Scully: I need this building evacuated and cleared out in ten minutes. I need you to get on the phone and tell the fire department to block off the city center in a one mile radius around the building. DON'T THINK! JUST PICK UP THE PHONE AND MAKE IT HAPPEN!
20th Century Fox Film Corporation presents a Ten Thirteen Productions David Duchovny Gillian Anderson "THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE" Mitch Pileggi Blythe Danner William B. Davis Armin Mueller-Stahl John Neville & Martin Landau as Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil Music by Mark Snow Special Make-Up Effects by Alec Gillis & Tom Woodruff, Jr. Co-Producer: Frank Spotnitz Edited by Stephen Mark Production Designer Christopher Nowak Cinematography by Ward Russell Executive Producer: Lata Ryan Produced by Chris Carter & Daniel Sackheim Screenplay by Chris Carter Story by Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz Directed by Rob Bowman
In an era when most Summer Event films combine the most elaborate special effects with the most insignificant story lines, it is indeed a slap in the face to the industry when a television series can show them how it show and can be done. This is no faint praise. "X-Files: Fight the Future" is so far the best Summer thrill ride.
The plot opens in the prehistoric past as two Neanderthal men run across the frozen tundra of Texas (!?) hunting down a strange creature. Finally reaching it's cave, the two Dawn Men search the caverns. One is attacked and killed by the unseen creature. The second Neanderthal, manages to kill the beast. But it is here that the mythology of the 'X-FILES' comes into play. The survivor is infected by the creatures blood, which swarms like leaches under the ape man's skin. We flash forward to present day Texas, where four boys are playing in a field, looking for fossils. One of the boys (Lucas Black of TV's 'American Gothic') falls into a cave and is, himself infected by the black blood.
Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are introduced while investigating a bomb threat at a Federal Building in Houston. Unable to stop the explosion from accruing, Mulder and Scully escape within a hares breath of becoming part of the rubble (a marvelously suspenseful scene that gives the viewer a real feeling of danger). Contact with the enigmatic Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil (played marvelously by Martin Landau), leads Mulder back into his old habits. The difference this time is that Scully is starting to believe as well.
I don't want to give away anymore of the plot as that would rob you of one of this summers most enjoyable thrillers. If you are a fan of the television series, I feel that you may be a little disappointed as the film answers some of the shows more interesting questions. But it also, brings up as many new ones. And that is as it should be. The never been an avid follower of the series, I believe that, that has changed for me. To say that the concept intrigues me is to be redundant. This is one of the most well thought out scripts of this year. Kudos to Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz for such fine writing.
The performances of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are top notch. Gillian proves more than worthy of the Emmy's she has won for her portrayal of the analytical Dana Scully. David Ducovny is no slouch either. Mulder develops into a more involved individual in this film. He is forced to become less of a loner. His self mocking and indifferent attitude about anything other than the X-Files is given a serious shock here. The chemistry between Mulder and Scully is, shall we say reserved romance. These two characters are obviously very fond of one another. I'm not going to say that Mulder and Scully consummate their relationship, but I can say that as of this film it is more than professional.
The supporting cast is equally good with surprising cameos by some very talented actors. Of course, William B. Davis returns as the Cigarette Smoking Man (I still prefer the moniker 'Cancer Man'), and is as sinister as he's ever been. But the big surprise is John Neville as The Well-Manicured Man, we get to know a bit more about this character here. And his change of heart (?) is nothing if not believable. The cameos by Blythe Danner, Glenne Headly and Terry O'Quinn are marvelous surprises and their brief appearances are wonderfully timed presentations.
Rob Bowman reveals himself to be a very strong director. His visual style is not intrusive, but at the same time carries a marvelous use of space and shadow. The cinematography by Ward Russel is sumptuous. You've never seen corn fields look this ominous. The collaboration between these two individuals has fostered one of the most enjoyable adaptations of a TV series since 'Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan'. The effects (both visual and physical) are stunning. It's almost impossible to tell where one takes up. This is seamless work and kudos go to all involved. A special note of praise to the make-up effects team of Alec Gillis & Tom Woodruff . They have done the impossible. They have given us an alien being that we have never seen before. One that you'll believe to be real.
