The X Files (1998) User Reviews

Not just for X-Files followers.

[chrisbrown6453 · 7/10 · 19 June 2002]

To start off with, I do not watch the TV show, so I'm coming from a place of ignorance when it comes to The X-Files: Fight the Future. However, even without knowing anything about the characters or story lines, I found that I enjoyed this movie a lot, and will probably now start watching the shows reruns.

The movie starts off tens of thousands of years in the past, where an alien life form is roaming in underground caves. Fast forward to the present, and that same life form is unearthed by some kids in Texas. No one knows what killed this boy, and the firemen sent down to save him. Or maybe, someone does know. Enter Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). A seemlingly unconnected terrorist bombing is linked with the mysterious deaths in Texas, and lead Mulder and Scully all over the world to figure out this global conspiracy. Who knows about this alien life form? And why are they trying so hard to keep it a secret?

From what I've been told, a lot of the regulars on the TV show make an appearance in the movie. But as I said earlier, even without knowing who these people are, the movie itself is good enough to stand on its own. What I found I liked the most, and the reason I'll start watching the show, is the interaction between Duchovny and Anderson. After 5 years together, these two work perfectly as a team. They know each other so well; you feel the chemistry and tension between them. The supporting cast was strong, and I liked the idea that an entire alien race is being hidden from the world by a bunch of old white men. The story itself, while again from what I hear doesn't really conclude any plot points from the show, nor start any new ones, manages to stand by itself. The scenery was terrific, especially the opening sequence in the underground caves. What I was disappointed with was it seemed as if Duchovny was in the movie a lot more than Anderson. It was as if he was the star of the film, and she was a supporting member. The story seemed to revolve around him, and she was there to play off of. I wish that Chris Carter (the series writer and creator, and screenwriter for this film) would have made her more of an equal. The other problem I had was that while the plot was good, at times it wasn't explained as much as it could have been. The reason for the cover-up wasn't made as clear as it could have been, at least in my mind.

Whether you're a fan or not, The X-Files: Fight the Future is a good way to spend a couple hours in a nice air conditioned environment.

Almost Kiss + Mouth-to-Mouth = Complete Kiss?

[Muldernscully · 8/10 · 2 January 2007]

Watching The X-Files movie for fun and watching it objectively for a review are two different experiences. When I first watched and rated this movie, I gave it a perfect 10 for it being an exciting, fast-paced story of characters I've come to know and love. It still is all that. But putting the movie in context with the series, evaluating it as an episode between the seasons, forces me to acknowledge the flaws that it contains. As I've already mentioned, this is an exciting, fast-paced story; bigger than any mythology episode before it, as it is essentially a two-hour mythology episode. Rob Bowman, my favorite X-Files director does an awesome job. Getting chased by black helicopters at night through a cornfield and escaping from homicidal aliens in an enormous alien spaceship are things the series could never dreamed of doing with a television series budget. The drama, dialogue and action are great. Martin Landau does a wonderful job as Kurtzweil, Mulder's informant for the movie. I love the scene transitions in the movie. A lot of them are done in a creative way that informs as well as entertains. What brings the movie down a couple of points are some inconsistencies like Scully not getting caught in the autopsy room, the patient bee that can stay underneath Scully's collar all the way from a cornfield in Texas to Mulder's apartment in D.C., many hours later. And, of course, the bad guys that somehow know that Scully is going to be stung by the bad bee and have an ambulance and false EMT guys at the ready, and intercept Mulder's 911. Even in the X-Files, that whole sequence with the bee sting was too far-fetched to be believable. An interesting thing learned from the audio commentary is that Chris Carter wanted to give the fans a kiss between Mulder and Scully but not a real kiss. So he considers the near-kiss in the hallway plus Mulder doing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Scully to equal a kiss between the two. Odd thinking methinks. The X-Files movie is not a letdown and a definite thrill ride for fans of the show. Just a few unbelievable plot inconsistencies makes it not the best that the X-Files has to offer.

As good as it possibly could be

[The_Movie_Cat · 6/10 · 3 August 2000]

The X-Files movie really is as good a big screen adaptation as you could possibly hope for.

It helps that it's entirely controlled by the people behind the series, and that the programme had cinematic qualities in the first place. On repeat viewings, however, the story is revealed to be thin, and lacking in incident. Its need to tie into events of the series makes it not wholly satisfying as a stand-alone vehicle, though it should still be understandable to those that have never seen an episode.

