X Files: Fight the Future, The (1998)
Seen 19 June 1998 with Nicole for $8.75 at the Cineplex Odeon Chelsea
There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who are fans of the TV series The X Files and those who don't get it. But the truth is now out there. Either category of person is going to be a bit baffled or disappointed by the film, albeit for different reasons.
The good news is that it's not a bad movie. As action-adventure goes, it succeeds and it's definitely a smart one. X Files novice Byron points out that Special Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is a very perceptive detective. The rapport with Special Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is deep. So are the paranoia and the conspiracies. So are the colors. That brings me to my favorite part of the movie.
Director Rob Bowman finally gets to bring the same exciting filming we see on the small screen to the big screen. The filming is clearly inspired by the big screen and forerunning series like David Lynch's *Twin Peaks*. The films combines the action aspects with deep colors--illuminated bubble structures agains a night sky and a velvety green cornfield; lights and shadows in a prehistoric ice cave; the brilliant whites of Antarctica. The only time the film looks flat is when they film in modern-day North Texas. Bowman's lens can be undone, and it is--by drab beiges and tans of the dust bowl.
But the story: Well, as the tagline reveals, "The truth is revealed," but not all the answers the devoted viewers are expecting. But, some of the basics of the dragged-out five-year plot is revealed. There *are* aliens, and those old white guys *are* involved in some muddled conspiracy with them. Also problematic are some plot issues, like how do two people stranded in Antarctica suddenly wind up back in DC safe and sound? But, there is a lot of suspense and a sufficient amount of gore to keep you interested and cringing for two hours. The special effects are pretty good (note the black oil taking over the boy in the beginning), but the set from the big finale looks like every big space-monster movie set we've been seeing lately.
A lot of regular cast members appear here in their usual demeanor: The Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis), Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), The Well-Manicured Man (John Neville) are all here, but other characters like Crychek and the Morphing Man (Roy Thinnes) are not here. There are some notable additions to the cast--Blythe Danner appears twice as the investigating Assistant Director Jana Cassidy, Armin Mueller-Stahl is one of the conspirators, Terry O'Quinn (of Millenium) is an FBI agent, and Glenn Headly is a barmaid who cuts off Mulder. The most wasted talent here is probably Martin Landau, as the conspiracy theorist Alvin Kurzweil, who perfectly good in his limited role of skulking around urine-drenched alleys talking with Mulder and dropping him some clues.
So, the choice is yours. Fans of the show are likely to be seeing this one day, if not now, on video. I would advise them to see it on the big screen. But, don't expect a lot of answers about green gel blood and Mulder's abducted sister. You won't get them.
Best Moment in the Film: Scully and Mulder are at a desert crossroads, wondering what to do--go left or right. It is a defining moment that typifies everything about the show and the two agents and their relationship.
Written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, cinematography by Ward Russell, original music by Mark Snow, production design by Christopher Nowak, film editing by Stephen Mark.
More movie reviews by Seth Bookey, with graphics, can be found at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2679/kino.html
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