THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE
Finally got to see this last Sunday with Erica & Dawn.. it was something we all gathered to watch back in the day so was a must to all see together. :)
I know the reviews weren't so good, and yea it wasn't a *wow* movie, but I was still satisfied afterwards and besides it was just so cool to see those two together again doing their thing that I couldn't help but smile. Obviously lots of time has passed and it shows a bit looks wise, but the important things haven't changed.. Mulder's still a stubborn truth seeker and smartass, and Scully is still skeptical and resistant to the potential 'darkness'. And they haven't lost their chemistry and their bond is still strong.
For those who haven't seen it yet, i'll put other thoughts behind a cut..
Ok, I didn't feel like writing out a big ass post so I picked a critic review that was somewhat similar to my thoughts. ;) But will add to it in the end..
*SPOILERS*
THE AISLE SEAT - by Mike McGranaghan
I Want to Believe finds Scully (Gillian Anderson) now working as a doctor in a Catholic hospital. One of her young patients has a disease thought to be incurable - at least via Catholic-approved methods. She struggles trying to convince her administrators to be open to other treatments. Meanwhile, Mulder (David Duchovny), hides in solitude at their home (with straggly beard). He too has stopped chasing paranormal activity, yet beneath his hermetic lifestyle you can still sense a desire to solve life's unsolvable mysteries.
The two are lured back into action semi-reluctantly by two FBI agents, Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) and Mosley Drummy (Alvin "Xzibit" Joiner). They have a truly bizarre case that no one can solve. It calls for the best there ever was. Mulder and Scully soon become embroiled in the search for a missing agent and, eventually, several other innocent people. The key to their interest lies in a retired pedophilic priest, Fr. Joe (Billy Connelly), who claims to have visions from God about how the agent was attacked. He's able to lead everyone to crime scenes where severed body parts are buried in the snow. Mulder and Scully want to know: Is the priest somehow involved? If not, where are his visions coming from? And why are the body parts being hidden?
As you would expect, The X-Files: I Want to Believe ends up going to some pretty trippy places. (I've left out significant plot details so as to preserve the nature of the mystery.) There are scenes set in a dingy basement that involve a woman in a box. Such moments, while not particularly gory, are, to me, infinitely more disturbing than anything in the torture porn films like Saw. It's not about the bloodshed anyway; it's about the reasons why one person might choose to inflict harm upon another. The last twenty minutes, in particular, evolve into a genuine creep-out.
That's all good stuff, but what I responded to most in the movie is its theme. It is not a coincidence that I Want to Believe is the subtitle. At its heart, this is very much a movie about faith - how we find it, how we lose it, and how we get it back. Take Scully, who is perhaps the ultimate skeptic. She doesn't believe in the visions of this buggering priest, even when they prove true. How, she wonders, can someone capable of an act as heinous as child molestation possibly receive a message from God? Her lack of faith in solving the mystery intersects with her desire to cure the sick little boy in the hospital. To help him, she may need to find a way to start having some faith in the possibility of miracles.
Then there's Mulder, who continues to wonder what happened to his sister, long believed to have been abducted by UFOs. He's a believer, always open to other possibilities no matter how seemingly bizarre, yet this attitude also causes him distress. He talks about wanting to "run away from the darkness," to believe that he can escape all the unexplained phenomena and live a normal life. He's torn between his fascination with the paranormal and the knowledge of what it does to him. Over the course of the movie, both characters come to terms, of one sort or another, with their problems. Mulder and Scully set out on what is perhaps their most perilous adventure yet: trusting that they can exist in a world where there are not always answers, where some things must be taken on faith. There's a very strong spiritual underside to The X-Files: I Want to Believe. It gives the story a lot of emotional weight, while also making the creepy stuff that much more disturbing.