David Duchovny as Mulder seems surprisingly at ease in his limited way, while Martin Landau is good as far as plot devices go. Gillian Anderson is unfortunately encouraged to overstate her lines, particularly in the beginning, while a cameo by The Lone Gunmen is perhaps the only indulgence that would be lost on non-fans.

There are inevitable concessions to the cinema format, of course. Not the touted mild use of expletives, which happened from time to time on TV anyway. But the alien presence that mutates to owe a debt to Ridley Scott's Alien, or the near-kiss between the two leads. Thankfully, the first point actually makes a logical sense and carries the story forward. The second is something that was also long overdue, and silly that it took so long. For two people who obviously feel about each other the way Mulder and Scully do, to go five years without even kissing is stretching credulity.

Ultimately, though, it lacks any clear focus for a casual film audience, and flits repetitively from action sequence to sloppy exposition and back again throughout its duration. Creator Chris Carter, like Gene Roddenberry with Star Trek before him, is not the smoothest writer of his own series, though he does adequately most of the time. Worst example is the opening Mulder/Scully scene which is laughably trite, and there are plenty more examples of Carter's trademark purple prose. Yet it does have a beginning, middle and end, and can be watched back-to-back with a TV episode with no noticeable jumps in style. In that sense, then, it is a most successful big-screen adaptation of a television series.

Hard-core X-File fans will be inclined to award an extra mark to the total, then. But for a non-committal audience, this is a "6" as they would have no idea from watching this that the frail, fag-smoking pensioner is the series' major villain.

A 2-hour episode...but so what?

[Rabbit-7 · 10 August 1998]

I've met a LOT of people who whine that this is just a two-hour episode with a big budget. I don't see how that's a complaint. I mean, if one of the best-written, best-directed, most atmospheric shows on television makes a movie-length episode that can stand on its own...what's the problem? That still makes it more intelligent than 90% of the movies put out this summer.

Fight The Future

[AaronCapenBanner · 7/10 · 13 December 2013]

Rob Bowman(frequent TV series director) was chosen to direct this first feature film spun-off the popular TV series that stars David Duchovny & Gillian Anderson as Fox Mulder & Dana Scully, who are assigned to Texas on a bomb-threat detail that proves to be no hoax, and after investigating, it turns out to be connected to the ongoing syndicate conspiracy led by their nemesis the Smoking Man(played by William B. Davis) to cover up an alien virus related to the very aliens they had been searching for in the past five years. Martin Landau costars as Alvin Kurtzweil, a doctor who knows something of the incident. Plot climaxes in the Arctic, where Mulder must rescue a kidnapped Scully from a spaceship...Killer Bees also play a part. Good film fits in well with the series, and also works as a stand-alone tale. Exciting action scenes, and was nice to see these characters on the big screen.

Really just a big-scale version of a typical two-part episode though.

Fans will enjoy it for sure, others not so sure

[Smells_Like_Cheese · 7/10 · 16 May 2008]

If you remember a little decade called "The '90's", you'll definitely remember that The X-Files was one of the biggest shows of that decade. The X-Files had so many different fans, I have to admit that I was a fan, not so much to the extent as many others were, but I enjoyed the show. However, I think because my friend rubbed it in my face so much of how much this show was the best television show to ever hit the air waves, I steered clear of the movie. But I was renting movies the other day and came across The X-Files, and figured to just give the movie a shot, it's been how many years since the show ended? But I watched it last night and I liked the movie. I think the only thing is, is this was a movie that was definitely made for the fans and no one else, because if you didn't watch the show, you won't get into the movie.

Mulder and Scully are on the case again after they learn of a deadly "virus" that is killing off the planet. Of course the government is covering it up, making it seem like it's more of a terrorist or a horrible flu. Mulder wants to make the truth known, but Scully has just given up, that is until she is attacked by a bug carrying the virus and Mulder will not give up on her. He saves her, but she needs more strength if they are to make it out of this situation alive.

The X-Files the movie is a cool sci fi film, if you are not a fan or didn't watch the series, there is a small chance you'll get into the film. But this was a definite treat for the fans, this is the film they wanted and as much as I hate this saying, The X-Files is just an extended episode with a bigger budget, but it's still a cool film. I liked it, Mulder and Scully always provide perfect entertainment and I just love Mulder going into his infamous speeches of "the truth is out there", so over dramatic, but you gotta love his passion in it. The X-Files is worth the look, it's a fun film and is cool sci-fi.

