'The X-Files: I Want to Believe' review

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" (Credit: 20th Century Fox)

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After nine seasons of paranormal and supernatural investigations on bona fide TV classic “The X-Files,” FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) left the bureau that never fully appreciated their work (and tried to throw Mulder in jail). Several years later, agent Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) seeks out the duo’s help for a case where the best leads come from a possibly psychic pedophile priest (Billy Connolly).

Big question: Are Mulder and Scully back and better than ever a decade after their first big screen outing and six years after the series signed off the air?

Skip it: Directed by series creator Chris Carter, “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” threatens to tarnish the show’s well-deserved positive reputation with a routine and nearly suspense-free thriller plot that never feels worthy of the big screen. Carter was adamant about keeping the story’s “surprises” under wraps while filming, but outside of one late-breaking gonzo sci-fi twist there’s little here that will inspire any more than shrugs of indifference from fans. With newcomers, the movie doesn’t even have a chance…

Catch it: …And that’s too bad, because, Carter’s slipshod execution aside, this is really just an elaborate excuse to see Duchovny and Anderson back in action as the iconic characters that made them famous. Neither actor misses a beat, slipping into the roles like comfortable old shoes still sturdy enough to get the job done. Their heartfelt characterizations of polar opposites who are absolutely perfect for each other sizzles, even when the mystery fizzles. 

Bottom line: What might have been spine-tingling fun in a condensed 45 minute form feels padded and tedious at nearly two hours. A sliver of the show’s trademark wit shines through, Connolly bring his A-game to a crazy worthy of the franchise and Duchovny and Anderson still have enough chemistry to remind us why they were worth watching for nearly a decade. But, in the end, these special agents succeed or fail on the quality of their cases. And this one just doesn’t make the grade.

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