The performances are very good, with Gillian Anderson being the standout. We find Dana Scully in a place of anguish, and the actress makes her attempts to navigate that feeling affecting. Duchovny is also fine, as is Billy Connelly as the priest with suspicious motives. Here is one of the more interesting movie characters in some time. Fr. Joe is both bad and good simultaneously. He's a holy man whose actions have been guided, in part, by an insidious evil. He has intentionally harmed children but also attempts to save others. The man is a walking contradiction in a story that's all about them. It takes a certain amount of faith in something bigger to accept the presence of such contradictions in the world, which Mulder and Scully ultimately discover.
It's true it seemed more of an emotional story than just a creepy case. I always liked those episodes though.. kinda reminded me of the one where Scully's father died and a jailed 'psychic' torments here with comments and challenges her beliefs. That was a fantastic story.. think i'll have to watch that again. In the movie Mulder & Scully are at odds for most of the time over the case (as usual) and in the end Mulder goes off on his own, gets himself in deep trouble and Scully comes to his rescue (as usual again, lol). It wasn't still the end that we finally got our cameo of Skinner who helps her save him. Very cool. No other cameos, but then again everyone else was pretty much killed off! The theme music is still used and there was a very funny moment where it ended up being played while showing a photo of Dubya Bush next to Hoover at FBI headquarters and the duo giving each other funny looks, ha. That was classic.
Also at the end credits they were showing different landscapes, and eventually came to an ocean then an island in the distance.. then it zooms in from above on a rowboat where you seen Mulder rowing towards the island with Scully and both in bathing suits. They look up and wave to the camera and then the film fades back to the credits. Was I'm sure meant to be a reference to their last convo in the movie where Scully wants to get away from the 'darkness' and asks Mulder if that's possible. Was a very touching scene and it was nice to see that yes, they did in fact take off and did something light and happy! :)
Who knows if they'll come back to do another, but if not i'll be fine with that, even as much as I missed seeing their characters do something new. Sometimes you gotta let it end. Although they do have a son together they could bring back for a story.. would be a teenage Sculder! heh. Plus 2012 was supposed to be when the aliens take over the world according the last eps of the show. :P
I know the reviews weren't so good, and yea it wasn't a *wow* movie, but I was still satisfied afterwards and besides it was just so cool to see those two together again doing their thing that I couldn't help but smile. Obviously lots of time has passed and it shows a bit looks wise, but the important things haven't changed.. Mulder's still a stubborn truth seeker and smartass, and Scully is still skeptical and resistant to the potential 'darkness'. And they haven't lost their chemistry and their bond is still strong.
For those who haven't seen it yet, i'll put other thoughts behind a cut..
Ok, I didn't feel like writing out a big ass post so I picked a critic review that was somewhat similar to my thoughts. ;) But will add to it in the end..
*SPOILERS*
THE AISLE SEAT - by Mike McGranaghan
I Want to Believe finds Scully (Gillian Anderson) now working as a doctor in a Catholic hospital. One of her young patients has a disease thought to be incurable - at least via Catholic-approved methods. She struggles trying to convince her administrators to be open to other treatments. Meanwhile, Mulder (David Duchovny), hides in solitude at their home (with straggly beard). He too has stopped chasing paranormal activity, yet beneath his hermetic lifestyle you can still sense a desire to solve life's unsolvable mysteries.
The two are lured back into action semi-reluctantly by two FBI agents, Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) and Mosley Drummy (Alvin "Xzibit" Joiner). They have a truly bizarre case that no one can solve. It calls for the best there ever was. Mulder and Scully soon become embroiled in the search for a missing agent and, eventually, several other innocent people. The key to their interest lies in a retired pedophilic priest, Fr. Joe (Billy Connelly), who claims to have visions from God about how the agent was attacked. He's able to lead everyone to crime scenes where severed body parts are buried in the snow. Mulder and Scully want to know: Is the priest somehow involved? If not, where are his visions coming from? And why are the body parts being hidden?