7/10

Stranger than fiction...

[compugor · 7/10 · 5 December 2021]

Particularly intriguing at this time (2021)to watch this big screen roll-up of the now classic X-Files, during the Covidemic era of the so-called Great Reset, with an elite clique of powerful globalists supposedly pursuing an agenda of depopulation and control via deployment of a bioweapon, while the Mulders of the world are being silenced. Of course the movie weaves in the extraterrestrial element by way of green humanoid co-conspirators and a nice big UFO. Faithful to the series, and stands alone as an entertaining political thriller / sci-fi mystery.

One of the best Movies ever made!

[ivo-cobra8 · 10/10 · 24 October 2012]

The X - Files The Movie is the best one in the entire series. I have Seasons 1 - 9 all on DVD and i bought recently the movie on DVD too. I watch the movie so far twice and i absolutely love it so so so much. The series is awesome but the movie is best one ever so far i love it so much. The movie was shot on a lot of locations the same as the story follows. The movie continue the run from the end of the fifth season where Season 5 end it and The X - Files got close. The movie begins here. The story follows Thirty-seven thousand years ago, a deadly secret was buried in a cave in Texas. Now the secret has been unleashed. And its discovery may mean the end of all humanity. When a terrorist bomb destroys a building in Dallas, Texas, FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy surpassing anything they've ever encountered. With the dubious assistance of a paranoid doctor (Martin Landu), Mulder and Scully risk their careers and their lives to hunt down a deadly virus which may be extraterrestrial in origin - and could destroy all life on earth. Their pursuit of truth pits them against the mysterious Syndicate, powerful men who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets safe, leading the agents from the cave in Texas, to the halls of the FBI, and finally to a secret installation in Antarctica which holds the greatest secret of all. Terry O'Quinn also stars as Darius Michaud FBI Agent who leaves that terrorist's bomb explodes in the building so they can cover the truth about the deadly alien virus. Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz are awesome writers with story and amazing job by Rob Bowman as the Director of the movie. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are amazing as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. The movie is the best i am glad that William B. Davis is also here as Cigarette Smoking Man and The Well-Manicured Man portrayed by John Neville are also here. Gosh i miss John Neville so so so much in Next Seasons in The X - Files. The Lone Gunmen are also here is mayor part in this movie. So far i have seen only the first seven seasons. Did not see the Eight and Nine Season yet but i will start watching it. The X - Files series are so awesome but the movie is the best one of all X - Files. I can't wait to see someday second movie The X Files: I Want to Believe. I heard some badly critics about that movie and some fans were really disappointed, i hope i wan't be. The X - Files movie is really awesome the best one best one. I vote 10/10.

True to the Show

[view_and_review · 7/10 · 4 November 2021]

Now this was an X-Files. I only say that because I just watched "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" and it was so bad I cut it off midway through. It's only connection to "X-Files" proper were Chris Carter, David Duchovny, and Gillian Anderson.

"The X-Files" 1998 movie is what "X-Files" is all about: extraterrestrials, unexplained occurrences, and massive cover ups. Again Scully and Mulder approach a case in their own unique fashion to get to the truth. Though this was a movie, it adhered to the same look and feel as the show so it was more like a two hour show.

An Entertaining and Dramatic Sci-Fi Adventure

[SusieSalmonLikeTheFish · 9/10 · 1 December 2014]

I love the X - Files show, it as some of my favorite actors who were also in shows like Supernatural and Cold Case. The movie is just as good, an exciting addition to the TV show but still understandable for people who haven't yet seen the TV show.

Basically, F.B.I. agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully end up caught in a plot of alien colonization, although the X - Files cases have been closed seemingly for good. This alien plan goes all the way to the mysterious Cigarette Smoking Man who has, let's just say, not very nice intentions.

It was great to see this movie, the characters were just as good in this as they were in the television show. Canadian actor William B. Davis was excellent as the Cigarette Smoking Man (that character was like my idol as a kid) and the plot is suspenseful. When Mulder gets shot it seems like all hope is lost. The soundtrack was great, this was one of the better 1990's movie tie-ins.

