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52 out of 61 people found the following review useful: Not just for X-Files followers., 19 June 2002 Author: Chris Brown (christopher6453@hotmail.com) from Fresno, CA USA
To start off with, I do not watch the TV show, so I'm coming from a place of ignorance when it comes to The X-Files: Fight the Future. However, even without knowing anything about the characters or story lines, I found that I enjoyed this movie a lot, and will probably now start watching the shows reruns. The movie starts off tens of thousands of years in the past, where an alien life form is roaming in underground caves. Fast forward to the present, and that same life form is unearthed by some kids in Texas. No one knows what killed this boy, and the firemen sent down to save him. Or maybe, someone does know. Enter Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). A seemlingly unconnected terrorist bombing is linked with the mysterious deaths in Texas, and lead Mulder and Scully all over the world to figure out this global conspiracy. Who knows about this alien life form? And why are they trying so hard to keep it a secret?From what I've been told, a lot of the regulars on the TV show make an appearance in the movie. But as I said earlier, even without knowing who these people are, the movie itself is good enough to stand on its own. What I found I liked the most, and the reason I'll start watching the show, is the interaction between Duchovny and Anderson. After 5 years together, these two work perfectly as a team. They know each other so well; you feel the chemistry and tension between them. The supporting cast was strong, and I liked the idea that an entire alien race is being hidden from the world by a bunch of old white men. The story itself, while again from what I hear doesn't really conclude any plot points from the show, nor start any new ones, manages to stand by itself. The scenery was terrific, especially the opening sequence in the underground caves. What I was disappointed with was it seemed as if Duchovny was in the movie a lot more than Anderson. It was as if he was the star of the film, and she was a supporting member. The story seemed to revolve around him, and she was there to play off of. I wish that Chris Carter (the series writer and creator, and screenwriter for this film) would have made her more of an equal. The other problem I had was that while the plot was good, at times it wasn't explained as much as it could have been. The reason for the cover-up wasn't made as clear as it could have been, at least in my mind.Whether you're a fan or not, The X-Files: Fight the Future is a good way to spend a couple hours in a nice air conditioned environment.
34 out of 42 people found the following review useful: Fight the Future, 8 June 2000 Author: Op_Prime from Ardmore, PA
The X-Files' first movie is great. It has a clever, yet complicated, plot. The movie tackles the alien conspiracy head on, connecting some plot details from the show. But like an episode of the show, only a small piece of the puzzle is explained. The movie is a scary and thrilling sci-fi movie. All that's missing is a sequel.
38 out of 51 people found the following review useful: Good Jump to the Big Screen., 6 July 2002 Author: tfrizzell from United States
Well-paced and well-crafted, "The X-Files" is a surprisingly good movie that does not try to get cute and go away from the things that made the series such a national phenomenon. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson seem out of place working with bomb squads and doing other mundane duties after their department is shut down by the government. However the two feel that something really major is up which involves alien colonization on Earth and a vast government cover-up that goes through the highest places in the U.S. political realm. A good screenplay and solid direction make "The X-Files" a first-rate film from a very good cinematic year. 4 stars out of 5.
34 out of 52 people found the following review useful: Great movie!, 14 May 2003 Author: Movie Nuttball from U.S.A.
This movie is very good.Its deep,its clever,its very interesting,and entertaining.I just really like how Mulder and Scully are.The situations they get in make you care about them especially Scully.Martin Landau,William B. Davis,Mitch Pileggi,Jeffrey DeMunn,Terry O'Quinn,and Armin Mueller-Stahl were all good!The music is good and the direction and editing is superb.X-Files: Fight the Future is really a classic movie and I feel its one of the best films ever! If you like the series then you'll love the movie!
22 out of 30 people found the following review useful: As good as it possibly could be, 3 August 2000 Author: The_Movie_Cat from England
The X-Files movie really is as good a big screen adaptation as you could possibly hope for.It helps that it's entirely controlled by the people behind the series, and that the programme had cinematic qualities in the first place. On repeat viewings, however, the story is revealed to be thin, and lacking in incident. Its need to tie into events of the series makes it not wholly satisfying as a stand-alone vehicle, though it should still be understandable to those that have never seen an episode.David Duchovny as Mulder seems surprisingly at ease in his limited way, while Martin Landau is good as far as plot devices go. Gillian Anderson is unfortunately encouraged to overstate her lines, particularly in the beginning, while a cameo by The Lone Gunmen is perhaps the only indulgence that would be lost on non-fans.There are inevitable concessions to the cinema format, of course. Not the touted mild use of expletives, which happened from time to time on TV anyway. But the alien presence that mutates to owe a debt to Ridley Scott's Alien, or the near-kiss between the two leads. Thankfully, the first point actually makes a logical sense and carries the story forward. The second is something that was also long overdue, and silly that it took so long. For two people who obviously feel about each other the way Mulder and Scully do, to go five years without even kissing is stretching credulity.Ultimately, though, it lacks any clear focus for a casual film audience, and flits repetitively from action sequence to sloppy exposition and back again throughout its duration. Creator Chris Carter, like Gene Roddenberry with Star Trek before him, is not the smoothest writer of his own series, though he does adequately most of the time. Worst example is the opening Mulder/Scully scene which is laughably trite, and there are plenty more examples of Carter's trademark purple prose. Yet it does have a beginning, middle and end, and can be watched back-to-back with a TV episode with no noticeable jumps in style. In that sense, then, it is a most successful big-screen adaptation of a television series.Hard-core X-File fans will be inclined to award an extra mark to the total, then. But for a non-committal audience, this is a "6" as they would have no idea from watching this that the frail, fag-smoking pensioner is the series' major villain.
