WhenThe X-Filesfirst ended in 2002, there were rumors surrounding a second feature film for years. Eventually, the project got off the ground with series creatorChris Carterat the helm (andFrank Spotnitzas co-writer/producer). TitledThe X-Files: I Want to Believe, the sequel film was criticized for not further exploring the alien mythology left open-ended at the end of the show’s initial run. Instead, the film centered ona standalone horror storythat echoed many ofthe show’s best monster-of-the-week episodes, even if the monster isn’t as traditional this time around. Butthat’s not allI Want to Believehas going for it, and, all these years later, it’s about time we took a closer look at thisX-Filesadventure.
The X-Files
Two F.B.I. Agents, Fox Mulder the believer and Dana Scully the skeptic, investigate the strange and unexplained, while hidden forces work to impede their efforts.
‘The X-Files: I Want to Believe’ Picks Up Years After the Original Show
WhenThe X-Filesended with its two-part series finale “The Truth,” it culminated nine years of television (and a feature film) that had been reminding us that “the truth is out there” and to “trust no one.” Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) was on the run from the FBI, who had labeled him an enemy of the state, and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) left behind her law enforcement career to go with him. It was a strange ending to a beloved show that laid out the entire alien mytharc on the table and attempted to connect the dots so that we would understand the full picture. Unsurprisingly, fans wanted more. So whenThe X-Files: I Want to Believewas announced, we all thought we’d begetting some real answers about the decades-long conspiracy.But nothing could be further from the ever-elusive “truth.”
Six years after the events of the Season 9 finale,The X-Files:I Want to Believebrings Mulder and Scully back into the fold after the FBI realizes their desperate need for the X-Files Division. It had been shut down at the end of the show, and apparently, Agents John Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) were unavailable as the agency tracks Mulder down (through Scully, of course) and offers him his freedom in exchange for his help on a strange case involving an alleged psychic and a missing agent. “What I appreciated aboutThe X-Files: I Want to Believewas that it involved actual questions of morality, just asThe Dark Knightdoes,“Roger Ebert wrote in his three-and-a-half-star review of the film. “It’s not simply about good and evil but about choices.”
That’sI Want to Believe’s biggest strength: the question about who is good, who is evil, and whether there is forgiveness for someone who once was evil but wishes to be good. No doubt,this 2008 picture leans heavily into the thriller genre, echoing the dark detective pictures of the 1990s and early 2000s such asDavid Fincher’sSe7enorChristopher Nolan’sInsomnia, albeit with anX-Files-sized twist. Serial killers are the name of the game, and the paranormal is certainly involved through unexplained means. If that sounds like your classic standalone episode ofThe X-Files, then you understand what Chris Carter is clearly trying to evoke here.
‘I Want to Believe’ Works Best as a Standalone X-File
WithI Want to Believe, Carter attempts to conjure the spirit of the original series by reminding us that Mulder and Scully’s adventures weren’t always about aliens. The show boasted 202 episodes in its original run, with only about 70 of those centering exclusively around the vast alien/UFO/clone/abduction conspiracy that so many associate with theX-Filesbrand. ButI Want to Believepulls from the other 100+ episodes,constructing a thoughtful and deeply personal narrativethat divorces itself entirely from the Syndicate, the Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis), and the other extraterrestrial trappings that defined the series' original run. No wonder the only other cast member who shows up isMitch Pileggi’s Walter Skinner, and only in the third act.
When removed from the greater mystery ofThe X-Files,I Want to Believedelights as an elaborate character drama wrapped upin a horror-tinged thrillerthat threatens to break our heroes after years away from the game. If there was any doubt that Mulder’s crusade to save his long-lost sister (who was abducted as a child and later died as a result) has continued well beyond the series' initial run, thenI Want to Believeputs those doubts to rest. Scully calls Mulder out on his inability to save Samantha (Vanessa Morley), a truth that the former FBI special agent can’t fully comprehend. Nevertheless, Mulder is driven, no, compelled to help aid in the search and rescue of the young FBI agent taken from her snowy West Virginian home, no matter the cost.
All of this, of course, hinges on one man — no, not Mulder, but rather a convicted pedophile and former priest named Father Joe (Billy Connolly), who sees these abductions and murders occur via supernatural visions, which he believes to be a gift from God. Because of Mulder’s familiarity with psychic phenomena, he becomes the perfect intermediary between Father Joe and the FBI, and thus the X-Files (for the moment) are reborn. As always,Mulder wants to believe, a stark contrast to Scully, who struggles with the idea that this sinful man might be the key to another’s salvation. We know from the show that Mulder doesn’t have the same religious convictions that Scully does, but what makesI Want to Believefeel so deeply personal and interesting is that it, likesome of the best episodes of the show, isn’t afraid to explore issues of faithfrom Scully’s point of view.
