Cast: David Duchovney, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, Armin Mueller-Stahl
Director: Rob Bowman
Previews Shown: There's Something About Mary
A monumental task awaited Chris Carter and company upon announcement of, and making of, a movie version of the highly popular television series, X-Files, based upon the paranoia and conspiracist in all of us. The task, make a movie that
1) Will satisfy the legion of dedicated X-Philes, who would be ready to pounce, in a moments notice, if there were any slips, deviations, or sell-outs, to the Hollywood scene
2) Can stand alone, as a successful movie, for those who've never seen, or barely seen, the series, for financial purposes, this is key.
Those are tasks, and standards, that I would not want to try and achieve, but Carter and company plodded forward, and now, having seen the movie, have succeeded in a grand fashion, in my opinion. I am not an avid X-Files watcher (although I've always been a trust-no-one, doubt-the-system, waiting-for-little-green-men conspiriacist), so I could attest for the success or failure of point 2. The person I went to the movie with is a regular X-Files viewer (and constant devil's advocate on movie opinions, we are usually more opposite on movie opinions than if you sat Barbra Streisand and Spike Lee side-by-side at the same movie), so I could get the success of point 1 as well.
I don't explain plot lines, or plot points in my reviews (or at least try not to) but if I wanted to, I couldn't here. This is a complex plot, but the key is, that while it keeps moving, constantly going forward, it never seems forced, or unnecessary at any point. Everything that occurs, does so for a reason, everything links forward to the next scene, nothing is wasted here. All of the performances are dead-on, from a frantically paranoid Martin Landau, to a calmly powerful Armin Mueller-Stahl (still rolling after his amazing turn, and the best in the movie to me, in Shine), even a comically staid cameo from purported X-Phile Glynne Headly. Top to bottom, this movie works.
Now, from the fan perspective, my friend tells me, it works as well, they flow from the series, into the movie, and then by the end of the movie, leave the door open for the next season. There are characters, and references that only those who watch the series will know, yet a non-fan picks up quickly in the flow of the movie. This movie was intriguing, smart, and most of all, fun.
Overall, I recommend this movie for fans, and non-fans (it may convert you into one, as I know that if the series is anywhere near what this movie is, I'll be glued to my TV on Sundays), a definite see ASAP
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