The best of The X-Files

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 14 March 2014]

Originally known simply as "The X-Files" but now as "The X-Files: Fight the Future," this 1998 film is essentially an elongated episode of the TV series with a bigger budget. I've never been more than a casual viewer and, to me, this film represents the best the series had to offer.

Everyone knows that creator Chris Carter was inspired by the Night Stalker TV Series when he formulated The X-Files. Whereas that brief 70s series was overt and almost cartoony with it's depictions of the paranormal, The X-Files always took a more subdued, realistic approach. To some, this made it boring; to others, fascinating; to many, a mixture of both.

The way the plot in the movie unfolds is similar to "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark," albeit more serious and quasi-believable. After an explosion reminiscent of the Oklahoma City bombing, FBI agents Mulder and Scully stumble on an otherworldy virus and an intricate governmental cover-up. Their investigation leads them all over the map and, ultimately, to Antarctica, with numerous mysterious happenings.

Other than the paranormal, the appeal of The X-Files has always been Gillian Anderson. What a uniquely beautiful redhead!

The film runs two hours and was shot in California, British Columbia, Texas, New Jersey, London and Washington DC.

GRADE: B+

Trust this One

[deny_evrything · 10/10 · 23 March 2004]

How could anyone not like this movie? Even those that are not regular followers of the T.V. show could get a real thrill out of this movie. I like how they worked it so that the fans who followed the show weren't falling asleep and those that didn't follow the show regularly weren't lost. I love the show and follow it regularly. Mulder and Scully kick ass and are one of the most interesting teams that I've seen on T.V. The closest team I have seen would be on CBS; that team would be the CSI:Crime Scene Investigation. But as far as this movie is concerned it is literally out of this world! As Chris Carter has made famous "Trust No One" this is really a movie you can take a wild ride with!

Respectable Transition From the Small Screen to the Big Screen

[eric262003 · 7/10 · 10 December 2017]

What could expect from creator Chris Carter's "X-Files: Fight the Future"? We've got lethal aliens attacking dating back before human civilization came into fruition. Then there's a federal building getting bombed. Government conspiracies run are a prominent feature here. Alien viruses are beginning to materialize. Bureaucratic officials are coming in to look into the case. But the most important feature here that stands among the rest is the search for the truth.

Even though there are many aficionados who are die-hard fans of one of the longest running television shows in North America, and though I was a fan of the show, I never regarded myself as obsessed with the show. When this movie came out in 1998, I knew what I was walking into, but I still came in with an open mind and accepting for what I had paid for. The transition from the small screen to the big screen was very smoothly executed, and while still remaining true to the series in all its shape and form.

Keeping to the tradition of the series i tact, we have our two FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigating paranormal traces, UFO and alien findings and conspiracies brought on by the government. Since its debut in 1993, creator Chris Carter gave us a series that inspired us to look deeper in the world we live in and realize that there's more truth underneath than what is seen through the naked eye.

The movie follows up as their fifth season comes to the end and we find Mulder and Scully piece together an enigmatic connection between alien attacks, a federal building bombed, a deadly alien virus and government conspiracies. The intentions of keeping its viewers guessing was intended by Carter who also produced, wrote the screenplay and co- wrote the story and director Rob Bowman who during its run has directed several episodes of the series. The heart of the series between the good chemistry Duchovny and Anderson is still strong plus the fact that Mulder and Scully remain platonic to each other making their partnership all the more believable. Even when the government issues to have the X-Files division shut down, the duo still remain by their side. When Scully's life is in danger, Mulder does everything he could to rescue her. And for those trying to get into the series, the character development is well executed. And the idea of trust what you see over what you hear is told brilliantly.

Continuity is an essential commodity in keeping the movie true to the series and here it's executed perfectly. We ask ourselves why is the Cigarette-Smoking Guy (William B. Davis) the pivotal man behind the conspiracy? Why is the Well-Manicured Guy's (Sir John Neville) purpose? Why are the Lone Gunmen on the government's trail? Martin Landau is a standout in his performance as Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil an man who has a link to Mulder's father's past and Blythe Danner is also remarkable as FBI Judge Jana Cassidy who adds on more conspiracy theories than what the government has in store.

If there were any weaknesses to the story the graphic images of violent alien attacks, cringing autopsies, and noise enhanced explosions deterred what could've been a potentially uplifting film. some of these attacks look like they were taken out of the pages of "Alien" and was only there just for the sake of adding shock value.

