Note: This review was originally posted on Bridge To Better Days. I am reposting it here for archival purposes. It has been backdated to the date of its original posting.
Now, if you told me that it's been a decade since I stopped watching The X-Files, I'd actually be inclined to believe you (whether I want to or not). Come to think of it, the first X-Files movie (Fight the Future) was released in 1998. WAIT, IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE? I was a high school freshman in 1998. O_O
Anyway.
I wanted to see this, the second X-Files movie, when it came out a summer or two ago, but it spent like a week in theaters (curse you, theaters), so no go. But I just watched it. And it was pretty good. Whatever you might say about the premise, I wasn't expecting it to be classic X-Files, just on account of the time lapse alone. But, I thought it was a successful homage to classic X-Files. As a movie, it didn't have the kick and the epicness (nor the aliens) of the first X-Files movie, but I enjoyed it. And it felt like a good finale to the franchise (regardless of whether or not it will be).
Mulder and Scully have moved on - together, but on. Neither of them work at the FBI any longer. Scully has pursued her dream of being a doctor - a real doctor - and Mulder has secluded himself like a hermit in a remote house in snowy...West Virginia? Or somewhere. His work room is pasted with news clippings and actually looks pretty much like his office at the FBI looked (complete with the iconic poster). Also, he's apparently wanted by the FBI for his crackpot theories. Or something.
Well, just when you thought you were out, the FBI has a way of pulling you back in. And yes, certain themes in this movie, while they may or may not have been overtly meant as such, they did have a vague Milleniumistic flavor. It seems that in this movie, Mulder and Scully, who have finally gotten together (and I do mean together), face many of the problems Frank Black and his wife faced - the dilemma of "retirement", in Mulder's case, and whether he can truly ever escape the demons that led him into the field, and whether or not the two of them can keep the darkness that their previous lives repeatedly confronted them with at bay. Et cetera.
So, the FBI wants Mulder back (and they can only get to him through Scully) for help in one specific case, where they have a psychic (who also happens to be a priest and a convicted child molester - on top of whether or not to believe his abilities, there is the question of should we believe his visions, considering his character, and where the visions may be coming from - the attic, or the basement, so to speak) helping them track down a fellow FBI agent gone missing. Eventually, it all leads to a black market organ trade/stem cell research group operating incognito on abducted (and thus quite unwilling) human subjects.
So there's a lot going on, and there's a lot of interpersonal dynamics between Mulder and Scully, and though they may not have the pizazz of their younger selves in the same roles, they are actually quite interesting to see, in a sort of "ten years later" capacity. You don't get to see that with all of your favorite characters. And there are enough nods to classic X-Files fans, also. Mulder's introductory speech is classic Fox Mulder, and though he shaves later, I think, while different, the beard look actually suited him. And his sister does come up briefly as a topic of concern. Scully is still battling with her religious devotion, and its conflict with her skepticism. And another classic character makes a triumphant (if brief) return (and no, I'm sorry, but it's not Krycek...).
I don't think there's a whole lot of point in continuing to ramble on, so I'll stop there. I'll still need to watch the rest of the TV series at some point, as it is the best [English] television show I've ever watched; though I kind of lost interest around that point that Mulder dropped off the cast list. But I had other things going on in my life at that time as well. At any rate, this movie was a satisfactory coda to the series.
Watched this early this morning. Definitely a competent curtain call for the series, and I love things like that. I definitely would have preferred a plot surrounding aliens, cryptozoology, or perhaps some sort of ancient mythology, but what they picked did seem like classic X-Files (even if it isn't the *first* thing people tend to think of when they think of The X-Files). And I thought it was a good story too. I think the beard suited Mulder too!
ReplyDeleteAs far as Mulder being wanted by the FBI, I figure that probably has something to do with the last seasons of The X-Files. Can't corroborate, but that's just what I assumed. I was also a little confused when they said they had a child together? Did I hear that wrong?
I'm considering watching through all the mythology episodes of the X-Files. Looks like they actually released the mythology episodes together on DVDs... so shouldn't be hard for me to pick the right episodes.
I don't recall. There was a big subplot (in the series) about Scully having a mysterious child after her abduction left her sterile, and then Mulder disappears, presumably due to aliens. Who knows...
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty cool that they would release a mythology anthology of X-Files DVDs. I read a "watch-through" of The X-Files on a blog somewhere recently, and the author did not have a proper appreciation for those mythology episodes. I mean, to be fair, The X-Files mythology does get pretty convoluted, and doesn't always deliver on its promises. But let's be honest, it's those mythology episodes that really got me excited about watching the series.