Movie Review: The X-Files: I Want to Believe
http://www.thejournalofstudentministries.com/articles/159/1/Movie-Review-The-X-Files-I-Want-to-Believe/Page1.html
Smitty Wheeler
For the last 24-years, Smitty has worked with middle school, high school, and college students as a mentor, coach, and volunteer youth pastor. Smitty also operates an advertising agency, business consultancy specializing in business turnarounds, is the Chief of Operations of Student Ministry Partners and an Advisory Board member for The Journal of Student Ministries. . By Smitty Wheeler
Published on 07/29/2008
For the first time in a decade, everyone's two favorite investigators
of all things paranormal, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully
(Gillian Anderson), are reunited on the big screen in The X-Files: I Want to Believe.
Unfortunate to say, if you’ve been a fan of the X-Files throughout the
years, you’ll probably leave the theater more confused than you came in
and wondering… What was I supposed to believe?
PG-13, 100 min.
Overview: For the first time in a decade, everyone's two favorite investigators
of all things paranormal, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully
(Gillian Anderson), are reunited on the big screen in The X-Files: I Want to Believe.
Unfortunate to say, if you’ve been a fan of the X-Files throughout the
years, you’ll probably leave the theater more confused than you came in
and wondering … What was I supposed to believe? The disjointed story
that unfolds on the big screen will probably require you to run home
and watch a 24-hour marathon of the original TV series just to clear
your head. There was only one motivator in making this movie,
M-O-N-E-Y, and its lackluster opening weekend may indicate that even
that was a really bad reason.
The Lowdown: We open with former FBI agent Mulder, a virtual hermit, spending most of his waking hours in his home-office, clipping articles and obsessing about all the unexplained phenomena he used to investigate. At the same time, the straightforward doctor he always worked with, Dana Scully, is busy plying her trade at the well named Our Lady of Sorrows hospital. However, FBI agents soon approach her about finding Mulder to help them track down a missing colleague, and it seems that she and Mulder will soon be back at it again.
While both have agreed to help the FBI solve this missing persons case, Scully says to Mulder: "I'm done chasing monsters in the dark." Her declaration is soon followed an introduction to, “Father Joe,” a pedophilic former priest who is getting some really disturbing psychic vibes, the discovery of a severed hand and then a severed head … so much for not chasing those monsters in the dark.
Things get very dark, very quickly with Scully even apologizing for getting Mulder involved in another strange and seemingly unexplainable case. And, while there are some enjoyable moments as these two once again bicker and banter their way through the story, Scully might have done better to have apologized to the viewers instead.
Teachable Moments: Scully is deeply committed to saving lives and is especially concerned about a young boy with what seems like an inoperable brain disease. Both Scully and Mulder put themselves in harms way to find out what’s happening so that they can put a stop to it.
Viewer Discretion: Macabre subject matter—some gruesome and gory imagery that is way over the top. Coarse language, sexual content, drugs sitting on a table and some pretty “out there” theology on a number of very serious issues. Add to that a couple of stereotypical (as portrayed by Hollywood) priests, (one of whom is a convicted pedophile, of course) and a general dislike shown throughout the movie for all Christians and both parent and youth leaders should be seeing red flags everywhere.
General Appeal: The new X-Files film carries the subtitle, "I Want to Believe." It’s a really nice thought, but believe in what? The movie's plot is a big mess and it depicts people of faith—other than Scully—in a way you wouldn’t want to present to your students.
The Final Grade: Entertainment Value: C- Ministry Value: D-
The Lowdown: We open with former FBI agent Mulder, a virtual hermit, spending most of his waking hours in his home-office, clipping articles and obsessing about all the unexplained phenomena he used to investigate. At the same time, the straightforward doctor he always worked with, Dana Scully, is busy plying her trade at the well named Our Lady of Sorrows hospital. However, FBI agents soon approach her about finding Mulder to help them track down a missing colleague, and it seems that she and Mulder will soon be back at it again.
While both have agreed to help the FBI solve this missing persons case, Scully says to Mulder: "I'm done chasing monsters in the dark." Her declaration is soon followed an introduction to, “Father Joe,” a pedophilic former priest who is getting some really disturbing psychic vibes, the discovery of a severed hand and then a severed head … so much for not chasing those monsters in the dark.
Things get very dark, very quickly with Scully even apologizing for getting Mulder involved in another strange and seemingly unexplainable case. And, while there are some enjoyable moments as these two once again bicker and banter their way through the story, Scully might have done better to have apologized to the viewers instead.
Teachable Moments: Scully is deeply committed to saving lives and is especially concerned about a young boy with what seems like an inoperable brain disease. Both Scully and Mulder put themselves in harms way to find out what’s happening so that they can put a stop to it.
Viewer Discretion: Macabre subject matter—some gruesome and gory imagery that is way over the top. Coarse language, sexual content, drugs sitting on a table and some pretty “out there” theology on a number of very serious issues. Add to that a couple of stereotypical (as portrayed by Hollywood) priests, (one of whom is a convicted pedophile, of course) and a general dislike shown throughout the movie for all Christians and both parent and youth leaders should be seeing red flags everywhere.
General Appeal: The new X-Files film carries the subtitle, "I Want to Believe." It’s a really nice thought, but believe in what? The movie's plot is a big mess and it depicts people of faith—other than Scully—in a way you wouldn’t want to present to your students.
The Final Grade: Entertainment Value: C- Ministry Value: D-