All in all "The X-Files: Fight the Future" is great for those who have been a fan of the series and can be seen as a collectible for those who love a good sci-fi thriller. It's great that it has returned recently and Mulder and Scully are still just as effective today as they were when they started back in 1993.

Totally Pointless

[patrick3201 · 3/10 · 21 November 2001]

[WARNING: Spoilers ahead throughout this review.]

There's a speech Fox Mulder makes at the end of the X-files movie which goes along the lines of "Well here we are again, we had the evidence in our hands and now we've lost it. I'm sick of it happening again, I don't want to do this any more." I felt like applauding at that point.

For me that speech was not only this film but the whole concept of the X-files in a nutshell.

Nothing of any real consequence occurs in this film, nothing at all. It's simply two FBI agents occasionally being chased, or chasing someone, or looking puzzled. They sometimes find physical evidence of a government conspiracy to do something terrible, but the evidence is without exception snatched away or destroyed (or forgotten by the writers). Sometimes we might even see the conspirators talking about these forthcoming terrible events in very vague terms. The terrible events never, ever happened in the series. However, I was hopeful that with a cinema budget they might stretch to showing an alien invasion or two. Perhaps the writers had only been teasing the audience until they had the money to give their intended cataclysm justice on the big screen. Alas, all we get is an exploding building (destroying evidence), an exploding car (destroying evidence) and some snow falling into an empty hole. Nothing you wouldn't find in a TV Movie.

The dialogue is awful too, Mulder is continuously told that he's "barely scratched the surface" of the conspiracy. I'd wager a good amount of money that he's actually gone right through the surface a long time ago and exhausted all the plot we're ever going to get out of Chris Carter. When we find out what this conspiracy involves, it's actually a very very dull mix of "Alien" and "V", about extraterrestrials conquering the earth with the help of ambitious humans with a view to feeding on human bodies. "Doctor Who" also used this plot several times over in the 60s and 70s.

In the X-Files, essentially, nothing happens, to the characters, to their status or their plans, and for the worst of reasons, because the producers want to string this franchise out for as long as they can make money from it. The aliens will never invade, but neither will Mulder ever prove to anyone that they exist, I can tell you that right now. I can also tell you that if all this *is* ever resolved in a final film or episode, it will turn out to be a disappointing cop-out.

One of the other reviewers on IMDB compared the X-Files film to Hitchcock, but Hitchcock actually satisfied his audience by showing the little guy cleverly fighting back and eventually triumphing over the dark conspiracy against him. There was methodical progression, there was movement, there was excitement, tension and engagement. Hitchcock films are thrilling because you believe the hero might win or the villain might kill him. You know the conclusion is just round the corner, whatever happens.

In the X-Files we *know* that Mulder will never be killed (the evil conspirators say they will not kill him for fear of making him a martyr). Unfortunately, we also *know* that Mulder will never win, because then they couldn't make a sequel to this single-issue drama. There is no thrill in the X-Files because the basic premise of the film (and indeed series), its ground rules, demand that ultimately nothing happens for the sake of extending the franchise. It's just aimless wandering.

Sorry to be crude, but the X-Files is like perpetual Coitus Interruptus.

The only vaguely memorable scene is Martin Landau p***ing in an alley.

Good Jump to the Big Screen.

[tfrizzell · 6 July 2002]

Well-paced and well-crafted, "The X-Files" is a surprisingly good movie that does not try to get cute and go away from the things that made the series such a national phenomenon. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson seem out of place working with bomb squads and doing other mundane duties after their department is shut down by the government. However the two feel that something really major is up which involves alien colonization on Earth and a vast government cover-up that goes through the highest places in the U.S. political realm. A good screenplay and solid direction make "The X-Files" a first-rate film from a very good cinematic year. 4 stars out of 5.

Works very well, given the circumstances

[Mr-Fusion · 7/10 · 4 November 2021]

Not a fan of the show, but I liked this movie. Yeah, I didn't expect that either . . .

What surprised me the most is that you don't need any knowledge of the TV series - highly serialized as it is - to fully absorb the film; it stands completely on its own. We get everything we need to know just from Mulder's melancholy in a bar, and then we're off to Conspiracy Land.

