

'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
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