THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE
RATING: 7 / 10 --> Good
movie
Review Date:
June 20, 1998
Director:
Rob Bowman
Writer:
Chris Carter
Producer:
Chris Carter and Daniel Sackheim
Actors:
David Duchovny as Fox
Mulder
Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully
Martin Landau as Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil
Genre:
Thriller / Science-Fiction
Year of
Release:
1998
Popular FOX TV series makes its big screen debut helmed by a
veteran director of at least 25 of the small screen episodes, Rob
Bowman. The X-Files were a division of the FBI created to study
cases filled with paranormal vibes. During this year's last
episode, the X-Files were shut down by the FBI. That's pretty
much all the intro you need to know before you see this film.
PLOT:
A bomb blows off a big chunk of a federal building in Dallas,
Texas. As Mulder and Scully step up their investigation into the
bombing, they begin to uncover many zany theories and cover-ups
about the puzzling explosion. While delving further into the
case, the defiant duo find themselves trapped in an international
game of intrigue, mystery and extra-terrestrial politics.
***Understand
that my critique comes from a solid streak of experience with the
show. Having said that, an inexperienced viewer can also enjoy
this critique, since you need not have seen one episode of the TV
series, to truly appreciate this well-developed movie***
CRITIQUE:
Mysterious, moody, exciting at parts, this movie succeeds in
bringing the spookiness and interest of the television series to
the big screen. Having said that, the film did at times feel like
one big television episode, with a larger plot line and greater
special effects. Also, it did seem to go on for a tad too long.
The plot of the film is interesting, the characters are
believable, and the action is exciting and scary at times (The
scenes with the aliens are very cool and exciting). Mulder and
Scully have no discernible problems tackling the big screen,
while adding words like "shit" to their vocabulary.
While the suspicions about their possible romantic entanglement
in this film are also answered, they certainly will not be given
away by JoBlo here. Also, there did seem to be a touch more
humour on the big-screen than the show, which helped many
long-winded and jargon-filled scenes move along at an easier
pace. The creators of the film also took the time to
"piss" all over the greatest box-office science-fiction
success from 1996, INDEPENDENCE DAY (6.5/10), in a most
interesting and "subtle" way.
Overall, the movie worked for me as a thriller and a
science-fiction fable, but somehow seemed to run a little too
long, and lacked the earth-shattering ending that I was
expecting. Having said that, they have now added many new
elements to explore in the TV series, which will most certainly
pick up many new viewers after this slick film. Warm up your
nachos and cuddle up with your love-bunny on this one,
folks...it's gonna be a bumpy ride!
Little Known Facts:
David Duchovny once played a transvestite detective on the
Twin Peaks television series, and read for the replacing role for
Val Kilmer as Batman in BATMAN AND ROBIN.
David William Duchovny stands 6", was born in NY, New York,
and earned an undergraduate degree from Princeton University and
a graduate degree in English Literature from Yale University.
While at Yale, he began commuting to New York to study acting and
was soon appearing in off-Broadway plays. In 1987 he abandoned
his doctoral studies at Yale to pursue acting full time. Duchovny
means 'spiritual' in Russian.
Gillian
Anderson stands 5"3, was
born in Chicago, Illinois, and has a daughter named Piper. She
was married to husband Clyde Klotz on the 17th hole of a golf
course in Hawaii by a Buddhist priest, and claims her favourite
film to be the 1993 English animated comedy THE WRONG TROUSERS.
Chris Carter worked for 13 years as writer and senior
editor for "Surfing" magazine.
(c) 1998 Berge Garabedian
Movie Reviews by Berge Garabedian