen tundra of Texas (!?) hunting down a strange creature. Finally reaching it's cave, the two Dawn Men search the caverns. One is attacked and killed by the unseen creature. The second Neanderthal, manages to kill the beast. But it is here that the mythology of the 'X-FILES' comes into play. The survivor is infected by the creatures blood, which swarms like leaches under the ape man's skin. We flash forward to present day Texas, where four boys are playing in a field, looking for fossils. One of the boys (Lucas Black of TV's 'American Gothic') falls into a cave and is, himself infected by the black blood. Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are introduced while investigating a bomb threat at a Federal Building in Houston. Unable to stop the explosion from accruing, Mulder and Scully escape within a hares breath of becoming part of the rubble (a marvelously suspenseful scene that gives the viewer a real feeling of danger). Contact with the enigmatic Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil (played marvelously by Martin Landau), leads Mulder back into his old habits. The difference this time is that Scully is starting to believe as well. I don't want to give away anymore of the plot as that would rob you of one of this summers most enjoyable thrillers. If you are a fan of the television series, I feel that you may be a little disappointed as the film answers some of the shows more interesting questions. But it also, brings up as many new ones. And that is as it should be. The never been an avid follower of the series, I believe that, that has changed for me. To say that the concept intrigues me is to be redundant. This is one of the most well thought out scripts of this year. Kudos to Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz for such fine writing. The performances of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are top notch. Gillian proves more than worthy of the Emmy's she has won for her portrayal of the analytical Dana Scully. David Ducovny is no slouch either. Mulder develops into a more involved individual in this film. He is forced to become less of a loner. His self mocking and indifferent attitude about anything other than the X-Files is given a serious shock here. The chemistry between Mulder and Scully is, shall we say reserved romance. These two characters are obviously very fond of one another. I'm not going to say that Mulder and Scully consummate their relationship, but I can say that as of this film it is more than professional. The supporting cast is equally good with surprising cameos by some very talented actors. Of course, William B. Davis returns as the Cigarette Smoking Man (I still prefer the moniker 'Cancer Man'), and is as sinister as he's ever been. But the big surprise is John Neville as The Well-Manicured Man, we get to know a bit more about this character here. And his change of heart (?) is nothing if not believable. The cameos by Blythe Danner, Glenne Headly and Terry O'Quinn are marvelous surprises and their brief appearances are wonderfully timed presentations. Rob Bowman reveals himself to be a very strong director. His visual style is not intrusive, but at the same time carries a marvelous use of space and shadow. The cinematography by Ward Russel is sumptuous. You've never seen corn fields look this ominous. The collaboration between these two individuals has fostered one of the most enjoyable adaptations of a TV series since 'Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan'. The effects (both visual and physical) are stunning. It's almost impossible to tell where one takes up. This is seamless work and kudos go to all involved. A special note of praise to the make-up effects team of Alec Gillis & Tom Woodruff . They have done the impossible. They have given us an alien being that we have never seen before. One that you'll believe to be real. "X-Files: Fight the Future" is just what we've needed this summer. A serious genre picture that does not dumb down to the lowest common denominator. This is as good a conspiracy film as "JFK", but fortunately not nearly as plausible. Or is it?! Copyright 1998 R. L Strong Nothing in this article may be quoted or re-printed without the express written permission of the author. From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 10 13:27:12 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!135.173.83.24!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: aw220@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Alex Fung) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: The X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 20 Jul 1998 05:46:20 GMT Organization: The National Capital FreeNet Lines: 140 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6ouljc$p4e$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> Reply-To: aw220@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Alex Fung) NNTP-Posting-Host: homer19.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 900913580 25742 (None) 140.142.17.35 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13417 Keywords: author=fung X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer19.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12611 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2041 THE X-FILES (Fox - 1998) Starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Blythe Danner, William B. Davis, John Neville Screenplay by Chris Carter Produced by Chris Carter, Daniel Sackheim Directed by Rob Bowman Running time: 120 minutes **1/2 (out of four stars) Alternate Rating: B- Note: Some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers. Be forewarned. ------------------------------------------------------------- I feel obliged to begin by clarifying that I'm not exactly an ardent follower of THE X-FILES, the acclaimed Fox sci-fi television series which began its run five years ago as a bottom-dweller in the Neilsen ratings only to steadily gain momentum and evolve from a beloved cult fave into a outright mainstream phenomenon and bonafide international hit. I've watched about a dozen episodes of the TV show in full -- easily less than the typical rabid fan, but sufficient to be familiar with the histories and adventures of FBI agents Scully and Mulder. (Additionally, one of my current occupational hazards finds me privy to amusingly avid, earnest discussion and reverential dissection of the storylines for such TV series as THE X-FILES, STAR TREK: VOYAGER, and BABYLON 5 -- in short, I couldn't get away from the show if I tried.) In all fairness, Chris Carter's creation is probably one of the most imaginative of today's television shows, and has demonstrably struck a chord with the highly-coveted 15 - 24 demographic, making it an optimal candidate for translation to the big screen. However, as a film THE X-FILES (the FIGHT THE FUTURE subtitle featured so prominently in its marketing campaign incidentally appears nowhere during the title credits) faces some unique challenges. As with all television series-turned-cinematic events, it's required to present sufficient backstory in order for newcomers to get up to speed while still remaining palatable to the faithful. The situation here, however, is even more of a precarious balancing act -- as a rare TV series to make the leap to the silver screen in the midst of its ongoing run, it's faced with the obstacle of unraveling its intricately-woven storyline to a point where a satisfying film conclusion can be achieved, yet is obligated to leave enough plot points unanswered in order to keep fans hooked for the upcoming television season. As such, the film fares about as well as can be expected. Familiar regulars of the series such as The Lone Gunmen (Dean Haglund, Bruce Harwood and Tom Braidwood), The Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis), The Well-Manicured Man (John Neville), and assistant FBI director Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) are trotted out for their obligatory appearances, while the film infuses prodigious veteran talents like Martin Landau, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Blythe Danner in newly-conceived roles. Ultimately, however, the addition of new blood matters little, for THE X-FILES is most assuredly a vehicle for the continuing mythos of agents Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) as they strive to uncover the truth behind the sinister government conspiracy to discredit evidence pertaining to the existence of extraterrestrial life here on Earth. Resuming where the '97-'98 TV season cliffhanger left off, the film finds our intrepid duo struggling against a powerful faction of master manipulators to overcome roadblocks thrown up from every direction as their own gravely somber interpersonal chemistry continues to evolve. (One rather disingenuous subplot falls victim to the awkward circumstances constraining the film -- while it's always a stretch to envision