The X-Files: Fight the Future Review
by "David Wilcock" (david DOT wilcock AT btinternet DOT com)August 28th, 1998
THE X-FILES
(20TH CENTURY FOX)
RUNNING TIME: 2 HOURS 1 MINUTE
STARRING DAVID DUCHOVNY AND GILLIAN ANDERSON
DIRECTED BY ROB BOWMAN
(Nearly) everyone's favourite Sci-fi program make's it big screen debut. Surprisingly, the movie is quite good, and can hold itself onscreen. Agents Mulder and Scully (Duchovny and Anderson) are back in another case of strange going on's. This time, it's about a strange black liquid that the government want to use as a biological weapon. And, they find out about a sinister alien plot involving aliens who want to take over the earth. Can they stop both these things? The truth is in the movie...
The X-Files is enjoyable sci-fi hokum, with excellent special effects, good performances and an intriguing plot. Duchovny and Anderson are fine on-screen, although they don't attempt to do anything different from what they're doing on television. The same goes for the whole cast, and the writing, and the directing. In fact, the entire movie is like watching an didn't need to be made. It could of easily had been a 45 minute or feature length episode on television. However, what is done is done is the usual over-indulgent (the movie starts in 35,000 B.C!) the plot is good. Although there are a few stupid bits, it's generally O.K, and at least makes sense to people who don't watch t.v show. (I stopped watching about 2 years ago.) However, it does help if you have some background knowledge of the characters, because although Mulder and Scully give background of themselves, the rest of the characters are a bit faceless (and some are nameless, such as "Cigarette Smoking Man.")
The direction is actually quite good, and the set-pieces are done stylishly, and some parts are even quite scary, and heavy in tension. The 'look' of the film is good aswell, and the music (by Mark Snow, who composes for the T.V series) helps convey the atmosphere. Also, the special effects are excellent, even with the movie's relatively low budget.
Overall, The X-Files is both entertaining for X-Files fans and novices. There's enough references to the show to keep buffs happy, while nothing closely related to the T.V show happens in the movie that would alienate and it never really ties up all it's lose ends, and it is overlong, and the ending is too ambiguous (that's all the gripes!) it is fun. The best summer movie so far.
OVERALL RATING=***1/2 OUT OF *****
REVIEW BY DAVID WILCOCK
DAVID WILCOCK
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