Controversies eclipse the paranormal in “The X-Files Want to Believe,” the latest installment of the cult franchise.
Whereas the 1993 hit television show, “The X-Files,” dared to confront things that go bump in the night, creator-director Chris Carter’s “I Want to Believe” barely acknowledges their existence.
Instead, the new film focuses more on the contemporary polemics afflicting society in addition to the internal battles fought by famed twosome Dana Scully and Fox Mulder (Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, respectively).
Since the series finale in 2002, Mulder and Scully had gone on with their respective lives, attempting to forget their dark past with the X-Files. As fate would have it, the dynamic duo is reluctantly pulled back into the world of inexplicable phenomena as they investigate the validity of a psychic’s visions concerning a missing FBI agent.
The psychic comes in the form of a pedophilic ex-priest, commonly referred to as Father Joe (Billy Connolly). Father Joe’s disgraced past is just one of several modern-day debates awkwardly inserted into the film’s plot, including issues on same-sex marriage and implications of stem cell research.
The film even incorporates a groan-inducing low blow directed at President George W. Bush, whose portrait prompts the infamous “X-Files” jingle.
It almost seems as though Carter is using this film as a vehicle to project his own personal views, rather than as a means of nostalgia for fans, commonly referred to as X-Philes.
The supernatural phenomenon for which the Emmy award-winning show is renowned is somewhat absent in its second feature-length rendition. Moviegoers who expect alien abductions and government cover-ups might be disappointed as the film’s paranormal activity can be equated to one of the more gory episodes of “CSI.”
On a positive note, “I Want to Believe” depicts the famous FBI X-Files agents in a familiar light: Scully’s skepticism constantly butts heads with Mulder’s unyielding belief in the unbelievable.
This time around, however, the film examines Scully’s devotion to creating a normal life which hinders her attachment to Mulder who refuses to give up his quest for the truth. While this constructs a deeper connection between these characters and their fanatics, the film spends a considerable amount of time on it, taking away from the already weak plotline.
Overall, “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” is a passable addition to the “X-Files” anthology but lacks the same spirit that made its preceding television series worthwhile.
Ian Bostick can be reached at [email protected].