one of the protagonists surrendering the good fight, it's virtually impossible to swallow here given that the character threatening to quit is the same one we'll see on the tube in September when the series resumes.) It's perhaps inappropriate to dismiss the film as simply a larger-scaled version of one of the TV episodes given the presence of strikingly atypical elements which are clearly aimed to broaden its mainstream appeal. Unlike its dour tube counterpart, THE X-FILES is notably more jokey, with Scully and Mulder trading the occasional tongue-in-cheek quip and droll one-liner. (The rooftop scene which introduces our heroes is particularly self-conscious, calculatingly playing riffs almost as if directly out of a buddy movie.) The sense of humour isn't particularly clever and not exactly welcome, although I did appreciate the light-hearted jab at Mr. Duchovny's legendary expressive qualities. Where the film differs the most from the TV series is in its usage of extravagant set pieces, including the bombing of a Dallas federal office tower (in shades of the infamous 1995 Oklahoma City event), a cat-and-mouse helicopter chase through cornfields (an obvious homage to NORTH BY NORTHWEST), and even an action finale in the snowy reaches of Antarctica. These showy sequences, competently staged in the film, are virtually impossible to pull off under the budgetary and time constraints of a TV series but fit quite nicely within the scope of a summer event film. Whether or not they properly coalesce with a piece like THE X-FILES, however, is a matter of debate. The show has always been at its best as an enigmatic, paranoiac meditative with a pervasive atmosphere of mistrust, and consequently it seems a bit off-kilter to witness the film as opened-up to such a degree. The small-scaled, low-key approach employed in the TV series is most effective in conveying its grim, creepy tone; it's no coincidence that the scenes in the film which remain most truthful to the spirit of the series -- the shady exchanges between Mulder and Dr. Kurtzweil in the darkened alleys -- are the most effective. With THE X-FILES, bigger is not necessarily better. It's also a bit disconcerting to witness how gleefully THE X-FILES embraces the slam-bam mentality of the typical Hollywood action flick. The novelty of the television series is that it's a show propelled by ideas and imagination, and yet in the film we're reduced to watching Mulder heroically charging through the snow like a scrawnier, dapper Arnold Schwarzenegger clone to come to the rescue of imprisoned damsel-in-distress Scully, a perturbing step backward from the equal status the partners unquestionably share as TV characters. If joining the Hollywood brethren on the big screen implies that THE X-FILES is going to hereinafter *emulate* them at the cost of its foreboding signature style, perhaps it's best to stay on its home turf. Bridging the fifth and sixth seasons of the TV series, the film version of THE X-FILES ultimately resolves very little of its outstanding mysteries, as it logically must. As the film concludes, in many ways we've traveled shockingly little from where we were as the opening credits rolled, and yet it's not a dissatisfactory watch, liberally sprinkling adventure, conflict, and verve into its mix of aliens, conspiracies, and overcoats. Given the involved nature of its storyline, it likely plays plays best to those who have invested much into its characters. - Alex Fung email: aw220@freenet.carleton.ca web : http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/ -- Alex Fung (aw220@freenet.carleton.ca) | http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/ "Only a twerp would castigate an audience for its enjoyment of something." - Pauline Kael From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 10 13:28:00 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: mmapes@indra.com (Marty Mapes) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 20 Jul 1998 04:21:25 GMT Organization: None Lines: 90 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6ougk5$ht8$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer30.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 900908485 18344 (None) 140.142.17.35 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13331 Keywords: author=mapes X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer30.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12518 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2025 The X-Files A film review by Marty Mapes Copyright 1998 Marty Mapes *** (out of 4) First, I am not a big fan of the X-Files TV series. I have nothing against it particularly, I just don't happen to watch it. Having said that, I can now say that I liked THE X-FILES pretty well. For us non-fans, there's nothing big going for it, but there are a lot of little things. The movie opens on an ice cave in north Texas in 35,000 B.C. Two proto-humans enter the cave and find a space alien cocooned inside. The alien breaks free and kills one man in a struggle while the other is seemingly captured by the bloody ooze from the alien. The movie jumps to the same cave today where a boy (Lucas Black, from SLING BLADE) is captured by the same black ooze. We then cut to FBI agents Scully and Mulder (Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny), who have been pulled off of their previous assignment (investigations into the paranormal) and put onto the bomb squad detail. A caller has threatened a federal building in Dallas, Texas. On a hunch, Mulder checks out the building across the street, and, wouldn't you know it, he turns out to be right. The FBI finds the bomb in time to evacuate but not in time to defuse. Five people die in the blast, and when Mulder learns who the victims were, a light bulb goes on over his head. The two agents team up to investigate, against FBI orders, the links Mulder has made. Their search leads them back to the north Texas cave, all across the country, and even to Antarctica as they get closer and closer to "the truth." The plot, and "the truth," are uninspired. I got the feeling that what I learned was supposed to shock and amaze me. It didn't. The possible existence of aliens on Earth has been explored so many times before in movies that one could hardly count them. But the point of THE X-FILES is not what the truth is, but the extent to which it has been hidden. It's a slightly more interesting angle, but it still raises expectations about that "truth" too high. If this were the whole film, I would say the movie was mediocre, perhaps even boring. But there are other qualities that make me like this movie well enough to recommend it. The pacing of the film was brisk enough to hold my interest. Before the audience can get tired of one location, the agents follow a hot tip to another location, and so on and so forth. The locations are not all computer-generated sets, either. There are some artificial settings, but the desert night of Nevada, the edge of suburbia in Texas, and the endless fields of snow in Antarctica (actually somewhere in North America.) make this fantastic film feel more real. Ward Russell's cinematography is very good. The overall look is dark and ominous, appropriate to the intended tone of the film's plot. Russell is able to make something as innocuous as a cornfield look foreboding. When the movie is set in darkness, the picture quality is still rich and detailed. Finally, and specifically, there is an incredible shot at night in which the camera CROSSES the tracks in front of a fast oncoming train. I don't know if the shot is faked in any way, but it looks dangerous, and it looks great. The movie's soundtrack is also used to convey the dark tone of the film.(SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU HAVE YET TO SEE THE MOVIE — THERE IS A SPOILER IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES.)During the opening prehistoric sequence, a howling wind dogs the soundtrack, never giving the characters or the audience an escape from the lonely terrible sound. In one of the movie's most effective sequences, metallic doors suddenly slam open to release a cloud of buzzing bees. The visuals of the scene are good, but what makes it so surprising and frightening is the sound. There was no question as to who the movie's stars would be. Even so, Duchovny and Anderson are an interesting pair of actors and a good combination. Both are easy on the eyes and together, they have some good timing, banter, and energy. There is a hint of chemistry between them, but it never gets in the way of their professional relationship. They are like a couple of kids out exploring the empty lot at the end of the street. There might be some romantic interest, but for now they're more interested in their environs than they are in each other. No single element really makes this movie outstanding — not even the sense of paranoia that makes the TV show so popular. But enough things were done right that THE X-FILES is one of the more interesting summer adventures to come along. Check out more current movie reviews at http://www.indra.com/~mmapes/ From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 10 13:28:07 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!sunqbc.risq.qc.ca!howland.erols.net!wn3feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: Steve Rhodes Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 20 Jul 1998 05:18:31 GMT Organization: Internet Reviews Lines: 74 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6oujv7$jci$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer03.