Before discussing the film itself, I feel compelled to give a little background. "The X-Files" was the first series I reviewed, back during its challenging eighth season. I considered myself a voice of reason, giving the new status quo of Doggett, Scully, and eventually Reyes due consideration as opposed to immediate disdain. By the end of the series, only a couple of years later, I was covering several other genre shows by request and looking to the future.
Much of that personal success came as a result of the friendships I made in the "X-Files" fandom as a result of my reviews. Those friendships originated with an E-mail list called, appropriately, "I Want to Believe". Many of those relationships remain, to one extent or another, to this very day. I've met many of those X-Philes in person, and we've shared our enduring affection for the series. A few of those fellow travelers have passed in recent years, and that loss has been palpable.
So this theatrical release was not simple another movie or yet another middling trip down Nostalgia Lane. This was a genuine chance to return to my roots and remember all the things I loved about the series, knowing that all those dear friends were once again watching the same thing at (roughly) the same time. It may have been a challenge to my objectivity, but while I was watching the film, I couldn't help but wonder whether or not the film would meet their approval.
All that in mind, I wanted to believe that Chris Carter could do the near-impossible and bring back Mulder and Scully in an adventure that would represent the best of what the series had to offer. I wanted to believe that David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson could step back into their old roles convincingly. I wanted to believe that the long delay since the series finale wouldn't render the concept disposable. And most of all, I wanted to believe that the film would be good enough to relaunch the series as a film franchise.
In the end, I had to concede to reality.
As I watched the film at what amounted to a private screening (in other words, I was the only person in the theatre), I found myself grasping at straws, trying to figure out what was missing. Because something was most definitely missing, and it was evident within five minutes. About halfway through the film, I realized part of the problem. It wasn't that the plot was necessarily disappointing, even if more inventive and disturbing procedurals are available on Netflix each and every week. I realized that the plot was ultimately a McGuffin, a means to an end.
The plot was meant to be a crucible for Mulder and Scully. The search for a killer was, in grand "X-Files" style, designed to place the two former FBI agents in crisis. It was meant to represent a defining moment in their semi-fugitive lives, bringing them to personal epiphanies. It was meant to mark the beginning of a new era in their lives. To put it simply, the story was all about the characters.
Unfortunately, Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz were never among the best on the writing staff when it came to character exploration. Spotnitz was better at it, but Carter was always more interested in the "cool" visual moments. Truth be told, if there was a writer on the series that had the deft touch needed to explore the psychological resonance of a deadly situation, it was Vince Gilligan. I can't help but wonder if this film would have been markedly improved had Gilligan been given a pass over the script.
The main problem was the lack of character definition. That may seem odd, given the iconic status of Mulder and Scully, but the characters had gone through six years of experience since the FBI and other government agencies were overtaken by apparent alien super-soldiers (yes, that's actually where the series left off!). This film represents a moment of crisis in their personal relationship, to the point where they might be parting ways, should things spiral out of control. Carter needed to establish, very firmly, the context of their existing relationship in the wake of their flight from the FBI, and that simply wasn't done.
As a result, the arguments about Mulder's decision to "look back into the darkness" sound arbitrary. If Mulder and Scully have been living together for six years, with Mulder somehow hiding out in her house without anyone knowing about it (despite her very public existence) and spending most of his time in a room plastered with relics of his crusade, isn't it a bit late to be complaining about his "sudden" renewed interest in proving the paranormal?
This is not a minor detail; understanding where they've come, and how they've arrived there, is necessary to understand why Mulder takes this case so personally and why Scully reacts so negatively to Mulder's interest in it. Instead, Carter trots out the classic, iconic tensions between Mulder the Believer and Scully the Skeptic without bringing the characters to the point where such a conflict would still matter. What made sense during the series doesn't necessarily make sense when Mulder and Scully, by the end of the series, had come to terms with each other.
That lack of context is rampant throughout the rest of the film. Relationships are more implied than detailed. Agent Whitney pulls strings to get Mulder involved, but it's never quite explained why Whitney was drawn to Mulder's track record in the first place. I kept waiting for some connection to be made, but it never happened. In the same way, I was waiting for Agent Drummy's hostility to be given context. And Skinner's continued presence within the FBI makes absolutely no sense, given how the series ended; bringing him into the story without a shred of context is a major letdown.
Scully's subplot received similar treatment. Scully argues with Father Ybarra, but for all his general menace and vitriol, he seems to disappear into the background when the subplot finally seems ready to come to full boil. When Scully turned to the final option of experimental stem cell research, I was expecting Father Ybarra to step up his objections and force a debate, especially when Scully was questioning the basis of her own decision.
With the character motivations somewhat murky, it's not surprising that the cast was visibly searching for clear motivation. The uncertainty surely fed into the impression that context was missing, because some reactions and line deliveries were a bit off. Duchovny and Anderson fare better than the rest of the cast, but even they seem to be struggling to find the right tone for their performances. In terms of Father Joe, I found myself wanting a bit more gravitas out of the portrayal, despite Billy Connelly's best efforts.
Sometimes, when character exploration is a bit lacking, writers can make up for it with plot. For example, an epic story forces the characters into simpler motivational sets (as seen in "Fight the Future"). Similarly, a truly original and surprising plot can gloss over minor faults. Oddly, despite the $30 million budget, the plot is rather mundane. It serves its purpose of raising the important questions about faith and belief, but it never seemed to be a large enough canvas. Part of that was tonal, since the cold and dark confines of the story were a metaphor for the "darkness" Scully mentions throughout the film (and I must admit, the cinematography was great). But there were quite a few episodes of the series with greater impact and larger scope, even setting the "mythology" episodes aside.
In the end, I left the empty theatre with the distinct feeling that something was missing. All the elements were there, everyone was trying, but something was missing from the final equation. This didn't feel like the culmination of a franchise with one final statement to make, or like the strong revitalizing strike to restore the relevance of Mulder and Scully in popular culture. It was muddled and indistinct where it needed slightly more clarity. Yes, murkiness was always the hallmark of "The X-Files", but consider this: the plot for "Fight the Future" may have been hard to fathom, but the character psychology was abundantly clear.
Some will be happy enough to have Mulder and Scully back on the big screen, especially those who always wanted to see them in an open relationship. For myself, I would have preferred to have Mulder and Scully back on the big screen in a tale with enough scope and context to bring the kind of closure that was missing from the series finale. Not a huge "mythology" romp, necessarily, but something that would have been less disconnected from where the series left the characters.
What was missing, in my opinion, was the one word that keeps cropping up in this review: context. I can only hope that the film lasts long enough in the theatres to make back its modest production budget and justify a third film. I would hate to think, with so much left unsaid, that this is how the "X-Files" journey would come to its conclusion.
