The X-Files Rated: PG-13 (for slight profanity and violent themes) Review by Fox Davidson
Space. It is the unforeseen. The vastness of time. The whole of life. It is mysterious and wonderful. No wonder such cult classics as Star Trek and V were so popular when aired on television in the `60s and `80s. Those shows revolutionized the way we look at space, then called 'Outer' space. People traveling at great speeds to the stars and distant planets. Every young boy's dream. Of course, in 1977, Star Wars pretty much put the whole space thing into overdrive. A black-hole was created around science fiction films. Every one was sucked into cliche-ridden, unforgettable trash. Star Wars and Star Trek were both played out to the hilt with countless imitations. Aside from a few successful entries (Star Trek II, III, IV, VII, VIII, IX, the fantasticly fun Return of the Jedi, and horrifyingly stylish Event Horizon), sci-fi films have, well, sucked. Until now.
Chris Carter, writter and creater of The X-Files (and the now-classic TV series) is responsible for the sheer brilliance that engulfs X-Files into a dark, sexy, underworld of paranoia. Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), always looking to the sky for answers unknown to science, and Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), always looking to science for the answers while rolling her eyes at the sky's unlimited possibilities, are two of the smartest characters to grace the silver screen since Indiana Jones and his father. These agents work on mysterious cases known as X-files, dealing with the paranormal (bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, aliens). This time, it is the cover-up of an alien virus which has been dormant on our planet since the ice age that has Mulder ticked. Just why is the government hiding the fact that a little boy (Lucas Black) was killed by some mysterious oil in North Texas? Easy. So they, along with the aliens, can take over the world. "These men have been secretly negotiating a planned armageddon" says the shadowy Dr. Kurtsweil (Martin Landau).
When this information, along with the discovery that the bodies found in the aftermath of the bombing of a Dallas building weren't killed by the explosion, but by an unknown massive infection, including the intended suicide of a highly ranked FBI agent (Terry O'Quinn), this sets Mulder and Scully to the truth, if they can find it.
Okay, so X-Files doesn't really deal with space. The action takes place on Earth, and there are no ray guns or laser beams. But, this movie is so smart and fascinating, I totally forgot about all that nonsense, since the thought of an unknown virus stalking this planet and everyone on it and the government behind it is such a nifty idea, and scary.
Mulder and Scully are likely to find the truth (I won't tell if they do, or if they will have to wait for the sequel, do out in theathers in summer 2000, after the show ends, appropriately titled Invasion), but, getting there is half the fun, for us, the audience, anyways. We movie lovers are use to the mindless sci-fi mumbo jumbo I was refering to earlier. But, with X-Files aboard, space is finally becoming a clearer frontier, full of great things to come.
Film: ***** Disc: ****
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