The X Files: I Want to Believe

I have to say that I thought this was a good movie..but that could be just because my expectations were set pretty low as a result of their *first* movie. But what I found is that the emotional story (particularly between Mulder and Scully) was satisfying and rich with development; the twists were sufficiently twisty without going overboard and keeping the viewer in a constant state of confusion for its own sake; the ambiguities (near the ending) were appropriate and not overboard; and the main problem to be solved was refreshingly down-to-Earth - as in not particularly paranormal (even if somewhat implausible) - because I'd long since grown tired of all the X-Files' fantastical mind-candy and stopped watching it. And yet even without being paranormal (as such), it was a quite stirring scenario..in the mainly disturbing way.

One caveat: my sister had complained that the movie didn't provide enough suspense in regard to what paranormal thing might happen next. Perhaps my having tired of the typical X-Files motif, combined with my very low expectations, allowed me to appreciate the movie for its *other* qualities, but Your Mileage May Vary.

The above being said, there *was* a plot-thread that seemed to comprise a paranormal theme. I say "seem to" because they left that determination rather...indeterminate, but if I had to guess I'd say that the viewer is supposed to assume that it was paranormal.

My only one gripe with the movie is that Father Joe didn't seem to be very believable, in *any* aspect or interpretation. He basically just looked cool..his facial features did go pretty well with the falling snow and ice scapes (which seem to be a common theme with the X-Files movies thus far). Speaking of Father Joe, though, one element of the movie I really did appreciate was its ballsy positioning regarding the Catholic priesthood. In the spirit of the X-Files, that too was of course neither all one way nor all the other, but I would venture to say that it was certainly a lot of both.

Overall rating: 4 stars. Not a must-see within the wider realm of movies, but should be worth your time at least if you were even somewhat of an X-Files fan.