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 900911911 19858 (None) 140.142.64.2 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13389 Keywords: author=rhodes X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer03.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12600 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2037 THE X FILES A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1998 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2 How thick do you like your intrigue? How much ambiguity can you stand? When you think of conspiratorial government agencies, do you reject the easy targets like the CIA and focus instead on more sinister ones like FEMA? And finally, how successful are you at suspending disbelief for two solid hours? Welcome to THE X FILES - the movie version. Since reviews of this movie demand that the critic state his or her relative familiarity with the television series upon which the movie is based, let me confess up-front that I have seen only one episode. In the Museum of Radio and Television in New York - a must-see attraction - I watched an early episode as a research project before seeing the movie. The television show was more cerebral and less dependent on gore and special effects than the film, but they were both confusingly complex by design. Starting in North Texas, where I was born, the story opens in an ice age in 35,000 B.C. with two cave men discovering a frozen alien. The story quickly jumps ahead to the present where FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) have been reassigned to investigate terrorist bombings since the X-Files investigation has been closed. Duchovny, whose "gift" as an actor is that his face is always a blank slate, appears at one point to be trying to stare down a large bomb set to explode. It eventually goes off so that director Rob Bowman can make the film into a big budget action picture as required for a summer release. And why was the skyscraper completely demolished? To get rid of some already dead bodies. Why these bodies were not disposed of in a thousand easier ways is one of many illogical questions that a normal viewer, as opposed to a die-hard fan, might want to ask. "I have a hunch that whatever you find can't be categorized or easily referenced," Mulder says more than once to his sidekick, Scully. Actually, the entire story fits under those rubrics. Although the plot may be impenetrable for non-fans, the movie from beginning to end is absolutely fascinating even if not very often interesting. The labyrinthine plot got so outlandish at times that our audience started laughing at it. The setup involves a killer virus, an alien civilization, human conspirators, and an OB/GYN named Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil (Martin Landau), who has cracked part of the vast mystery. ("You told me you had the answers," complains an angry Mulder. "I don't have them all," replies Dr. Kurtzweil. Actually, even the entire Library of Congress couldn't hold all of them.) A typical scene has a dark limo on a black night with an evil man in a dark suit kidnapping Mulder for obscure reasons. Periodically, spooky creatures turn up to spice things up, and the movie becomes ALIENS-lite. Among the many joys of the film is that we are able to deduce that Hertz must have a rent-a-tractor outlet in Antarctica. You can check one out without a reservation and go joy riding alone across the vast frozen landscape. And when you get tired of driving, you can try your hand at spelunking. At the end of the credits, we learn that the story was all fiction. Or so they want us to believe. THE X FILES runs 2:01. It is rated PG-13 for violence and gore and would be fine for kids 11 and up. From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 10 13:28:22 1998 From: Seth Bookey Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: X Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 22 Jul 1998 05:29:07 GMT Organization: None Lines: 72 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6p3tb3$rkm$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer20.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 901085347 28310 (None) 140.142.64.5 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13468 Keywords: author=bookey X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Errors-To: sethbook@panix.com Originator: grahams@homer20.u.washington.edu Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!grendel.df.lth.se!news.ind.mh.se!news.solace.mh.se!news.stealth.net!news.idt.net!howland.erols.net!wn3feed!135.173.83.25!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12673 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2052 X Files: Fight the Future, The (1998) Seen 19 June 1998 with Nicole for $8.75 at the Cineplex Odeon Chelsea There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who are fans of the TV series The X Files and those who don't get it. But the truth is now out there. Either category of person is going to be a bit baffled or disappointed by the film, albeit for different reasons. The good news is that it's not a bad movie. As action-adventure goes, it succeeds and it's definitely a smart one. X Files novice Byron points out that Special Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is a very perceptive detective. The rapport with Special Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is deep. So are the paranoia and the conspiracies. So are the colors. That brings me to my favorite part of the movie. Director Rob Bowman finally gets to bring the same exciting filming we see on the small screen to the big screen. The filming is clearly inspired by the big screen and forerunning series like David Lynch's *Twin Peaks*. The films combines the action aspects with deep colors--illuminated bubble structures agains a night sky and a velvety green cornfield; lights and shadows in a prehistoric ice cave; the brilliant whites of Antarctica. The only time the film looks flat is when they film in modern-day North Texas. Bowman's lens can be undone, and it is--by drab beiges and tans of the dust bowl. But the story: Well, as the tagline reveals, "The truth is revealed," but not all the answers the devoted viewers are expecting. But, some of the basics of the dragged-out five-year plot is revealed. There *are* aliens, and those old white guys *are* involved in some muddled conspiracy with them. Also problematic are some plot issues, like how do two people stranded in Antarctica suddenly wind up back in DC safe and sound? But, there is a lot of suspense and a sufficient amount of gore to keep you interested and cringing for two hours. The special effects are pretty good (note the black oil taking over the boy in the beginning), but the set from the big finale looks like every big space-monster movie set we've been seeing lately. A lot of regular cast members appear here in their usual demeanor: The Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis), Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), The Well-Manicured Man (John Neville) are all here, but other characters like Crychek and the Morphing Man (Roy Thinnes) are not here. There are some notable additions to the cast--Blythe Danner appears twice as the investigating Assistant Director Jana Cassidy, Armin Mueller-Stahl is one of the conspirators, Terry O'Quinn (of Millenium) is an FBI agent, and Glenn Headly is a barmaid who cuts off Mulder. The most wasted talent here is probably Martin Landau, as the conspiracy theorist Alvin Kurzweil, who perfectly good in his limited role of skulking around urine-drenched alleys talking with Mulder and dropping him some clues. So, the choice is yours. Fans of the show are likely to be seeing this one day, if not now, on video. I would advise them to see it on the big screen. But, don't expect a lot of answers about green gel blood and Mulder's abducted sister. You won't get them. Best Moment in the Film: Scully and Mulder are at a desert crossroads, wondering what to do--go left or right. It is a defining moment that typifies everything about the show and the two agents and their relationship. Written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, cinematography by Ward Russell, original music by Mark Snow, production design by Christopher Nowak, film editing by Stephen Mark. