X-Files: I Really Wanted to Believe...

There are already at least two reviews of this movie on the site and in large part I agree with them. (One for the vanilla rental DVD and the other for the Blu-Ray SE). This review picks up where the DVD reviews left off - with a focus on the extra features you'll find on the retail DVD disc.

However, you'll have to indulge me in a few personal opinions about the movie first - though I promise to be brief.

Curiously I had just been wading through the first season of the X-Files again when this disc arrived. You could argue that with another eight seasons and a previous feature film between the two that the connections might be tenuous. Certainly Mulder has put on a few pounds, and Scully has shed a few (a strange X-Files like transference of body-fat?) but in the main the connections between the start and the end are sound. There are a few anomalies - not least that in the movie they are an 'item'. Having given up on the series when it originally aired I don't recall anything other than a certain 'tension' between them. The narrative plot of 'X-Files: I want to Believe' is curiously close to one of the episodes in Season one, where a psychic ex-offender helps track down what appears to be a serial killer. (Episode 12: Season 1: Beyond the Sea). Mulder even uses the phrase 'I want to believe' when conversing with the psychic - straight off his office poster. But the movie is, as you would expect, a little bit less straightforward than this - mixing this narrative with another, making the motive for the killings a secondary plot all of its own (I won't spoil that here...suffice to say it turns out to have nothing to do with aliens, voodoo or ghosts).



The movie is really like an extended episode. The bleak wintery landscape sets the tone from the outset. The movie has very few lighter moments, unlike the series where Mulder's sardonic humour often broke the tension, but it does move along at a gentle, intriguing pace, un-wrapping this multi-layered thriller. For my money I would preferred an alien presence, or something other worldly. This played out a like a criminal thriller, and God knows we have enough of those already.

Worthy of note is Mr. Billy Connelly. I've never really liked him (though I appreciate this is a minority opinion) - generally a loud, 'look at me' style comedian who feels that the louder you deliver the punch-line, the better the laughs. As an actor though, he is surprisingly good. There is nothing of that bombastic comedian here (he returns though in the features interviews). He delivers a subtle, restrained performance that is really compelling viewing - and I was left with the feeling that without his presence this film would have been very lack-lustre.




DISC TWO

· Photo Gallery - And a generous one too with 370+ images covering collectibles, concept art, on set photography and storyboards. They're conveniently organised as: "Collectibles," "Storyboards," "Concept Art," and "Unit Photography."

· Trust No One: Can the X-Files Remain a Secret? (Feature Length Documentary) - A three-part feature length documentary made up of three chapters: Part 1 is called "You Can Go Home Again." Expect loads of behind-the-scenes footage, cast and crew interviews, and general production background. Lasts for 30 minutes - which is plenty.

· Part 2 is "Misinformation." Another thirty minutes dedicated to the misinformation campaign that carter and Spotnitz wreaked on the internet to keep the plot a secret.

· Part 3 is "Don't Give Up." - Good advice when you've already spent over an hour on a documentary about a so-so movie that was only 90 minutes in its own right. This covers post-production - editing with Richard A. Harris and scoring with Mark Snow. Another half an hour and for me the most interesting of the three as it was little lower key. Snow certainly knows how to write a score.




· Deleted Scenes - There are three deleted scenes in here running for approximately 2 minutes a piece: "Cheryl Cunningham Begs Scientist to Let Her Go" "Father Joe Visits Scully in Hospital," and "Mulder Escapes Car Wreck." I'm always confused by the inclusion of deleted scenes. Why bother? They didn't make the final cut and then generally get shown out of context and with little post-production. I think they're often included to pad out the package and make cast, crew and producers feel that all that effort and money wasn't completely wasted. But the truth is out there. It was.

· Gag Reel - possibly the least amusing gag reel in the sorry history of gag reels. This stuff used to land on, and stay on, the cutting room floor. OK - people slipped up on the ice and snow. It happens. Again and again - with no less than 10 minutes of it here. Should have sent it to 'You've been framed' to help recoup the disappointing returns at the US Box Office.

· Music Slideshow - Stills set to 'Dying 2 Live' by Xzbit, a rap song that seems curiously out of place.




· Body Parts: Special Make-Up Effects Featurette - In it, you go behind the scenes with Bill Terezakis, the film's special makeup effects designer. He shows you a lot of the prosthetics involved in the film, which are quite impressive. This is 16x9, anamorphically enhanced, and eight minutes long.



· Chris Carter: Statements on Green Production Featurette - Well, Carter's heart is in the right place with this... a brief piece on 'Green' film-making. Perhaps a little self righteous for some.

· Digital Copy of the Movie - Finally something we'll be seeing a lot more of; a 'Digital Copy' of the film for portable media players. Of course we all know that the DVD is a digital copy too though this will save time and complexity.

So there you have it. Please check out the other reviews on this site for an alternative and possibly more informed view of what I felt was a slightly disappointing addition to the X-Files canon.