The X-Files: Fight the Future Review
by "Yen, Homer" (YenHo AT cof DOT org)July 1st, 1998
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
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