The X-Files: I Want to Believe (Single-Disc Edition)

Location: Home » video » General » The X-Files: I Want to Believe (Single-Disc Edition)

Similar Items:

•	The Dark Knight (Full-Screen Single-Disc Edition)
•	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Single Disc)
•	The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
•	Hellboy II: The Golden Army (3 Disc Special Edition)
•	Wanted (Single-Disc Widescreen Edition)

Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
The feature film The X-Files: I Want to Believe is a satisfying if unspectacular installment in the X-Files series, taking place an unspecified time after the show's nine-year television run. Former agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is now a doctor, while Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is being hunted by his former agency and living in seclusion. He and Scully are summoned back by a case involving a missing agent and a former priest (Billy Connolly) who claims to be able to see clues to the agent's whereabouts psychically, though his initial search turns up only a severed limb. Don't expect the usual cast of characters; the FBI has completely turned over (except for the George W. Bush portrait), and the only reason Scully and Mulder are back is because agent Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) remembers his success on similar cases involving the unexplainable. Don't expect the same rogues' gallery either; unlike the previous X-Files feature film, which was inextricably linked to the series' convoluted mythology arc (and served as a bridge between the fifth and sixth seasons), I Want to Believe is a stand-alone piece that makes use of the series' roots in horror/sci-fi and moody Vancouver, B.C., locales. Also unlike the previous film, which was almost self-consciously shot for the big screen, this film is on a smaller scale, like a double-length episode of the series. But it's still a good reminder of the creepy vibe that hooked fans for years. And the relationship between Mulder and Scully? It seems to have resumed pretty much where it left off, at least when you take into account the long period of separation. But stick around for the end-credit sequence to take in all the possibilities for the future. --David Horiuchi

Beyond The X-Files: I Want to Believe on DVD

Stargate SG-1 on DVD

Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVD

Stargate Atlantis on DVD

Stills from The X-Files: I Want to Believe (Click for larger image)

Customer Reviews: Read 105 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

"I think it's the darkness which always finds us, Scully." -- Mulder July 26, 2008
59 out of 63 found this review helpful

Much like the first theatrical outing for Mulder and Scully, this will disappoint some for what it is not, and others for what it actually is. It is very much the type of stand-alone story which used to be squeezed between the conspiracy and mythology episodes. The problem presented by the avenue chosen by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz is that after so many years have passed, fans aching for what The X-Files did best will be confronted by a dreary and snowy low-key and intimate story which while excellent on its own, is not what fans had anticipated.

That being said, I do believe, however, after the initial shock, and perhaps after a second viewing, fans will embrace it for Carter's courage to once again fly in the face of the powers that be and tell an often creepy stand-alone story showing how the darkness always found Mulder and Scully, and how it was having each other to lean on which helped each keep their faith. It is almost as if this is a segue to something more on the horizon. For even within the confines of a story which does not deal in the slightest manner with any of the X-Files mythology fans have hungered for, there are portents.

Beginning with both Mulder and Scully leading very different lives than those we came to know, Carter uses the darkness to bring them back together. It is a kidnapped F.B.I. Agent and a Bureau ready to forgive Mulder for his many indiscretions if only he will help work with the psychic who may or may not be genuine which starts things rolling. Scully's need to help a young boy with an incurable disease and the relationship of our favorite F.B.I. couple, even though neither works for the Bureau anymore, gets as much screen time as the premise, which is like a creepy episode rather than a feature film.

Duchovny and Anderson are still fabulous together, perhaps even more so in a somber and low-key outing such as this. The intimacy and history of the couple is what the film is about, and how faith can be restored even amidst the darkness which always found them, and sometimes kept them apart. This really plays better as a small screen episode of the show, but because we have missed Mulder and Scully for so long, it gets an A.

There are references to Mulder's sister, the alien abduction which haunted and drove him in his quest for the truth. It is a story line we thought wrapped up. Now that is unclear. Carter did say in an interview about the film that no one ever really dies for good on the show. And though the film itself has dealt in absolutely no way at all with X-Files mythology, what should show up as a background to the closing credits? Black oil, that's what. And it ain't Texas tea. It is worth seeing if only for a very touching and tender moment between Mulder and Scully near the end. It is the kind of intimate conversation which made the show better than anything else we got to watch during its long run.

The story itself might have been better as an episode of the show, and those who venture into theatres expecting something grandiose after all this time will certainly come away wondering if it was worth the wait. Fans of the show, however, were fans because of the relationship between Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. So if you go in knowing that this is that sort of episode, in which the case is only an excuse to bring them back to who they were, then you'll enjoy it much more. It has much more in common with "Beyond the Sea" or "Irresistible" than say, "Nesei" and "731."

See it on the big screen to show support, so we can have more, but know you'll probably enjoy it more on your set once it comes to dvd.

5 out of 5 stars

I will always believe!! September 22, 2008
21 out of 22 found this review helpful

Mulder and Scully are back...and that's incredibly awesome!!!
I think it was a shame this movie didn't get the attention it deserved when it was released. I believe that the studio's poor promotion and the unfortunate date of release --THE DARK NIGHT's SUMMER-, among other external conditions didn't help it attract more viewers. But now that this fantastic 3-disc edition is here, there is no earthly excuse to not watch Mulder's and Scully's triumphal return.