And this rabbit hole goes deep, keeping our FBI heroes in near-constsnt peril even as the bureau is looking to hang them out to dry. The film starts off on a delightfully creepy note, and the locations (Texas especially) feel authentic. The sense of locale really comes through here.

What also comes across extremely well is the chemistry between Duchovny and Anderson. These characters share a distinct past (even if you haven't seen the show) and you really do root for them to get clear of this. This is not an easy thing to pull off, especially for a movie that follows five seasons of TV. That is indeed impressive.

The X-Files

[jboothmillard · 7/10 · 21 October 2009]

The X-Files was one of the most successful and award-winning science-fiction TV show phenomenons of the 1990's, and a movie seemed the obvious place to go. The film opens 2700 years ago with a secret being discovered in the ice age, and then proceeds to the present day where this cave, in Texas, this secret is unleashed. Meanwhile, Special FBI Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) try and find a terrorist bomb in a Dallas building, and after failing to stop it they are put on leave. But they are soon drawn into danger with a conspiracy theory that a special group, the Syndicate, don't want anyone to know and are determined to cover up. They risk careers and lives to hunt down the truth behind an extra-terrestrial virus, found to be spread by wasps, and it could be deadly to all life on Earth. Taking them from the caves of Texas to the underground secret installations in Antarctica, it is only after the FBI heads gets some evidence, a wasp, that they may believe the conspiracies, and reopen The X-Files. Also starring John Neville as The Well-Manicured Man, William B. Davis as Cigarette Smoking Man, Martin Landau as Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil, Mitch Pileggi as FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner, Armin Mueller-Stahl as Conrad Strughold, Dean Haglund as Richard 'Ringo' Langly, Bruce Harwood as John Fitzgerald Byers, Meet the Parents' Blythe Danner as Jana Cassidy and Lost's Terry O'Quinn as Darius Michaud. Duchovny and Anderson are just as great as they are on TV, it is filled with some impressive set pieces and bigger budget special effects, even though I am not wasn't an avid viewer of the show, it does make me want to want a few episodes, a great thriller. Very good!

An over long episode of the X-files

[The-Sarkologist · 7/10 · 28 December 2013]

Probably one one the most hyped and advertised movies this years. I will also say anticipated but that is getting way to clichéd, and I am here to be critical rather than a form of free advertising. Anyway, this movie has been described as a very good X-files episode. My opinion is that it wraps up the four seasons of the X-files. The mystery has been revealed and we know what is going on. It is a decent movie on its own, but it fills in a lot of gaps that have been left open in many of the important episodes. It continues on from episodes such as Tunguska and explains the real intention of the aliens. In some cases we wonder if Chris Carter had a plan in mind as he put the episodes together (such as John Michael Strazinsky with Babylon 5) but it seems that with this movie, there was an idea that was tying all, or a lot, of the episodes together.

The problem with such a movie is knowing what to give out. The advertisements talk of a bomb going off in Dallas which covers up a number of dead bodies which were pulled out of the ground, one of them being a rednecked kid. What we do have is an alien that was lying dormant in the ground for millions of years and it was unearthed by some rednecked kids on the outskirts of a Texan city. Within minutes FEMA is there covering it up and the smoking man is running the show.

That is an interesting thing about the smoking man. He is not as powerful as we expect him to be. On one hand he seems to be the guy that is behind everything but there is a secret organisation that are pulling his strings. The smoking man is really an operative that has more powers than the President of the United States. In fact he has the authority to assassinate the president if the president looks like he is going to undermine their plans, and the plans are broad reaching.

I don't want to give too much away because the whole point of the movie is the mystery. Once the mystery has been revealed then there is nothing of interest left. I watched the X-files for the big mystery and was a little board with the episodes that did not raise more questions about what was really going on. We know that there are aliens around and we know that Mulder's father was involved in it. We also know that there have been medical experiments on many people and recently we found out that people were being exterminated because of these experiments. Most importantly the Black Cancer that is the major focus of Tunguska, is heavily involved.