As you would expect, The X-Files: I Want to Believe ends up going to some pretty trippy places. (I've left out significant plot details so as to preserve the nature of the mystery.) There are scenes set in a dingy basement that involve a woman in a box. Such moments, while not particularly gory, are, to me, infinitely more disturbing than anything in the torture porn films like Saw. It's not about the bloodshed anyway; it's about the reasons why one person might choose to inflict harm upon another. The last twenty minutes, in particular, evolve into a genuine creep-out.
That's all good stuff, but what I responded to most in the movie is its theme. It is not a coincidence that I Want to Believe is the subtitle. At its heart, this is very much a movie about faith - how we find it, how we lose it, and how we get it back. Take Scully, who is perhaps the ultimate skeptic. She doesn't believe in the visions of this buggering priest, even when they prove true. How, she wonders, can someone capable of an act as heinous as child molestation possibly receive a message from God? Her lack of faith in solving the mystery intersects with her desire to cure the sick little boy in the hospital. To help him, she may need to find a way to start having some faith in the possibility of miracles.
Then there's Mulder, who continues to wonder what happened to his sister, long believed to have been abducted by UFOs. He's a believer, always open to other possibilities no matter how seemingly bizarre, yet this attitude also causes him distress. He talks about wanting to "run away from the darkness," to believe that he can escape all the unexplained phenomena and live a normal life. He's torn between his fascination with the paranormal and the knowledge of what it does to him. Over the course of the movie, both characters come to terms, of one sort or another, with their problems. Mulder and Scully set out on what is perhaps their most perilous adventure yet: trusting that they can exist in a world where there are not always answers, where some things must be taken on faith. There's a very strong spiritual underside to The X-Files: I Want to Believe. It gives the story a lot of emotional weight, while also making the creepy stuff that much more disturbing.
The performances are very good, with Gillian Anderson being the standout. We find Dana Scully in a place of anguish, and the actress makes her attempts to navigate that feeling affecting. Duchovny is also fine, as is Billy Connelly as the priest with suspicious motives. Here is one of the more interesting movie characters in some time. Fr. Joe is both bad and good simultaneously. He's a holy man whose actions have been guided, in part, by an insidious evil. He has intentionally harmed children but also attempts to save others. The man is a walking contradiction in a story that's all about them. It takes a certain amount of faith in something bigger to accept the presence of such contradictions in the world, which Mulder and Scully ultimately discover.
It's true it seemed more of an emotional story than just a creepy case. I always liked those episodes though.. kinda reminded me of the one where Scully's father died and a jailed 'psychic' torments here with comments and challenges her beliefs. That was a fantastic story.. think i'll have to watch that again. In the movie Mulder & Scully are at odds for most of the time over the case (as usual) and in the end Mulder goes off on his own, gets himself in deep trouble and Scully comes to his rescue (as usual again, lol). It wasn't still the end that we finally got our cameo of Skinner who helps her save him. Very cool. No other cameos, but then again everyone else was pretty much killed off! The theme music is still used and there was a very funny moment where it ended up being played while showing a photo of Dubya Bush next to Hoover at FBI headquarters and the duo giving each other funny looks, ha. That was classic.
Also at the end credits they were showing different landscapes, and eventually came to an ocean then an island in the distance.. then it zooms in from above on a rowboat where you seen Mulder rowing towards the island with Scully and both in bathing suits. They look up and wave to the camera and then the film fades back to the credits. Was I'm sure meant to be a reference to their last convo in the movie where Scully wants to get away from the 'darkness' and asks Mulder if that's possible. Was a very touching scene and it was nice to see that yes, they did in fact take off and did something light and happy! :)
Who knows if they'll come back to do another, but if not i'll be fine with that, even as much as I missed seeing their characters do something new. Sometimes you gotta let it end. Although they do have a son together they could bring back for a story.. would be a teenage Sculder! heh. Plus 2012 was supposed to be when the aliens take over the world according the last eps of the show. :P