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1998, Seth J. Bookey, New York, NY 10021 sethbook@panix.com; http://www.panix.com/~sethbook More movie reviews by Seth Bookey, with graphics, can be found at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2679/kino.html From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 10 13:28:33 1998 From: brianlt@aloha.net (Brian Takeshita) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 23 Jul 1998 04:53:47 GMT Organization: Hawaii OnLine - Honolulu, HI Lines: 127 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6p6fkr$nnq$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer10.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 901169627 24314 (None) 140.142.17.35 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13481 Keywords: author=takeshita X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer10.u.washington.edu Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!grendel.df.lth.se!news.ind.mh.se!news.solace.mh.se!news.ecn.ou.edu!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12713 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2054 THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE A Film Review by Brian Takeshita Rating: ** out of **** Apparently not much goes on in Blackwood, Texas, since kids have to find their kicks by digging around in the undeveloped areas outside of the small town. While doing so, four young boys discover an underground system of caves when one of their number falls through the ground. As any little boy would, he finds the whole thing pretty neat until a mysterious black oil seeps up from beneath his feet and absorbs itself into his skin. Soon, the oil has turned the boy's eyes the color of night and put him in a comatose condition. Help arrives, and in a baby-down-the-well scenario, four firemen go down the hole to bring the boy back, but meet the same fate, attacked by the black oil. News travels fast as a convoy of unmarked tanker trucks and a helicopter full of secretive government-types converge on the scene and take over. "Remember that situation we never planned for?" the newly arrived man in charge asks a cellular phone. "We better come up with a plan." Part of the plan is to cover up the victims' cause of death, and when FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) receive a tip that bodies from Blackwood are planted in the rubble of a "terrorist" bombing in Dallas, they uncover a trail of conspiracy and deception with implications for the future of the entire planet. In case you didn't know, THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE is a movie version of the hit Fox television series "The X-Files". For those of you unfamiliar with "The X-Files", thank you for reading this review. I realize cave-dwellers don't get much in the way of reading material. Were you also chosen for the O.J. jury? I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. Briefly, the television episodes can be divided into two categories: Stand-alone, self contained stories, and those which are part of a continuing melodrama centered around Mulder's quest to find his lost sister and uncover the conspiracy which he believes is responsible for her abduction. The promotional tagline for THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE is "The Truth is Revealed, Only in Theaters". I wouldn't be going out on any limbs if I were to say most people going to see this film are doing so just to find out some explanations for the numerous unanswered questions left by the television series. Indeed, much of the promotion for this film is centered around the fact that viewers will get the answers they've been so eagerly awaiting. In this way, much of the series has been extremely effective as a marketing gimmick to get people to shell out their money and buy a ticket. Likewise, the "truths" revealed are such that the story of the conspiracy is far from over, and of course, you'll have to tune in next fall to find out where it will go from here. Absolute genius. The premise of the movie is intriguing enough that it gets you interested, and the script is competently written so that one event leads logically to another, and you are rewarded with a climactic finish that ties everything together. This film is also well-paced, with sufficient punctuations of action and suspense that hold the viewer's attention through the two-hour running time. Visually, however, the movie seems to split between presenting the viewer with fascinating sights and no sights at all. At times, the images on screen are breathtaking, while at other times, the film is photographed in such shadow or darkness that it is unclear exactly what it is we're supposed to be looking at. When you make a movie out of a television show, you can't assume your moviegoing audience is already well acquainted with the characters and framework. Unfortunately, this film is guilty of doing exactly that, as it assumes too much and is definitely lacking in character development. For example, Mulder's motivations are only given a cursory explanation, and an unindoctrinated viewer would therefore only be able to guess at the deeper background supporting the film's plot. Likewise, supporting characters from the television show are thrown in for what seems to be no other reason than to give the loyal fans what they want: To see them on the big screen. On television, FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) has a close relationship to the two agents, but this is not made clear in the movie. When he helps Mulder evade surveillance by other agents, one does not know why. When Mulder's off-the-record technical consultants show up for a short scene, the audience isn't given a clue who they are. Maybe the tagline should be, "The Truth is Revealed, Only in Theaters, Only to Fans". Perhaps most disappointing is the absence of a solid villain. "The Cigarette-Smoking Man" (William B. Davis), Mulder and Scully's primary antagonist in the series, is present in the film, but his involvement with the story is very low-key, and only fans will appreciate his participation. This is a real missed opportunity, as he is presented very ominously in the beginning of the film and is therefore set up to play a large role in the plot. However, rather than being portrayed as the driving force behind the unfolding plans of the conspiracy, or the constant foil to Mulder's attempts to uncover the truth, he is relegated to being the mysterious person who seems to be present wherever the conspiracy manifests itself, hardly speaking at all. A confrontation (violent or otherwise) between The Cigarette-Smoking Man and Mulder would appear to be requisite, but it never materializes. Just as there is a disadvantage to being unfamiliar with the series, however, so is there a problem if you are a follower. The film has a slightly upped production value, but not so significant that the movie doesn't play just like a two-hour episode. The series is already a well-produced show, so the filmmakers had a difficult task right from the start in creating a movie which would not only answer questions, but impress as well. As it turns out, the film has a few more special effects and is more darkly photographed, but that's about it. I'm sure some people will wonder why they couldn't have seen this at home for free. Fans of the show will not be disappointed in the performances of the actors, since they are playing the same characters they have played for several years now. Duchovny and Anderson have matured with their on-screen personae, and appear very comfortable in their portrayals of the two FBI agents, although Duchovny's performance may seem a bit wooden to those who haven't seen him in the role before. THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE is not a bad film, but neither is it a great one. It is decent entertainment for the time spent, but the problem lies in trying to please two segments of the audience and not being totally successful in either endeavor. In all, fans of the series will appreciate (and enjoy) this film considerably more than other people, but with expectations running very high, even they might be disappointed. Review posted June 23, 1998 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 10 13:29:48 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!wn4feed!worldnet.att.net!140.142.64.3!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: Matthew Brissette Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: X-Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 25 Jul 1998 16:43:57 GMT Organization: University of Washington Lines: 114 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6pd20d$r3s$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> Reply-To: mouche@rodier.ca NNTP-Posting-Host: homer22.