The X-Files: Fight the Future Review
by Scott Renshaw (renshaw AT inconnect DOT com)June 29th, 1998
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.
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