The X Files: I Want to Believe'

Prelude
The show that Time magazine included it on a list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time began airing back in 1993. I was 11 at the time. By the time I came in touch with it, was probably a few years later. I remember it quite well. BBC2 on some late Saturday, Father was doing his thing, reading probably & I was fixated in front of the 14" Phillips TV that had no remote control. Changing the channel would be 'effort'.

I was part way through whatever it was that was on, but I was glued to it, wanting to know what was going on. When the episode finished, I was freaked out, scared, but also thrilled. I had to check in the TV Guide page in the newspaper to find out what it was I was watching. "The X Files". I can tell you now that it was Season 2 and Episode 14 "Die Hand Die Verletzt", but then, I was just happy for it to be X Files.

I watched a handful of episodes after this, if I was allowed (it was past my bed time). It's only a few years later that I really got into it. By some time in '98, I had a large number of VHS recordings that I would only end up seeing the once. Now I have all 9 seasons on DVD (& Fight The Future), I still haven't seen them all, never got round to it, really should.

So, I'm no phile, but I'm not a total noob to the show either. Happy medium as they say. Am I interested to see the film? Sure. People that invested a large number of hours to a show generally will like to see where these characters got to. It's not just 'milking the money' as a lot of people jump to the conclusion of, it is genuinely some thing people want to see. Likewise I can see that it would be a great thing to write too.

Looking at some examples we have the revisits to Rocky, Rambo, Get Smart, James Bond, Indiana Jones, Terminator, simply to mention a recent few. I even remember enjoying Return of The Man from U.N.C.L.E: The Fifteen Years Later Affair having just watched a season or so of the series, the appeal is there & I feel I know what to expect, so off I go.

Overall Impressions:
This part I'll leave rather short. It does exactly what I expect it to. It plays out just like an X Files episode. The investigation brings forth to us these familiar characters, one the believer, one the logical scientist, both having seen ample in their lifetime to doubt their own beliefs who investigate the issue at hand with the passion they once used to, but above all, watch out for each other.

I won't go into the story so much, it was in parts a little predictable, in parts it surprised me. This likely would have been a straight to DVD release, like those Family Guy/Futurama feature length episodes that have recently come about. There is however a much larger fan base out there & this larger release is basically for them.

Does it break any boundaries in the X Files world or the film world? No. (& this disappoints some, but on the flipside, it was good meeting the agents again).
Does it bring you back into time when habitual watching of X Files is what you did? Yes.
If you've never caught an episode before for whatever reason, would this be a good taster? Yes.
Will it nudge me to finally start watching those Box Sets? Definitely.

It's no more than an episode a few years later, if that is enough for you to be interested, or if you're looking for a taste of what the series was like, this is made for you. If you're expecting a summer blockbuster out of this, you're perhaps a little misguided.