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 901385037 27772 (None) 140.142.17.35 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13527 Keywords: author=brissette X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer22.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12627 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2048 I think the first thing this reviewer should mention is wether or not I am a fan of The X-Files. First , let me assure you that no prior experience with the series is required to fully enjoy this movie. The producers are not stupid , making a movie just for fans of the series is not profitable. You have to reach for a larger audience. Therefore , the movie is quite user-friendly. Altough , non-fans will only fail to understand certain emotions behind the looks many characters exchange. But fear not , Duchovny and another man later on provide more than adequate background info on what is going on. You will never feel as if you just walked in on the third act of some great opera. In any case , the answer is no. I am not a fan of The X-Files , I only watch it when nothing else is on and I prefer Millennium. However , since the Fox network as been so kind as to air several key episodes for several weeks before the movie's opening weekend I took that opportunity to test the movie. I taped all of these episodes and watched them only after seing the movie , I am glad to report that I learned nothing new. Everything you need to know is explained to the viewer by Duchovny and others. I know I am going maybe a bit too far to make my point but everybody should get the chance to experience this movie. Warning: Major Spoilers Follow! Please do not read to fully enjoy this movie , you must not be able know what is coming , what exactly is over that hill and what that weird "hummm" sound is all about. You have been warned. The X-Files is what a summer should be. Exciting , scary , great special effects ( unlike other summer movies the effects do not take over the movie and are only there when it is really necessary ) and good performances. This is coming from a guy who thinks David Duchovny is the human equivalent of a wooden plank. From start to finish , this movie does not let go of you. When I compare it with last summer's movies the best way to describe it would be : take the excitement and great score from Face/Off and the deadly use of sound from Event Horizon. This flick is scary , not in a B movie kind of way where you always know where and when the critter will jump at our heroes. In fact , the first time the critter in this movie makes an apperance it is totally out of the blue. You might as well bring ear plugs because this thing is louuuudd! The last time a monster scared me that much was when I first saw Aliens as a six year old kid. You know , when you are affraid to put your feet on the floor because the creature might be under the chair , or when you keep trying to cover your throat with your shirt? So yeah , the X-Files is scary. And guess what? You never even have to see the monster but your imagination works overtime and it sure beats having to watch a flawed , computer generated , Babyzilla , it looks like you could walk right through it not even scarier than your grandma in undies type of monster. Do not think that The X-Files is a monster movie. In fact , the creature is there for maybe three minutes total. No , The X-Files is definately a Mulder episode of the series. Scully is at his side , of course , but Gillian Anderson gets maybe half the screen time. She has a couple of good scenes with Duchovny , but she gets kidnapped during the last half hour of the movie so she does not get to do much. No , this is Mulder's time in the spotlight. By now , you have heard of the scene where Mulder "showers" Independence Day. If you have not then I will not spoil it for you , let's just say that due to recent events Mulder should be "showering" Godzilla instead. To those of you wondering if Mulder discovers that the truth is indeed out there...who cares!? If he did find it the series would over anyway so what are you complaining about? The dialogue in interesting and the director is marvelous. The camera is almost always looking over the shoulder of our heroes so we feel as if we are right there with them when they open a door or climb a hill. The script is spotless , every thing that happens happens for a purpose. If you are confused by something , do not worry because it will all become clear later on but , and I cannot stress this enough , PAY ATTENTION!!! Unlike most summer movies , the dialogue is twice as important as the effects. Miss one vital piece of information and , like most people who talk during movies , you will go home and tell all your friends how this movie made no sense. Also , to those people who need to go to the bathroom during movies...DON'T! The person who watched the movie with me had to go twice and twice she missed an important conversation. There is no time to take a breather between scenes because , again unlike most summer movies ( Godzilla anybody? ) The X-Files does not need to fill scenes between the suspense and the action with useless subplots , every scene is crucial and serves a purpose. Who needs to see the blond chiouaoua have a "big emotional scene" between Godzilla attacks? So far this summer I have seen only one movie who ranks higher on my list of movies I'd recommend and that is the Truman Show but it only wins by a nose. But The Truman Show is not what I would call a summer movie , The X-Files is. What more do you ask from a summer movie other than the chance to be excited? Cool effects? It's got some. Pulse pounding? Hell yes! Strangely enough , I think that fans of the series will hate this movie while non-fans will have a good time. It does not provide answers to the show's many questions , the status quo remains nearly the same and , no , Mulder and Scully do not get together. Rating: Four and a half out of Five stars for the best movie yet this summer , several jump right out of your seat thrills , many "Whoah , I never saw that one coming!" moments , four "Holy Shit , where the hell did that come from" and one heck of an ending. You may wonder where this movie lost half a star. Well , I swore never to give a movie the full five stars so I had to find something about The in his ice truck , the tracks it leaves in the snow behind him go on for several miles but then they just stop. It's pretty obvious the film's makers drove the truck for several miles to give the appearance that Mulder had been driving for a long time , but in the end it looks like Mulder just dropped from the sky and started driving. Nitpicking , I know. So sue me! Play safe and have a good time From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 10 13:30:23 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!news.solace.mh.se!news.xinit.se!nntp.se.dataphone.net!news.kolumbus.fi!news-stkh.gip.net!news-peer.gip.net!news.gsl.net!gip.net!newsxfer3.itd.umich.edu!newsfeed.direct.ca!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: agapow@latcs1.cs.latrobe.edu.au (p-m agapow) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: X Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 30 Jul 1998 23:10:52 GMT Organization: Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Biologists Lines: 74 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Distribution: world Message-ID: <6pquhs$107c$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer20.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 901840252 33004 (None) 140.142.17.38 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13656 Keywords: author=agapow X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer20.