19 out of 26 people found the following review useful: Surprisingly good -- even for someone who hasn't seen the show before..., 25 October 2003 Author: MovieAddict2009 from UK
There are two types of people in this world: Those that watch "X-Files," and those that do not. I, like many other critics who walked into "The X-Files" movie, fall into the latter category. But it doesn't matter, because I don't believe that there are any real twists in the plot or "revelations" like the extended title implies there may be. In fact, I think that even the strict fans of the television show may be a bit in the dark by the time the credits start to roll. I got lost about 2/3 of the way through, but I still had a fun time.Scully and Mulder, the two FBI Agents (I think) from the famous television show of the same name, make their big-screen debut in a feature-length, theatrical film release that plays much more like a clever science fiction film than a stupid one. I do not claim to be a huge fan of the science-fiction genre -- I like softer sci-fi such as "The Terminator" -- but I admire the hard sci-fi films that make an effort to reach those of us who many not be the most enthusastic sci-fi geeks. "The X-Files" has a harder task -- it has to reach those who not only have never seen the show, but also those who may not love sci-fi too much, and it does a good job. I admire it above all else for being able to do this.It strikes a chord that good sci-fi films have struck in the past. It gets down to the meaty bits, although sometimes the plot left me in the dark and the ending started to get a bit crazy, which lowered my overall pleasure regarding the film. It's like a mystery set in the world of UFOs and alien encounters. It is, at times, quite chilling in a subtle way, and at other times quite humorous and fun and thrilling.It starts off with a boy falling into a pit and being attacked by hundreds of small, slug-like creatures that crawl into his eye sockets and over his eyes (don't bring the kids to this one). More people enter into the pit in an ill-fated attempt to rescue the boy, and they wind up being knocked unconscious (or put into a deep sleep) like the boy. The bodies are all transported to a hospital, and that same hospital later blows up after Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Mulder (David Duchovny) are unable to stop an implanted terrorist bomb from detonating inside a coke maching.But then Mulder is told by a mysterious man outside a bar (Martin Landau) that the bomb was never attempted to be defused. It was all an elaborate cover-up to hide the bodies of the pit victims. Mulder shrugs off the old man at first before he realizes that the man used to be a friend of his father's, and that he has some interesting true stories to tell."The X-Files" intrigued me, kept me interested for the most part, and gave me a few good chill sequences, and yet I haven't seen a single full-length episode of the FOX TV show (only little tidbits here and there). From what I can tell from my short experiences with the television show, this film carries a much more "mainstream" feel to it. I don't really take an interest in TV shows because I find them pretty corny. But "The X-Files" movie wasn't that corny.The sight of the aliens themselves is only touched lightly, and the secret promised to be revealed by the trailers and ads isn't. (I assume most people thought it would be in regards to Mulder's alien-abducted sister from his childhood.) But Duchovny is very interesting and often humorous in his role, and I would like to see him in more films than he is in. Gillian Anderson is a bit weak in her role -- in fact, my mother saw her on stage in London and reported back to me that she was so bored by her dull, lifeless performance that she nearly left the theater. But Duchovny carries along the film by himself, and the film has some good sequences. Overall, even people who have never laid eyes on the TV show will be able to appreciate this.3.5/5 stars.- John Ulmer
35 out of 60 people found the following review useful: A laughable cult to be derided like The Invaders, Land of the Giants or, indeed, Lost In Space. Wrong., 15 December 1998 Author: Ben Walsh (ben.walsh@mcr-evening-news.co.uk) from Manchester, England
When it began you may have thought this paranoid adventure's destiny, in say fifteen years time, was a slot after The Waltons on a Sunday afternoon. A laughable cult to be derided like The Invaders, Land of the Giants or, indeed, Lost In Space. Wrong. It has matured into the most revered SF phenomenon since Star Trek and as those champions of hair, ZZ Top, once proclaimed it's 'got legs'.Forsaking opening credits or a slow build-up, director Rob Bowman propels us on to a roller-coaster ride of moderately daft spooky shenanigans and grand effects. All the same elements from the TV series are here, shadowy high-ranking figures controlling the planet - "These people have been secretly negotiating a planned Armageddon", plenty of furtive glances and hellish beasties from the dawn of time. Plus we have the two small box giants, Mulder (David 'Mondeo Man' Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian 'the FHM pin-up' Anderson), coming across marvellously well on the big screen.In fact, for a show which thrives on a claustrophobic feel, this wide-screen treatment is cleverly handled. Bowman arms his two leads with a witty, edgy script, and pits them against the pervading evil through a combination of Aliens, James Bond and Alfred Hitchcock action sequences.Ultimately, The X-Files is very entertaining and thankfully devoid of any product placing or blessed meteors.
