The X Files - I want to Believe

So I had told a few people I wasn't going to go
out and see this tonight, but I ended up doing
it and I must admit I quite enjoyed it.

I am not going to go along and start repeating
past history of the programme to people like
me who grew up loving it as teenagers or young
people like I did, but of course the core of the
X files always resolved around two people:
Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigated
cases which couldn't be explained.

The film itself takes people after the end of
the 9th series which was around about 2002
or so if my rotten memory is correct, and see
the pair of them encounter a new mystery
involving missing women and frozen bodies
and limbs.

It also features Billy Connelly in a strange
role which I had read one or two reviews
thinking he was mis-cast, but without giving
too much away I thought was quite good.

The film I think is not without it's faults,
it was perhaps a bit too low key for a
major film release like this in particular
with films like Batman : The DarkKnight
at the moment breaking all kinds of records,
but for me that was always the point
behind the X Files, when did you ever see
Fox Mulder doing a Jack Baur in 24?

I actually was glad to see this approach
and think it worked pretty well and
was particularly delighted to see it
shot in Canada which I know the first
five series of the X Files were shot, and I
reckon caused it to go slightly downhill
once they stopped shooting it there.

The shots alone from a film studies
perspective (Degree covered it) were
moody with constant darker skies
for a fair chunk of the movie and
also lots off snow which I felt
was nicely shot.

The performances by Gillian Anderson
and David Duchovny were strong
although I didn't like David's beard
a great deal and felt some confusion
on the reason why he shaved it
off during the film. I know Jack Baur
in 24 did it at the start off season
5 off '24' and that I could understand
there as it gave him a hint of he meant
business but this was different and
did confuse me a bit here.

The rest of the supporting cast I feel
had a lot less to do, Amanda Peet
and Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner were both
underwritten in particular Joiner
but I know from reading interviews,
this always was the plan as the film was
meant to focus somewhat on the leads,
which I had no problems with.

It would be easy to carry on
and give away lots of spoilers,
but that is not the point off this
small review by this writer, all
I wanted to say was I did enjoy it
and it certainly made me want to
believe again.

Go and see it!