A challenge for any filmmaker to
translate a popular TV series onto the big screen is fraught with danger. There
is the need to satisfy hard core fans of the show and to lure the not so
familiar film goers.
“The X-Files: I want To Believe” does away with some of the aspects of the
TV show that might have satisfied the more serious fans and goes for a more
streamlined straight-forward thriller.
Gone are the sometimes far-fetched notions of alien abductions and sinister
government cover-up plots. Instead, we have a story centring around bad guys
engaged in nasty illegal human organ experimentation and trade.
The TV show was popular in the 90s and even then its fan base was split. Most
casual fans preferred the straightforward, not too paranormal stories that were
truly griping. The movie actually seems to want to get as far away from the show
as possible. None of the supporting characters from the show appear in the
movie. Even the central tenet of having a male-female pairing, which is not
romantic, has been changed.
At times there are extended shots of helicopters, cars driving in the snow and
crime scene investigation that linger just a little bit too long. But the
principal actors David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson along with the director Chris
Carter do a commendable job in creating a taunt thriller that dares to ask more
philosophical questions of faith. Even the complexities of commitment in a
relationship are maturely handled.
Mulder (Duchovny) and Scully (Anderson) are now a couple living together and
have new lives. Mulder is still bitter with his former employer, the FBI, and
Scully has now become a doctor at a Catholic hospital.
Scully encourages to Mulder to return to the FBI to help in the case of a
missing female agent. He takes on the case, but it soon causes a strain in their
relationship as Scully battles some internal questions at her work while trying
to support Mulder with the case.
The script tries to tell a simple story well. The supporting actors Amanda Peet,
Billy Connolly and rapper Xzibit all fill in their roles well. Connolly does a
commendable job as a former paedophile Catholic father trying to redeem himself
by helping out in the case through the visions he has of the victims.
The story develops at a good pace. The evil and dangers of human experimentation
depicted are scary and gripping. But in the real world where the main threats
seem to be terrorism and now the financial crisis, a plot revolving around
illegal human organ trade might seem a bit distant and low impact.
The movie may not be good enough to draw the reluctant viewers to the theatres.
This also might be the last X-Files movie made before the interest
from fans in completely drained.
But for those looking for a good thriller with some decent exploration of human
relationships, this movie is worth the watch.
Fox Star Studios India Pvt. Ltd. will bring to India `THE
X FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE, a long awaited science fiction movie based on
the critically acclaimed TV series, The X Files. The film reunites series stars David
Duchovny> and Gillian Anderson in
the lead roles of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully under the direction of series
creator Chris Carter, who co-wrote
the screenplay with Frank Spotnitz. Other notable actors include Amanda Peet,
Billy Connolly, Alvin Joiner, Mitch Pileggi and Callum Keith Rennie. The movie
is all set to hit Indian theatres on September 26, 2008.
The X-Files tradition, the
film’s storyline is being kept under wraps, known only to top studio brass and
the project’s principal actors and filmmakers. Created and executive produced
by Chris Carter, `The X-Files` seriespremiered on FOX (TV) on September 10, 1993, which chronicled the lives and
adventures of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, two disparate FBI agents assigned to
investigate unsolved cases within the Bureau – cases that often involved the
paranormal, the supernatural, and the inexplicable. This particular supernatural
thriller takes the always-complicated relationship between Fox Mulder and Dana
Scully in unexpected directions.Mulder
continues his unshakable quest for the truth, and Scully, the passionate,
ferociously intelligent physician, remains inextricably tied to Mulder’s
pursuits.
Unlikethe first film ‘The X-Files’, the plot does not focus on the series’
ongoing episodes on mythology which were presented as season premieres and
finales each year. It is a stand-alone film and as actor David Duchovny puts it,
“Evenif you are not an avid fan of the series and don’t understand the mythology,
you can still come to it and get the movie completely.”
The movie has been filmed in Vancouver and
Pemberton in British Columbia, Canada, which were the locations that Spotnitz
had in mind while writing the movie. All shooting and production work pertaining
to the film was done amidst tight secrecy to avoid speculation by media and fans
about the plot line However, when the title of the film was announced, Carter
said, “It pertains to a story that involves the difficulties in mediating
faith and science. ‘I Want To Believe’ really does suggest Mulder’s
struggle with his faith.” The tag-line is quite popular among The X-Files fans
and features on the UFO on Mulder’s desk.
HOLLYWOOD 
