X-Files 2-I Want To Believe (2008)

"I Want to Believe provides a welcome reminder of what made Carter's franchise a pop-culture gem.  Connie Ogle, Miami Herald
"Knowing nothing about "X-Files" is no impediment to appreciating this for the well-acted, adult piece of work that it is.  Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
"Billy Connolly, as a scurvy priest who may or may not be a visionary, steals the acting honors.  Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
"The movie works like thrillers used to work, before they were required to contain villains the size of buildings.  Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"Duchovny gives a nicely shaped performance...But the movie really belongs to Anderson.  Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Editor's Note For the devoted viewers of THE X-FILES, there can be few things more exciting than hearing the familiar notes of Mark Snow's theme song at the beginning of THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE. This cinematic follow-up to the series picks up years after it ended, but the characters are still the same ones that audiences loved. Fans who followed the show religiously (and was there any other way to watch it?) won't be surprised to learn that Mulder (David Duchovny) is currently living in hiding, still researching the paranormal while he grows a shaggy beard. Meanwhile, Scully (Gillian Anderson) is working as a doctor at a Catholic hospital. When an F.B.I. agent goes missing, the bureau calls on the pair to return to their old work. The paranormal element of their case is found in Father Joe (Billy Connolly), a former priest who is having psychic visions and leading the team from the F.B.I. to evidence to help them solve their case. Mulder and Scully return to their roles of believer and skeptic as they join in the search. Just as in the show, I WANT TO BELIEVE is a genre-bender that combines science fiction, horror, and thriller. In fact, the film seems like a two-part episode of the show--and that's meant as a compliment. Though six years have passed since the series' finale (and 10 since the first cinematic incarnation), the show's central elements are intact, especially the interaction between Mulder and Scully. For those who weren't fans of the show, I WANT TO BELIEVE offers chills similar to THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and THE BONE COLLECTOR--but minus the gore. The show was always more about the unseen horrors, and the film works well as it follows its predecessor's lead.

	David Duchovny
	Adam Godley
	Amanda Peet
	Callum Keith Rennie
	Xzibit
	Gillian Anderson
	Billy Connolly
	Nicki Lynn Aycox
	Mark Snow - Composer
	Richard A. Harris - Editor
	Brent O'Connor - Executive Producer
	Chris Carter - Screenwriter
	Bill Roe - Director of Photography
	Frank Spotnitz - Screenwriter
	Chris Carter - Producer
	Frank Spotnitz - Producer
	Chris Carter - Director

Empire
3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]here's a familiar, pleasurable thrill to be had from icy settings, stalkings, [and] ambiguous supernatural glimpses..." 10/01/2008 p.62

Sight and Sound
"There are thrills to be had, notably in the first half as the FBI uncover frozen, gory clues....Hardcore fans will also thrill at the revelations about Mulder and Scully's domestic relationship...' 10/01/2008 p.88

Entertainment Weekly
"It plays like a solid extended episode of the often-classic TV show..." -- Grade: B 12/12/2008 p.56

Reel.com 5 of 10
Apparently the lamentable last season or two of The X-Files and the 1998 film Fight the Future wasn't insult enough to the show's legacy as a groundbreaking, mytho-poetic phenomenon. No, yet another film had to be made, some six years after the series ground to a halt, in order to further degrade one's memory of the once-respected pop culture totem. That film is The X-Files: I Want to Believe, and far from making believers out of the audience, it does everything possible to turn them into staunch realists...The mystery that Carter and co-writer Frank Spotnitz came up with to prod the listless plot along can't of course be explained here, but what can be said is that it's not only barely enough to hang an entire film on, it would barely sustain a mediocre, hour-long episode of the series. Of more interest to Carter and Spotnitz appears to be exploring the somewhat matured relationship between Scully and Mulder and examining the nature of faith, whether it's Scully's belief in God and her medical oath or Mulder's devotion to figuring out why things go bump in the night. The script dutifully trots out one leaden confrontation after another as the two characters stagger through their spiritual dilemmas in only the most blundering and obvious manner, saying things like, "This stubbornness of yours, it's why I fell in love with you." Meanwhile, the "mystery" of the missing agent and the psychic priest limps along, well after it becomes clear that the only mystery worth answering here is: Why did they bother? - Chris Barsanti

ReelViews 6 of 10
One would expect that the title of the second X-Files movie, I Want to Believe, reflects the hope of fans worldwide about this production. They want to believe that, even six years after the sell-by date has expired, these characters can still be relevant and showrunner Chris Carter still has worthwhile stories to tell. Sadly, such hope is misplaced. The X-Files: I Want to Believe is an exercise in mediocrity. It's curious how little of the TV series' charm and appeal can be found in this uneven, plodding excuse for a reunion. Rather than providing a springboard to a movie franchise, this film puts the final nail in The X-Files' coffin...The 1998 The X-Files movie, made at the height of the show's popularity, was an entertaining lark. Not being a big fan of the series, I didn't get all the in-jokes and side-references but, as science fiction films go, it was fun...I Want to Believe seems like it was made by another group for a different audience. As nothing more than another summer movie, I Want to Believe will be ill-accepted by viewers with little or no X-Files background; it's too derivative and generic to generate more than a shrug and an exclamation of "ho-hum." For X-Philes, the pleasure of re-connecting with old friends may not be enough to obscure how poorly those old friends are treated by the material. Aficionados of the TV show may want to believe, but after this movie, they'll have trouble keeping the faith. - James Berardinelli