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12897 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2073 [film] "The X Files" (A Postview, copyright 1998 P-M Agapow) This is how it is: everyone's favourite FBI agents are once again down on their luck, the eponymous files having been closed. But Mulder (David Duchovny) is contacted by an old friend of his father (Martin Landau) who explains that he is aware of a high level conspiracy to unleash a plague on mankind. Knowing this will at the very least explain the final season of "Space 1999", Mulder cons Scully (Gillian Anderson) into donning an awesome pair of heels and rekindling their unresolved sexual tension. Equipped with their trusty torchs, mobile phones and clothes in every imaginable shade of black, our conspiratorial duo investigate a bomb blast and a mysterious excavation site. It's not long before Scully is conveniently taken prisoner and Mulder has to trudge through snow to save her. There's a lot to admire about "The X Files" as a TV show. It keyed into a previous unmined vein of interest in conspiracy and paranoia, paid a long overdue visit to the horror genre, managed to laugh at itself while telling some fun and well-directed stories. It's a very likeable show. This may explain why after seeing the movie there is this vague feeling of guilt that you didn't like it more. The beginning is admirable, drawing you in with a great surtitle for a hookline: "North Texas - 35000 BC". After this creepy opening sequence, we see the two discredited agents working a case in Dallas that features a great explosion and the movie's sole point of parody (which revolves around Mulder's wooden expression). Things then get very busy with secret meetings, internal agency hearings and help crawling out of the woodpile at every turn. To be fair, it's only near the end that you realise that you are just watching a two hour episode of the TV show. Is that so bad? Movie and TV can be very different experiences, if only due to length. "The X Files" shows a few scars gained in the move. The soundtrack blairs stridently in too many scenes. A rollcall of characters parade past the screen and then disappear. The malevolent Cancer Man gets no chance to work his evil and those paragons of geekdom, the Lone Gunmen, are on screen for a full 20 seconds. But worst of all, over a two hour period the movie is sufficiently drawn-out to let you dwell on plot intricacies. (Plot intricacies and Scully's magnificent pumps. Excuse me.) At the end of the day, the plot makes little sense. In a conspiracy the viewer should be convinced that while motives may be unknown, the action is in some light be consistent and plausible. But "The X Files" slowly but surely breaches this barrier. The unseen conspiracy cannot make sense. The actions of some characters seems to come out of a vacuum. And at the end of the movie, we are back to square one - the X Files are re-opened and conspirators and whistleblowers are at work again, with no ground gained or lost. Hardcore X-philes will race off to see the movie immediately and probably get a decent bang-for-buck out of it. More casual fans will still enjoy it but can proceed more leisurely, maybe waiting for video (which I predict will not be long). Those who have never seen "The X Files" will have trouble understanding any of this. Conversely, the hoopla over having to know the last few episodes to understand the movie is severely overstated - a nodding acquaintance with the main characters and issues is all that is necessary. [**/ok] and unmarked helicopters on the Sid and Nancy scale. "The X Files" Released 1998. Directed by Rob Bowman. Written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotniz. Music by Mike Oldfield and Mark Snow. Starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Blythe Danner, William B. Davis, Mitch Pileggi. -- Paul-Michael Agapow (agapow@latcs1.oz.au) Postviews SF/F reviews & mailing-list at www.cs.latrobe.edu.au/~agapow/Postviews From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 10 13:30:30 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!news.solace.mh.se!news.xinit.se!nntp.se.dataphone.net!newsfeed.sollentuna.se!news-feed.inet.tele.dk!bofh.vszbr.cz!newsfeed.wli.net!newsfeed.direct.ca!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: agapow@latcs1.cs.latrobe.edu.au (p-m agapow) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: X Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 30 Jul 1998 23:12:32 GMT Organization: Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Biologists Lines: 74 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Distribution: world Message-ID: <6pqul0$158u$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer04.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 901840352 38174 (None) 140.142.17.35 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13656 Keywords: author=agapow X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer04.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12833 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2069 [film] "The X Files" (A Postview, copyright 1998 P-M Agapow) This is how it is: everyone's favourite FBI agents are once again down on their luck, the eponymous files having been closed. But Mulder (David Duchovny) is contacted by an old friend of his father (Martin Landau) who explains that he is aware of a high level conspiracy to unleash a plague on mankind. Knowing this will at the very least explain the final season of "Space 1999", Mulder cons Scully (Gillian Anderson) into donning an awesome pair of heels and rekindling their unresolved sexual tension. Equipped with their trusty torchs, mobile phones and clothes in every imaginable shade of black, our conspiratorial duo investigate a bomb blast and a mysterious excavation site. It's not long before Scully is conveniently taken prisoner and Mulder has to trudge through snow to save her. There's a lot to admire about "The X Files" as a TV show. It keyed into a previous unmined vein of interest in conspiracy and paranoia, paid a long overdue visit to the horror genre, managed to laugh at itself while telling some fun and well-directed stories. It's a very likeable show. This may explain why after seeing the movie there is this vague feeling of guilt that you didn't like it more. The beginning is admirable, drawing you in with a great surtitle for a hookline: "North Texas - 35000 BC". After this creepy opening sequence, we see the two discredited agents working a case in Dallas that features a great explosion and the movie's sole point of parody (which revolves around Mulder's wooden expression). Things then get very busy with secret meetings, internal agency hearings and help crawling out of the woodpile at every turn. To be fair, it's only near the end that you realise that you are just watching a two hour episode of the TV show. Is that so bad? Movie and TV can be very different experiences, if only due to length. "The X Files" shows a few scars gained in the move. The soundtrack blairs stridently in too many scenes. A rollcall of characters parade past the screen and then disappear. The malevolent Cancer Man gets no chance to work his evil and those paragons of geekdom, the Lone Gunmen, are on screen for a full 20 seconds. But worst of all, over a two hour period the movie is sufficiently drawn-out to let you dwell on plot intricacies. (Plot intricacies and Scully's magnificent pumps. Excuse me.) At the end of the day, the plot makes little sense. In a conspiracy the viewer should be convinced that while motives may be unknown, the action is in some light be consistent and plausible. But "The X Files" slowly but surely breaches this barrier. The unseen conspiracy cannot make sense. The actions of some characters seems to come out of a vacuum. And at the end of the movie, we are back to square one - the X Files are re-opened and conspirators and whistleblowers are at work again, with no ground gained or lost. Hardcore X-philes will race off to see the movie immediately and probably get a decent bang-for-buck out of it. More casual fans will still enjoy it but can proceed more leisurely, maybe waiting for video (which I predict will not be long). Those who have never seen "The X Files" will have trouble understanding any of this. Conversely, the hoopla over having to know the last few episodes to understand the movie is severely overstated - a nodding acquaintance with the main characters and issues is all that is necessary. [**/ok] and unmarked helicopters on the Sid and Nancy scale. "The X Files" Released 1998. Directed by Rob Bowman. Written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotniz. Music by Mike Oldfield and Mark Snow. Starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Blythe Danner, William B. Davis, Mitch Pileggi. -- Paul-Michael Agapow (agapow@latcs1.oz.au) Postviews SF/F reviews & mailing-list at www.cs.latrobe.edu.au/~agapow/Postviews From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 10 13:30:50 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!news.solace.mh.se!news.xinit.se!nntp.se.dataphone.net!newsfeed.sollentuna.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!news.algonet.se!masternews.telia.net!news-nyc.telia.net!news.idt.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!192.220.250.21!netnews1.nw.verio.net!netnews.nwnet.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: "Luke Buckmaster" Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: X Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 31 Jul 1998 20:57:40 GMT Organization: None Lines: 88 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6ptb44$sdo$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer27.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 901918660 29112 (None) 140.142.17.37 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13690 Keywords: author=buckmaster X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer27.