20 out of 34 people found the following review useful: Absolutely the best gift C.Carter and his crew could have given to us, the fans, 14 August 1998 Author: Pluto-3 from Quebec, Canada
The first time I saw this film I was expecting something less than spectacular because of the mixed reviews I had read before going. Was I surprised! It was one of the most incredible cinematic experience of my life, certainly of the year. Maybe you think I'm nuts and, heck, maybe I am but what I'm saying is true. I am a fan of the series and it's probably why I liked it so much. It had a great storyline that explained a lot of the mysteries that had been hanging for years while bringing all new ones. It also had unbelievable FX that never could have been made for the TV show and the aliens were just simply scary! Many many great scenes, not just a few good ones isolated throughout the film. And the ending is just fantastic, suspenseful and very intriguing. I can't wait for the 6th season to begin.
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Captures the spirit of the series but feels like it's covering old ground, 26 October 2003 Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Assigned to a bomb threat on a Federal building, Scully and Mulder find the bomb in another building. Ordered out by the agent in charge, the bomb explodes destroying much of the building and killing 4 people. Without any suspects, the authorities look for someone to blame and focus on Mulder. To clear himself Mulder investigates a tip from Alvin Kurtzweil that the bomb was to cover the fact that 3 of those killed were already dead. Investigating, Scully discovers evidence that points to a viral infection by aliens, orchestrated by a group of powerful men.Although I had stopped watching series long before it finally ended I still wanted to see this film. The basic plot is the element I've always preferred in the series – the bigger picture of the alien conspiracy, as opposed to the one-episode wonder of freaks or monsters etc. The film gets off to a great start – the early scene where a man calmly waits for the bomb 2 feet in front of him to explode to destroy the alien evidence is creepy and tells the audience immediately just how important the contents of the building are. After this point it keeps the momentum fairly well but doesn't manage to ever feel like it's not something we've seen before in the series.This might not be a problem for most people but for those who have issues (or are totally unaware of the series) then it is easy just to see this as part of the series rather than a stand alone movie experience. That said, it does have elements that show it to be of a grander scale and it does fill out the screen quite well. The best thing it does is manage to have a constant uneasy feeling over the lengths that the conspiracy will go to – whether it's the bombing or the sealing of a scientist in a tomb, it all feels scary. The downside of this is that the film can't capitalise on this as really this feeling works best as part of an ongoing series than just a film which requires an ending.There are a few funny moments (Mulder taking a leak on ID4 is the best) but the film does keep the drama up quite well. In terms of performances, Duchovny can do this stuff in his sleep and at least is open to a little mocking of Mulder in his performance. Anderson seems to have been a little short changed and is treated as a secondary character – she spends a lot of the film shouting gruff instructions `don't think, just pick up the phone and make it happen' etc. Support from the usual X Files characters are all good although with some of them you do wonder why they bothered for all the screen time they had.Overall this film will be liked by fans and should do the job for those (like me) who take a passing interest in the series. As a film it is not perfect and is perhaps a little too familiar for my tastes, but seen as a big screen episode of the series it works just fine.
7 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Fans will enjoy it for sure, others not so sure, 16 May 2008 Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois
If you remember a little decade called "The '90's", you'll definitely remember that The X-Files was one of the biggest shows of that decade. The X-Files had so many different fans, I have to admit that I was a fan, not so much to the extent as many others were, but I enjoyed the show. However, I think because my friend rubbed it in my face so much of how much this show was the best television show to ever hit the air waves, I steered clear of the movie. But I was renting movies the other day and came across The X-Files, and figured to just give the movie a shot, it's been how many years since the show ended? But I watched it last night and I liked the movie. I think the only thing is, is this was a movie that was definitely made for the fans and no one else, because if you didn't watch the show, you won't get into the movie.Mulder and Scully are on the case again after they learn of a deadly "virus" that is killing off the planet. Of course the government is covering it up, making it seem like it's more of a terrorist or a horrible flu. Mulder wants to make the truth known, but Scully has just given up, that is until she is attacked by a bug carrying the virus and Mulder will not give up on her. He saves her, but she needs more strength if they are to make it out of this situation alive.The X-Files the movie is a cool sci fi film, if you are not a fan or didn't watch the series, there is a small chance you'll get into the film. But this was a definite treat for the fans, this is the film they wanted and as much as I hate this saying, The X-Files is just an extended episode with a bigger budget, but it's still a cool film. I liked it, Mulder and Scully always provide perfect entertainment and I just love Mulder going into his infamous speeches of "the truth is out there", so over dramatic, but you gotta love his passion in it. The X-Files is worth the look, it's a fun film and is cool sci-fi.7/10
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