We saw the new X-files movie last night. It got a lot of negative press so I was braced for it to be a disappointment. One trusted critic (my mother) said, "It just wasn't the X-Files. You know, there were no aliens in it?"
But she was wrong. It most assuredly was X-Files as I knew it. I think the primary audience this movie would appeal to is the true "Filers", those of us who can rattle off statistics like "David Duchovney's birthday is August 7th" (which happpens to be the same day as mine, by the way) and the fact that Mulder liked sunflower seeds so much that in the 7th season, Episode 4, when he's supposedly saved by the Cancer man and gets to go live a normal life, which includes marrying his former girlfriend and having children, the first thing he finds in his fridge upon walking into his new house is multiple packages of them. And as it turned out that it had all taken place inside his head, so you know he had to be pretty fixated on those seeds. In fact, I suspect if you aren't already a somewhat obsessive fan (no, I don't know anybody like that, do you?), then you aren't really going to appreciate this movie.
It brought to mind the early shows in a lot of regards. Gary and I used to joke that they must have saved tons of money on lighting and special effects during the first few seasons because they spent so much time going through dark buildings and working out monster-sized problems at night. This movie reminded me of those first seasons in that respect. It was often dark, and the special effects were pretty simplistic, letting the sheer creepiness of the unsolved problems carry the ball.
More than anything, what I liked the most about this movie was the prevailing message that we should never give up, no matter what the odds are. This spoke to me personally and I'd love to expand upon it (good blog entry actually), but I won't ruin the "magic" of it for anyone else. You've simply got to see it to get it.
7 comments:
I preferred the older X-files myself. It was a more 'real' series back than. Does that make sense?
I loved early x-files - but waned after a while - will it still be worthwhile?
Never in my life saw any of the x-file. We don't have cable here.
I saw the movie too and thoroughly enjoyed it. The only thing that would have made it better is a visit from the Lone Gunmen (but alas, they went on to that great conspiracy theory in the sky.) On a side note, Mulder should keep the beard to hide those neck wattles. Scully on the other hand is aging like a fine wine :-)
"...they must have saved tons of money on lighting and special effects during the first few seasons because they spent so much time going through dark buildings and working out monster-sized problems at night."
That was the focus of an X-Files parody that was done by an Aussie comedy show.
David
Is the movie a 'you HAVE to see it on the big screen movie, or a 'you can wait until it comes out on DVD movie?
Rhubarbwhine--Yeah. That makes perfect sense. I'm personally a fan of most of the episodes and I loved how they carried so many storylines through nine seasons.
Debby--X-Files was originally on network TV. It used to run on Friday nights, followed by Millenium.
Dennis--I missed the Lone Gunmen too. Frohicke was my favorite (loved the time he showed up to see Dana in the hospital wearing an ill-fitted tux and carrying flowers. It said volumes about his feelings for her).
LOL on Mulder and Scully's age showing. I actually thought age had done Mulder some good. I was not one of those who followed the show because I thought Duchovney was good-looking.
Hi David--No. It does not need to be seen on a "big screen" to be appreciated. Though I'm glad I did as it was our anniversary and it was fun to commemorate two big events at the same time, unless you're really dying to see it now, I'd say wait. Interestingly one of the more positive reviewers said that this is one people will appreciate more after a second viewing. I'll be curious to see if that holds true.
Hi Jeanie,
This comment got lost in the shuffle apparently. I think it would be, but if I were you, I'd wait for the DVD to come out. :)
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