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12861 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2072 REVIEW: The X-Files By Luke Buckmaster (bucky@alphalink.com.au) Cast: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, Blythe Danner, William B. Davis, Armin Mueller-Stahl, John Neville, Terry O'Quinn Director: Rob Bowman Producers: Chris Carter, Daniel Sackheim Screenplay: Chris Carter Cinematography: Ward Russell Australian release date: July 23, 1998 From 0 stars (bomb), to 5 stars (a masterpiece): 3 and a half stars As a devoted X-Files viewer, I am (like millions of others) familiar with the adventures of FBI special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, government conspirators "The Cigarette Smoking Man" and "The Well Manicured Man," plus a host of other arcane characters. But the question everybody is asking is what separates the film from the television episodes? The answer, not surprisingly, is that our two favorite agents delve further than ever before into a worldwide conspiracy, discovering that a global Armageddon may not be far away. In terms of budget, special effects and novelty, the movie is certainly far bigger than any episode aired on television. But strangely, it feels just a little too big - the full-scale plot, the menacing alien monsters and a semi-ridiculous climax all contribute to make this appear as simply a pumped up and over-bloated version of the TV show. But, like always, creator Chris Carter has taken some bold risks and, also like always, he manages to pull it off with the precision of a skilled writer and the subtlety of a bull in a China chop. After all, what would the X-Files be without its pumped up and over-bloated themes? Capping off where the series left finds Mulder and Scully with no They investigate a terrorist bomb threat in Washington, but only after a building is blown to smithereens do they begin to realize that everything is not as simple as it seems. It appears as if two firemen and a young boy were intentionally killed in the blast, to cover up a deadly alien virus that has the potential to wipe the human race out of existence. Thus a new conspiracy is discovered, in which we find that The Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis), The Well-Manicured Man (John Neville) and a mysterious abettor (Armin Mueller-Stahl, whom you may remember from Shine) are cleverly orchestrating. Oh yeah, and The Truth is Out There. I guess it goes without saying that watching The X-Files on the big screen is a dream come true for many devoted followers. But, it isn't just a flick made for fans - although the movie thankfully doesn't re-introduce the characters, anyone who hasn't seen an episode on TV can easily get the gist of what's been going on for the last few years. However, the more dedicated fan will probably be disappointed by the absence of some characters (in particular, the elusive Agent Alex Krycek), and, most of all, the lack of the show's "leave it to your own imagination" approach. Rob Bowman (who has directed multiple episodes of the show, plus episodes from others series' including Star Trek: Next Generation and Macgyver) has taken the directors helm and guides the film smartly, if not instinctively. He follows the screenplay (written by Chris Carter and a couple of others) with a dark, twisted grace, much to the help of cinematographer Ward Russel (Lawnmower Man II, The Last Boy Scout) who supplies some all-too-real looking visuals. Along with Mike Oldfield and Mark Snow's eerie editing to the already eerie title music, The senses. For a movie that isn't bolder, better or smarter than many of its previous episodes on TV (especially the cliff hanger season finale), it's a wonder it still works. Perhaps it is because the sexual tension between Mulder and Scully has stood the test of time, and the full truth is still not found, even when it is closest to them. Should there will be another X-Files movie in the future (and I very much hope there will be), I would prefer to see Chris Carter direct it. Maybe then we would not only have another very good film, but perhaps he could also make something that tops anything we've seen before - making sure that the show's pumped up and over-bloated themes are dealt with in exactly the right hands. ------------------------------------------- Review © copyright Luke Buckmaster Email bucky@alphalink.com.au to subscribe to my newsletter (unless, of course, you already have) or lukebuckmaster@hotmail.com.au for any inquiries or feedback Read more of my reviews at Movie Zone: http://moviezone.alphalink.com.au From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 10 13:30:56 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!sunqbc.risq.qc.ca!newsfeed.direct.ca!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: "Jason A. Clark" Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: X Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 3 Aug 1998 04:12:46 GMT Organization: East Texas Internet Lines: 44 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6q3dbu$jv0$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> Reply-To: jclark@e-tex.com NNTP-Posting-Host: homer23.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 902117566 20448 (None) 140.142.17.40 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13721 Keywords: author=clark X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer23.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12931 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2075 The X-Files: Fight The Future For fans of the hit television series, The X-Files, the new movie The sometimes even ardent fans have turned this once obscure science fiction/drama series into a huge hit for Fox television. No doubt they will do the same for the film. Fortunately for everyone else, one doesn't have to be a fan of the series in order to love this movie. To tell of the intricacies of the plot would be to reveal more then anyone should know until they see the film. I can safely say that the film begins with agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) working together in an anti-terrorist unit. The agents have been reassigned to this new unit. Their reassignment and the closing of the X-Files themselves do not stop the global conspiracies involving the invasion of our world by aliens, however. Thus is the setup for the film which pits the two agents in the almost impossible task of exposing the conspiracy which could destroy not only their lives but the lives of everyone on the planet as well. As a fan of the series, my major fear was that the writers would have to "talk down" to me and the other fans in order to explain things that the casual viewer (or moviegoer) wouldn't know. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the movie was everything the series is and more. The film explains many of the complicated plots that have arisen over the last couple of years, and it does it in such a way as to actually be entertaining to someone who doesn't know anything about the film. The screenplay is brilliant in that it does actually fulfill the impossible promises of the show's creator, Chris Carter, to appease both ardent fan and casual moviegoer. I personally didn't believe it could be done, but, after talking to several others who have seen the film and who are not fans of the weekly series, my suspicions were confirmed and this movie is just plain enjoyable. I would recommend this film to all fans of the television series as well as sci-fi fans in general. I will even go a step further and recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a good drama or suspense film. This film is entirely self contained and can be enjoyed by all. It is rated PG-13, presumably for violence, but today's audience (even the younger ones) aren't likely to notice the violence or the occasional curse word. As always, I recommend parents actually watch the film before allowing younger children to see it (nightmares of alien invasions and scary black goo invading bodies are a real possibility). From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Aug 10 13:31:06 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!news.solace.mh.se!news.ecn.ou.edu!feed2.news.erols.com!erols!newsfeed.internetmci.com!192.220.250.21!netnews1.nw.verio.net!netnews.nwnet.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: PBBP24A@prodigy.com (Edward Johnson-ott) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: X Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 7 Aug 1998 05:30:21 GMT Organization: Prodigy Services Company 1-800-PRODIGY Lines: 86 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Distribution: world Message-ID: <6qe3dd$qou$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer11.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 902467821 27422 (None) 140.142.17.37 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #13771 Keywords: author=johnson-ott X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer11.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:12987 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2082 The X Files (1998) David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, John Neville, William B. Davis, Mitch Pileggi, Blythe Danner, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Terry O'Quinn. Written by Chris Carter. Produced by Chris Carter and Daniel Sackheim. Directed by Rob Bowman. 