Rating of
2.5/4
I Want to Believe: One for Fans Only
Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/27/08
It's good to see David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson fall back into their roles of Mulder and Scully so seamlessly. It doesn't seem like it's been six years since the show went off the air. As good as it is to see the characters pick up where they left off, it's obvious that I Want to Believe is pretty much only going to appeal to fans of the classic TV show.
In fact, most of those watching will feel right at home, but maybe too much so. The downfall of this film is that its too much like the show. Aside from a few curse words, I felt like this could have been an extra on one of the show's DVDs. You have Scully having a crisis of fate, Mulder and Scully arguing and Mulder clinging to his beliefs in spite of evidence. Sure, there are a few new faces, but they really don't make much of an impact. Better to see old faces, such as a brief appearance from Mitch Pileggi's Skinner.
Far from being extraterrestrial, this outing has a much hairier Mulder and a hospital-bound Scully being brought back to the FBI after a rather abrupt departure to help a find a missing agent. Turns out the key to the case is psychic. That's not good enough, the psychic is also an ex-priest convicted of pedophilia (to Scully's disgust). Mulder believes him, Scully and most of the FBI are skeptical.
There's a side-plot with Scully and boy with a rare, un-curable brain disease that ends up tying to the main plot through the common thread of stem cell research. There's the mix of science, faith, myth and urban legend. It's all very much X-files, but never feels like it was made for the big screen. Those who have been waiting this long will probably be satisfied, but they won't be overly impressed. Those who never watched the show will take little out of it, and may view it as a curiosity at best and a waste of time at worst.