Give this movie a chance if:

1)You were a fan back in the 90's --oH THOSE HAPPY DAYS!--.
2)You are sick of flat characters who never actually grow up, grow old and /or mature.
3)You are in the mood for an intelligent little movie and you have had your share of CGI and exaggerated action sequences -that, let's face it, turn out to be a whole lot of nonsense most of the times-.
4)You want to be captivated by 2 of the most representative characters in TV history.

Give it a try, re-watch some of the tv series'episodes, get in the mood and enjoy!! Remember the Truth is out there...and we want to find it in a third movie. I waited 6 years for this one, I hope I won't be waiting that much for an XF3!!!

3 out of 5 stars

I wanted to believe that this film would be better, but . . . July 28, 2008
12 out of 16 found this review helpful

sadly, this is just a good, expanded episode of the incredibly creepy, well-cast, original TV-Series.

Loyal fans will eat it up, but I think more objective ones will be asking, "Is this it after all these years?" I couldn't wait for this film to come out as I greatly miss the series and thought a series of films would do this old show some justice, but this film is rather clunky, slow, and laborious at times. Series creator, writer and director Chris Carter just seems to have lost something and maybe that's what the "X" in X-Files now stands for, the missing ingredient.

I won't reveal much of the plot here other than what most are already aware of and that is that an FBI agent is missing, a possible psychic may lead them to her, and Mulder is asked to help and if he does so, then all will be forgiven. Personally, I have a problem already with the script as I NEVER saw where it was really needed to bring in Mulder at all. There is NOTHING with this case that ONLY Mulder could help with, but, I guess, it serves the purpose to bring him out of self-imposed "retirement" after his trumped up charges by the FBI at the series end.

Okay, with that little having been said, here are my hits and misses:

The HITS:

1) It's admittedly great to see Mulder and Scully back together again and they've lost little of their chemistry in the down time.
2) The acting is first-rate by Duchovny and Anderson and it's hard to reconnect with a character one hasn't played in about 6 years.
3) The dialogue between Mulder and Scully is dead on and the dialogue between Mulder and everyone else is hysterical much of the time. Duchovny's deadpan delivery combined with Mulder's anger and sarcasm is gut-bustingly funny.
4) The story is typical X-Files stuff.
5) There is a nice examination into people's motives, what we fear, what we love, and so forth. It comes off as honest and not preachy.

The MISSES:
1) The film is VERY slow moving.
2) It feels like nothing more than an expanded episode of the series, the major problem with most TV-Series to film adaptation. It seriously lacks the punch of the last X-Files film which was excellent.
3) I mentioned this earlier, but it bares repeating here: The reasons given and the case itself don't really appropriately support the summoning back of Mulder. I, we the audience, deserve something grander here. Maybe if a series of FBI agents were kidnapped or all disappeared at once, but the lone agent disappearance and the use of a psychic just don't seem enough to me to explain Mulder's presence.

Overall, the film was okay, even good, but it was a disappointment. I can only hope that this was the first of a series of X-Files films to come and they simply created an excuse to bring back Mulder and Scully. Maybe now, after re-connecting at the bureau and solving the case, they will be called upon more often in some manner. I'm game for that!

1 out of 5 stars

Big Disappointment October 5, 2008
12 out of 22 found this review helpful

I am a huge X-Files fan and have been waiting for this movie for way too many years. It simply did not work. The things that made the series so wonderful such as the relationships between the numerous characters weren't there. Most of the characters weren't even there! Skinner had a scene or two at the end of the movie. Scully appeared irrational, if not downright emotionally unstable.

The case that brought Mulder out-of-the-woodwork was too unbelievable and uninteresting to be the basis for a good movie.

I do not feel like this was an X-Files movie. There were some feeble attempts to make it seem like it was by mentioning some psychics in previous episodes (stand alone episodes that are truly worth relishing) and Mulder's sister but it only made me wish I was at the theatre watching the original television series or the first movie instead of this embarrassing and tedious attempt to bring back Mulder and Scully.

4 out of 5 stars

I want to believe that they will get the chance to make another one September 14, 2008
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

Scully (Gillian Anderson) convinces Mulder (David Duchovny) to come out of hiding to help the FBI as a liaison to a psychic priest (Billy Connolly) who may hold the key to the whereabouts of a missing agent (Xantha Radley). The secret of the agent's disappearance involves grisly medical experiments in the snowbound wastes of Virginia.

This film was clearly shot on a budget, but I did not miss the big CGI spectacles that we now expect from summer movies. The focus is properly placed on the relationship between Mulder and Scully. The theme of faith (in whatever form it may take) has been explored several times in the TV series and appears again here. This film was not a big success, ether critically or financially, but I hope creator/director Chris Carter gets the chance to make another one. It has been reported that he wants to shoot a story dealing with the alien invasion date of 2012 that was mentioned in the series, but I would like to see a story that leads Mulder and Scully to search for their son, William. It would provide an intensely human story and resolve a plot thread that was not dealt with adequately in the TV series.

Powered by Associate-O-Matic

T-shirts, Posters

Pentagram T-shirts, bags, etc...

Gothic Posters