115 minutes PG-13, 3 stars (out of five stars) Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com/film/ Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Edward+Johnson-ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to pbbp24a@prodigy.com A little behind-the-scenes glimpse at the fabulous world of film reviewing. Prior to the press screening for "The X Files," the promotion representative asked my paper to agree not to print a review prior to the film's official release date. I asked why, if Time and Newsweek were running advance reviews, anyone would give a rat's ass if an Indianapolis newspaper offered an opinion two days early. "It's studio policy," the rep informed me in curt tones. "Besides, they don't want to see any early reviews popping up on one of those sneak preview web sites." "Oh please," I moaned, "I'm a professional journalist. Do you honestly think I'm going to take material I'm paid to write and submit it to 'Ain't It Cool News' under a pseudonym? Writing is not easy and I have no interest in seeing my finished work in giant type on a fan page, attributed to 'Pudding Whistle' or something." The rep was unimpressed by my little tirade and grudgingly, I agreed to their terms. The reason I've shared this with you is because there's only so much one can say about the actual film without spoiling the fun. A big part of enjoying "The X Files" series comes from trying to figure out the secrets of the show's labyrinthine conspiratorial story arc and the same holds true for the film, so you'll see no spoilers here. For those who have never followed the show and may feel intimidated by reports of the series' elaborate back-story, you can rest easy. The film, while complex, stands alone and is understandable to newcomers. Hard core fans who worried that the movie would reveal too much can relax as well. While "The X Files" clarifies the series mythology, there are definitely plenty of secrets left. After an effectively spooky prologue set in 35,000 BC, the film picks up where the show's season finale left off, with the X Files closed and Fox Mulder and Dana Scully working on an FBI terrorism unit in Dallas. An explosion draws the pair back into the thick of the conspiracy, which leads them everywhere from the desert to Antarctica. Along the way, we meet new shadowy characters, witness a significant moment in the droll duo's relationship, and get some dandy scares. Leaving the theater, I felt just satisfied enough and found myself looking forward to the fall, when we'll see where the series leads from this invigorating turn. "The X Files" plays like an expanded episode of the TV show and that's a good thing. Instead of getting carried away with making an theatrical epic, Chris Carter and company wisely remembered the importance of maintaining the tone of the series. David Duchovny's laconic Mulder and Gillian Anderson's intense Scully are fascinating characters who play as well on the big screen as on the tube. Continuing the series tradition, the film tosses in humor at unexpected moments. Fans will delight in a scene addressing Mulder's chronic deadpan expression, while event movie producers Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich will wince over a hilarious, very pointed dig at one of their films. A couple of minor gripes. Mitch Pileggi, one of the series' strongest characters, is underused here. And the film's climax, while both scary and exciting, is a bit ragged, with a few plot holes and gaps in internal logic. The better episodes of the "X Files" series play like abbreviated movies and, quibbles aside, "The X Files" lives up to the high standards set by the show. Is it the best "episode?" No. But it's a good one. "The X Files" moves at a fast clip, sets and maintains a creepy tone and answers just enough questions. There's still a lot of truth left to be revealed, but this entertaining "X Files" does a nice job of whetting our appetites for what's to come. © 1998 Ed Johnson-Ott From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu Oct 15 15:12:54 1998 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed1.news.luth.se!luth.se!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!newsfeed.xcom.net!newsfeed.cwix.com!192.220.250.21!netnews1.nw.verio.net!netnews.nwnet.net!news.u.washington.edu!grahams From: Chuck Dowling Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: The X Files (1998) Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies Date: 11 Oct 1998 19:27:50 GMT Organization: None Lines: 74 Approved: graham@ee.washington.edu Message-ID: <6vr0rm$1o5s$1@nntp3.u.washington.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: homer29.u.washington.edu X-Trace: nntp3.u.washington.edu 908134070 57532 (None) 140.142.17.35 X-Complaints-To: help@cac.washington.edu NNTP-Posting-User: grahams Summary: r.a.m.r. #14699 Keywords: author=dowling X-Questions-to: movie-rev-mod@www.ee.washington.edu X-Submissions-to: movie-reviews@www.ee.washington.edu Originator: grahams@homer29.u.washington.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:13910 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2127 The X Files (1998) ***1/2 out of ***** Cast: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, Blythe Danner, William B. Davis, Armin Mueller-Stahl, John Neville, Terry O'Quinn, Glenne Headly, Tom Braidwood, Dean Haglund, Bruce Harwood Written by: Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz Directed by: Rob Bowman Running Time: 120 minutes ** This Review Contains Spoilers** I have mixed reactions when it comes to The X Files. I'm a big fan of the show, so naturally I'd be a fan of the film. And I did like the film. It has all of the elements which makes the television series enjoyable: aliens, government conspiracies, etc etc. But overall, it's TOO much like the show. In other words it would have made a great episode, but there's nothing really there to merit me having to pay for something that I get to see for free every week. I would think that when you make a feature film out of a television series that is still in production, there would be some reason to do so other than money. Apparently not. The story being told in the film should be one that just simply can't be told within the confines of the small screen. But aside from the score being a little bit grander, the screen a little bigger, and a couple of visual effects, there's no reason for this to be a feature film. It's hardly even a sweeps week episode. And as far as the specifics of the story go, what plot elements haven't we seen before in the series? When the film begins, the X Files division has been shut down (seen that). The powers that be then try to split FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) apart (seen that). Scully plans on quitting the FBI (seen that). Mulder then asks Scully "How can you say that? After everything we've seen?" (seen that). Shadowy characters seek out Agent Mulder to tell him secrets (seen that). Those shadowy characters are soon killed (seen that). The other shadowy characters decide that instead of killing Agent Mulder (which would of course, solve all their problems) that they will take Agent Scully away from him and do harm to her (seen that). Mulder will attempt to discover aliens, but doesn't even bother to bring along a pocket camera to document his inevitable discovery (seen that). In the end, Mulder and Scully have experienced something which makes them want to go on and pursue their work, even though they have no hard evidence of anything at all. Yep, I've seen that too. Then there are new elements of the story which perplex me. For example, usually when the evil powers that be decide to cover something up, people die. Here, they buy some kids shiny new bikes in exchange for their silence. Ok. Then, it's revealed that the aliens that the government had been conspiring with (and which aliens were we having the conversations with, the black ooze aliens or the snarling monster aliens?) have double-crossed them. For some reason, they blow this off and just continue to go along with the plan as scheduled. Seems to me that would change some motivations. Obviously not. Please don't get me wrong with all of this though, the film did entertain me. It also managed to entertain the friend that went with me who hasn't even seen an episode of the show. So I guess it did what it intended to do, which is to get both fans and non-fans of the show to buy a movie ticket. I just wish The X Files had been more feature-film worthy. [PG-13] The Jacksonville Film Journal -- Film Reviews by Chuck Dowling URL: http://users.southeast.net/~chuckd21/ Email: chuckd21@leading.net © 1995-1998 of The Jacksonville Film Journal. No reviews may be reprinted without permission.