The X-files continues the theme of the distrust of the government and the hatred of the central authority. In these episodes it has always been the government that has been attacked for its secrets and conspiracies. There is the running idea that the government is not to be trusted and the truth is being hidden from us. We are living a life that is terminally destructive and the government knows why. Others claim that humanity is too flawed for a government to be so powerful. A statement "they are men that don't make mistakes" is quoted but everybody makes mistakes. The truer statement is "one is the loneliest number" and that, to me, is the truth.

real fan service

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 28 August 2015]

In 35,000 BC northern Texas, two men enter an ice cave to find shelter. They battle a mysterious creature. A black substance oozes from the creature and infects one of the men. In the present day, a boy falls into the cave and is infected by the black ooze. Firefighters climb in and are also attacked. One week later, the FBI is checking on a bomb threat in Dallas. Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) go to the building across the street on a hunch. They find the bomb and barely escape. The pair is made the scapegoats. Alvin Kurtzweil (Martin Landau) tells Fox that FEMA has a secret isolation ward in the building. The boy and the firefighters are found in the rubble presumed to be killed by the blast.

Mulder and Scully's banter is back almost immediately. Everything that is beloved about the show is present in this movie. They are the outsiders. There is a conspiracy. There is something creepy. This is what true fans of the show love. For non-fans, this can be a bit of a climb to understand everything.

From a Fan: A Little Underwhelming

[he_who_leads · 6/10 · 18 January 2007]

I was an X-Phile. When the movie came out, I had watched almost every single episode. I continued to watch the show after the movie, but my interest had wavered by the seventh series.

This movie was okay but underwhelming. It just didn't have the scale and scope that a movie should have compared to a television series. Now television has come in leaps and bounds over time. Just look at what they do on '24' each week - every episode is like a mini-movie. And many of the X-File episodes like the 'Duane Barry' trilogy, and 'Anasazi' trilogy were cracking in their pace and drama. But the movie just feels like a glorified television episode. I remember a documentary on the making of the movie, and the cast and crew were excitedly describing the opening of the movie where a bomb goes off in a building. Now everyone involved was understandably chuffed and excited by the new experience, but all filmgoers know that blowing up things are like the meat and potatoes of action movies. It's been done over and over and over.

Overall, they were trying to push forward for the hardcore fans but also draw in a wider audience. This holds the movie back in many ways. The plot was a tad too complex and insiderish for the non-fans and they slightly over-estimated the fanbase pleasure at just seeing Mulder, Scully and the Cigarette Man on the big-screen. The big sequences - the bomb, the corn field - were not large enough for the average person. Winking at the fans like Mulder and Scully 'stung kissing' and Scully missing out seeing the paranormal stuff was cute but becoming a bit too much of a tease by this stage. There were no great revelations or twists for anybody. Too much sitting around in smoke-filled rooms and not enough humour.

The above is mostly criticism because I was a long-time fan. But it's not a bad film - like I said, just a big TV episode. If you were a fan of the show and for some reason haven't seen it yet, you should give it a whirl. Others could probably give it a miss. They're saying now that the second film will be more of a monster of the week thing than a mythology thing, which shows they may have learnt something. I mean, the mythology eventually became so convoluted with so many questions and almost no answers that I don't think they could make it into an accessible movie if they tried. For the next movie, I assume Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz, and Rob Bowman will be the likely creative team but all the hardcore fans know that Glen Morgan and James Wong wrote some of the best eps - however they too have fallen off the wagon - 'Final Destination' movies and 'The One.' Oh well, fingers crossed anyway ...

Absolutely the best gift C.Carter and his crew could have given to us, the fans

[Pluto-3 · 9/10 · 14 August 1998]

The first time I saw this film I was expecting something less than spectacular because of the mixed reviews I had read before going. Was I surprised! It was one of the most incredible cinematic experience of my life, certainly of the year. Maybe you think I'm nuts and, heck, maybe I am but what I'm saying is true. I am a fan of the series and it's probably why I liked it so much. It had a great storyline that explained a lot of the mysteries that had been hanging for years while bringing all new ones. It also had unbelievable FX that never could have been made for the TV show and the aliens were just simply scary! Many many great scenes, not just a few good ones isolated throughout the film. And the ending is just fantastic, suspenseful and very intriguing. I can't wait for the 6th season to begin.

Overall a good film lacking some potential

[jayc-lawrence · 7/10 · 23 June 2007]

I'll first start with a quick reply to this comment:

Quote: The Zzzz-files?, 7 January 2006 5/10 Author: bob_bear from Germany

Considering the amount of money that was obviously invested in this project wouldn't you think that they could have bothered to come up with a decent script? Think again!

There are more plot holes in this outing than I care to number but here's a couple:

1. Why did the Arctic facility implode when Scully got injected with the serum? No reason that I can tell other than they had to draw this hokum to a close somehow.