‘I Want to Believe’ Lives Up to Its Name Through Scully’s Struggle With Faith
Perhaps one of the most underappreciated aspects of Dana Scully’s arc onThe X-Filesis the wavering Catholic faith she struggles to maintain. Over the years,the show has explored Scully’s faithvia personal tragedy, paranormal experiences, and even through science itself. WithI Want to Believe, Chris Carter wanted to “[tell] a story that involves the difficulties in mediating faith and science” (viaFox News), and while the title itself may be more of a reference to Mulder’s trademark UFO poster,it best represents Scully’s arc in the film. Mulder notes that Scully doesn’t want to believe, and that’s true on the one hand. She doesn’t want to believe that Father Joe is hearing from God, or that he’s a psychic, and she certainly doesn’t want to believe that Mulder is at his best when running around in the dark. And yet, she wants desperately to believe that she can save the young boy in her care, and in turn, her own faith.
“Don’t give up,” Father Joe prophetically warns Scully during the second act, but on what? Don’t give up on Mulder? On the young boy she’s treating? On her faith in God? The answer is unequivocally, yes.In not giving up on Mulder, she saves his life, all because she listened to Father Joe’s quotation of Proverbs 25:2, connecting the dots to find Mulder against all odds. But more than that, Scully’s relationship with her young patient, Christian (Marco Niccoli), is something of an attemptto redeem herself for giving up her son Williamnear the end of the original series. Christian, a clear stand-in for Scully’s dying religious faith, is someone she’s trying to save by any means necessary, including experimental ones. Echoing the plot of the film, which explores how far down the Frankenstein rabbit hole one might go to save a life, Scully isn’t willing to cross unethical lines, but she is willing to try something drastic.
Scully’s biggest trial here involves Father Joe, a convicted pedophile who molested 37 boys. Father Joe prays for forgiveness daily, prayers Scully believes aren’t answered. And yet, by the grace of God, Father Joe is granted visions that connect him with the killers (one of whom turns out to be one of the boys he molested years ago), which then leads Mulder and Scully to stop these illegal operations.The whole film hinges on these themes of rebirth and resurrection, and for Father Joe, that means forgiveness for his eternal soul. After news arrives of Joe’s death, Mulder poses an interesting question that challenges Scully even further. “What if he were forgiven because he didn’t give up?” The film ends with Scully moving forward with the experimental procedure to save Christian’s life, and thus her own faith as well.
‘The X-Files’ Movies Expertly Balance Their Iconic Leads
If one thing could be said about the twoX-Filesmovies, it’s that they balance their leads perfectly. On one hand, the conspiracy-drivenX-Filesmovie from the mid-1990s (which hit theaters the summer between the fifth and sixth seasons of the show) isa Mulder-centric adventurethat is all about his quest for the truth.Mulder is the true star ofThe X-Files: Fight the Future(as it’s commonly known), and while Scully has her fair share to do as well, the whole movie is about Mulder’s crisis of faith in accepting that there truly is a global conspiracy centered on world domination via alien invasion. The alien element of the film ties in extremely well with the plot of the series at the time, and it’s still to this day considered one of the bestX-Filesstories ever told. Duchovny’s performance is exceptional as usual, and it’s clear thatFight the Futureis Mulder at his peak.
In contrast,The X-Files: I Want to Believeremoves itself from the show’s overarching plot and takes some much-needed time to explore its lead characters, mainly Scully, through your standard X-File-type case.IfFight the Futurewas the Mulder show, thenI Want to Believeis Scully’s time to shinein the theatrical spotlight. Though she’s generally focused on her work as a medical doctor, and she aims not to be too involved in Mulder’s mini-quest, it’s her aforementioned journey that anchors this film. Gillian Anderson has long been underappreciated asThe X-Filesleading lady, andI Want to Believeforces us to confront that truth head-on. She may not be the one chasing bad guys through abandoned buildings, but Mulder (as usual) would be dead without her. More than that, Scully proves that while Mulder is great at unraveling conspiracy theories, only her unique skill sets and beliefs can save the day this time around.
Of course,The X-Filesfound its way back to television about eight years afterThe X-Files: I Want to Believehit theaters. Beginning with a six-episode event series, the show returned for another revival season of 10 episodes two years later. Once again, Mulder and Scully were bogged down by the mythology plots, whilethe standalone episodes generally thrivedin recapturing the magic of the original show. WhileI Want to Believeends with Mulder and Scully officially retiring, the revival seasons leave their ultimate fate (and that of the alien conspiracy) up in the air. While maybe not the worst episode of the series, the new series finale, “My Struggle, Part IV,” is certainly notThe X-Filesat its best. If only they had just made a third movie to wrap up the plot… but hey, maybe one day they will (though upcoming reboot aside, Gillian Anderson seems pretty adamant about not returning as Scully again, which is a real shame). If you’re looking for a better note to end Mulder and Scully’s adventures on,The X-Files: I Want to Believeshould fit the bill nicely.
The X-Files: I Want to Believecan be rented on Prime Video.
