The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)

Director:

Chris Carter

Writers (WGA):

Frank Spotnitz (written by) and
Chris Carter (written by) ...

Release Date:

25 July 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Believe Again

Plot:

Mulder and Scully are called back to duty by the FBI when a former priest claims to be receiving psychic visions pertaining to a kidnapped agent.

Plot Keywords:

FBI | Priest | Psychic | Psychic Vision | Hospital

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Amanda Peet	...	ASAC Dakota Whitney
Billy Connolly	...	Father Joseph Crissman
Xzibit	...	Agent Mosley Drummy (as Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner)
Mitch Pileggi	...	Walter Skinner
Callum Keith Rennie	...	2nd Abductor - Janke Dacyshyn
Adam Godley	...	Father Ybarra
Alex Diakun	...	Gaunt Man
Nicki Aycox	...	2nd Victim - Cheryl Cunningham
Fagin Woodcock	...	1st Abductor - Franz Tomczeszyn
Marco Niccoli	...	Christian Fearon
Carrie Ruscheinsky	...	Margaret Fearon
Spencer Maybee	...	Blair Fearon
Veronika Hadrava	...	Female Assistant

Also Known As:

The X Files 2 (USA) (working title)
The X Files: Done One (USA) (working title)
The X-Files (USA) (promotional abbreviation)
The X-Files Movie (USA) (promotional title)
The X-Files: I Want to Believe (USA) (alternative spelling)
Untitled X Files Sequel (USA) (working title)
X-Files: Je veux y croire (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violent and disturbing content and thematic material.

Runtime:

104 min | USA:108 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English | Russian | Czech

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (uncredited)

Certification:

UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | Ireland:15A | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Malaysia:U | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) (Canadian Home Video rating) | Hong Kong:IIB | South Korea:15 | Germany:16 | USA:PG-13 (Approved No. 44443) | Netherlands:16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Sweden:15 | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | Italy:T | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | New Zealand:M | Peru:14 | Austria:14 | Denmark:15 | France:U (with warning) | Brazil:12

Filming Locations:

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Mulder visits the Nutter feed store; David Nutter directed many episodes of the series.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Dacyshyn and the surgeon speak Russian they switch between the familiar and formal you (ty and vy). Russians would never do this.

Quotes:

Fox Mulder: This is not an exact science. If it were me, I'd be on the guy 24/7. I'd be in bed with him kissing his holy ass.
ASAC Dakota Whitney: Father Joe is a convicted pedophile.
Fox Mulder: [surprised] ... Maybe I'd stay out of bed with him.

Movie Connections:

References A Wild Hare (1940)

Soundtrack:

Memories Child

Better than your average MOTW...

The Good: - Duchovny, Anderson, and Connelly all deliver excellent performances. Mulder and Scully are still fun to watch. - The atmosphere of the show is very much kept intact. - The surprise appearance of a series regular is a great addition to the finale of the movie. - The Scully Subplot was done very well. - The few action sequences are well done. - It explains what happened to Mulder and Scully.

The Bad: - Xzibit's character is as one dimensional as a piece of paper. - The plot is very weak due to it being incredibly simplistic. - It's slow pace will turn off many. - It feels made for T.V, almost exactly like an episode from season 7. They should've made it a 2 hour special on T.V instead. - It's way more of a Drama film than a Sci Fi thriller, which is misleading since the previews showed otherwise.

Overall: I had mixed thoughts when leaving the theater. Though it was slightly disappointing and underwhelming, it was still a good movie, especially for X Files fans. Duchovny and Anderson have not lost a step and deserve either another season to close up the series or another movie. I'm leaning more towards the former, as the movies have illustrated that Carter excels far more in a T.V environment.