"X-Files: Fight the Future" is just what we've needed this summer. A serious genre picture that does not dumb down to the lowest common denominator. This is as good a conspiracy film as "JFK", but fortunately not nearly as plausible. Or is it?!
By : R. L. Strong
Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup
Rating: 4
First, I am not a big fan of the X-Files TV series. I have nothing against it particularly, I just don't happen to watch it. Having said that, I can now say that I liked THE X-FILES pretty well. For us non-fans, there's nothing big going for it, but there are a lot of little things.
The movie opens on an ice cave in north Texas in 35,000 B.C. Two proto-humans enter the cave and find a space alien cocooned inside. The alien breaks free and kills one man in a struggle while the other is seemingly captured by the bloody ooze from the alien. The movie jumps to the same cave today where a boy (Lucas Black, from SLING BLADE) is captured by the same black ooze.
We then cut to FBI agents Scully and Mulder (Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny), who have been pulled off of their previous assignment (investigations into the paranormal) and put onto the bomb squad detail. A caller has threatened a federal building in Dallas, Texas. On a hunch, Mulder checks out the building across the street, and, wouldn't you know it, he turns out to be right. The FBI finds the bomb in time to evacuate but not in time to defuse. Five people die in the blast, and when Mulder learns who the victims were, a light bulb goes on over his head.
The two agents team up to investigate, against FBI orders, the links Mulder has made. Their search leads them back to the north Texas cave, all across the country, and even to Antarctica as they get closer and closer to "the truth."
The plot, and "the truth," are uninspired. I got the feeling that what I learned was supposed to shock and amaze me. It didn't. The possible existence of aliens on Earth has been explored so many times before in movies that one could hardly count them. But the point of THE X-FILES is not what the truth is, but the extent to which it has been hidden. It's a slightly more interesting angle, but it still raises expectations about that "truth" too high.
If this were the whole film, I would say the movie was mediocre, perhaps even boring. But there are other qualities that make me like this movie well enough to recommend it.
The pacing of the film was brisk enough to hold my interest. Before the audience can get tired of one location, the agents follow a hot tip to another location, and so on and so forth. The locations are not all computer-generated sets, either. There are some artificial settings, but the desert night of Nevada, the edge of suburbia in Texas, and the endless fields of snow in Antarctica (actually somewhere in North America.) make this fantastic film feel more real.
Ward Russell's cinematography is very good. The overall look is dark and ominous, appropriate to the intended tone of the film's plot. Russell is able to make something as innocuous as a cornfield look foreboding. When the movie is set in darkness, the picture quality is still rich and detailed. Finally, and specifically, there is an incredible shot at night in which the camera CROSSES the tracks in front of a fast oncoming train. I don't know if the shot is faked in any way, but it looks dangerous, and it looks great.
The movie's soundtrack is also used to convey the dark tone of the film.(SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU HAVE YET TO SEE THE MOVIE - THERE IS A SPOILER IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES.)During the opening prehistoric sequence, a howling wind dogs the soundtrack, never giving the characters or the audience an escape from the lonely terrible sound. In one of the movie's most effective sequences, metallic doors suddenly slam open to release a cloud of buzzing bees. The visuals of the scene are good, but what makes it so surprising and frightening is the sound.
There was no question as to who the movie's stars would be. Even so, Duchovny and Anderson are an interesting pair of actors and a good combination. Both are easy on the eyes and together, they have some good timing, banter, and energy. There is a hint of chemistry between them, but it never gets in the way of their professional relationship. They are like a couple of kids out exploring the empty lot at the end of the street. There might be some romantic interest, but for now they're more interested in their environs than they are in each other.
No single element really makes this movie outstanding - not even the sense of paranoia that makes the TV show so popular. But enough things were done right that THE X-FILES is one of the more interesting summer adventures to come along.