And 2. How did the pair get out of the Arctic alive? Scully had wet socks on so they hardly walked it - and where did her trousers come from anyway?! Moreover, nobody knew they were there so what chance of being found before they froze to death?

---

With regards to point 1, the facility imploded because the UFO had started it's 'anti-gravity' drive. Hence the ship taking off a few minutes later. With regards to point 2, the FBI most likely have international cellular communications. Not sure how many mobile transmitters there are in the arctic, and although I see your point, it's not a big enough hole to worry about. Such a crater or land implosion would have notified a local meteorological site on their seismic detectors. I'm pretty sure someone would check it out pretty quickly on a satellite feed.

Now onto my views, I thought it was a very good film as far as X-Files is concerned. It takes a while to get into it, but hits the whole theme of 'V' with the secret infiltration and colonisation of the planet earth. I love this idea, even if it is removed as it could be happening right now and we would never know it! The special effects are pretty good for the time this was created, there are a few issues in plot such as, when Mulder escapes from the UFO out of a hatch, an alien almost catches him but gets hit by a blast of 'steam'. Another blast of what appears to be 'steam' follows soon after, however during the few minutes they were in the pipe they were lucky enough to avoid such an event.

Overall this is an enjoyable film for those who love to think that this world has more than meets the eye. This is television from a 'free' era of society which does not contain any particularly biased political influence or propaganda. 7 / 10 for it's decent acting, decent budget and effects. However this film could have done with being a bit more complex. The average x-files viewer would feel there is nothing new to learn from this, the series had put the same idea into peoples heads some time ago.

Great Sci-Fi and you don't have to be a Fan of the Series to Enjoy,

[lesleyharris30 · 8/10 · 4 March 2014]

The X-Files is a great movie with a well developed storyline with a talented cast.I have never seen a single episode of the television series and decided to watch this movie when I saw that it was on TV,I was afraid that I wouldn't set a lot of it since I haven't watched the series,but it was clearly written so people who don't watch the series could still understand what was going on.The two main actors,Derek Duchovney and Gillian Anderson,are the best part of this movie,they both suit their characters extremely well and you can tell with the on screen chemistry that they were use to working with each other from the series.I think fans of the series will probably still enjoy it very much,but people who haven't seen the X-Files can still definitely watch the movie,and I would recommend as a good sci-fi and mystery.

Mulder and Scully get caught up in a worldwide conspiracy that could change the future of mankind.

Mulder and Scully fight the future

[nathanjamesemerson · 7/10 · 25 September 2018]

This is the first (of two) feature films based on the classic television show The X-Files.

When it first came out it was said that if you had never seen the show, you could still understand the movie.

That is not true. The movie is set between seasons 5 and 6. And you need to understand some of the events of the show to be able to understand the movie. Not too mention the following season wraps up some of the events from this film.

Regardless, I am an avid fan and understood what was going on when the movie hit theatres. Some of my friends never saw the show and were confused.

The movie itself was pretty much a longer episode of the series with a larger budget.

The movie is about the alien conspiracy and colonisation which was built up over the course of the series. Like the tv show, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson played there roles as Mulder and Scully to perfection. The remainder of the cast was great as well.

I recommend the movie to fellow fans of the show and for those who like sci fi who may not have seen it. Like I said above, become familiar with the show before watching the movie so you know what is happening. And it is also great to have while you are doing an X-Files marathon.

Fight the Franchise!

[Shan-12 · 2/10 · 21 December 1998]

This movie was little more than two episodes tacked together. Two not very good ones at that. The first half of the film was just a complete rehash of the bee episode and the second half was just a poor rip-off of Alien. I couldn't see where the money went either. To confuse the issue further, one of the guys from Millennium gets blown up, except he wasn't playing his Millennium character (wouldn't it have made sense to have used someone else?). Also I am sick and tired of Scully continually not seeing crucial evidence that could convince her that Mulder is possibly sometimes right (as we know he is 99% of the time at least). I mean, this time a spaceship the size of Kansas is overhead for at least a minute and yet somehow she's looking into the ice until the instant it disappers, then she looks up. Stupid, isn't it, how something like that happens every single time like clockwork? A horrible movie but maybe there's hope. After all, the first Star Trek was hopeless but they got better after that.