Blu-ray Review: The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Release Date: December 2nd, 2008
Running Time: 104 minutes

The Film

The X-Files is a television icon—a series that redefined what it meant to make a show about conspiracies and aliens. It also contained countless award-winning, memorable monster-of-the-week episodes that scared viewers on a weekly basis. Lasting nearly a decade, the only show that has come close to matching its intrigue has been Lost. It has been years since viewers have joined Mulder and Scully, and their memories have begun to fade. The X-Files: I Want to Believe is an admirable attempt to resurrect the franchise for a broader audience, but ultimately lacks the “wow” factor that made the series so popular. Still, this doesn’t stop it from having an impressive, stacked Blu-ray.

The film picks up six years after the end of the series. Former FBI Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are in vastly different places. Scully has continued her medical career at a hospital, and is particularly involved in the case of a young boy suffering from a fatal brain disease. Meanwhile, Mulder has holed himself up close by in a house, tacking various supernatural clippings to a board and sporting a vicious beard while hiding from the FBI. Actually, Mulder hasn’t changed that much at all. FBI Agent Mosley Drummy (Xzibit) approaches Scully because they want to find Mulder. They need his help. An Agent has disappeared and the FBI is using the services of an ex-priest pedophile, Father Joseph Crissman (Billy Connolly), to help locate her. He claims to have psychic visions and they want Mulder to verify or deny his psychic ability.

Scully talks to Mulder, but he only agrees to help if Scully joins him. They meet up with Special Agent in Charge Whitney (Amanda Peet) and check on Crissman. Scully is repulsed by the man and is convinced he is a hack. She wants nothing more to do with the case and would rather focus on helping her patient. She cannot be around “the dark” that comes out of working on these cases and cannot be with Mulder as long as he is doing that type of work. Unfortunately Mulder becomes consumed with the case, and wants to find out for certain whether Crissman is psychic. As more victims pop up and Crissman helps them find various body pieces, Mulder uncovers a horrific plot and has to rely on the help of Scully and an old friend before he becomes the next victim.

I Want to Believe has nothing to do with aliens or conspiracies. It is basically an elongated, self-contained episode. This both helps and hurts the film. On the positive side it is fantastic to see Mulder and Scully back together again. Duchovny and Anderson haven’t missed a beat, and still retain their undeniable chemistry. Likewise, Connolly is fantastic as the priest struggling for redemption. The case is generally creepy as well, but it isn’t meaty enough for feature-length, making the pacing too plodding. This cuts out much of the suspense associated with the series. Scully’s subplot involving her sick patient is excellent character work, but it is also distracting and again hurts the pacing of the story. The end of the film is freaky, but it takes far too long to get there with too few legitimate scares. As great as it is to see this world and these characters again, I couldn’t help but feel like they deserved something more.

The Blu-ray contains both the Theatrical and Extended cuts of the film. I never saw the Theatrical cut, but I am guessing the Extended cut contains a lot more of Scully’s subplot, as well as some more language and gore.

The Disc

The video is presented in a 2.40:1, 1080p High Definition transfer. Fine detail looks awesome in close up shots. It could have been slightly improved for the environments, but there is still a good amount of depth to the image. Black levels, which are very important due to the many dark scenes in the film, are strong throughout and show a lot of clarity in the shots. Likewise, white levels don’t blow out detail, letting you see fine textures in the snow, etc. Colors are natural. It is not the brightest palette, but when a bold color does pop up, it is very rich. I did not notice any compression artifacts or print damage. Overall the image is very strong while still retaining a film-like quality through a minor layer of grain.

The audio is offered in an English DTS 5.1 Master HD Lossless audio track, as well as Spanish/French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with English/Spanish/Korean/Mandarina/Cantonese subtitles. This is a track of subtlety. The score is definitely the star of the show, displaying a great dynamic range through deep bass rumbles, and crisp highs heard in the classic X-Files theme. The front channels are the most active when it comes to panning effects, but they aren’t used that often. Atmosphere comes from the rear channel when necessary, but again it is not something that is active throughout. Most importantly the dialogue is pitch-perfect and balanced. The mix is very unassuming, never drawing much attention to itself, but it is still a good complement to the video.

The Extras

Commentary is offered with Director Chris Carter and Producer Frank Spotnitz. The track is a bit of a bore from an energy level perspective, but Carter and Spotnitz are very thorough in their discussion. Hardcore X-Files fans should eat it up. The commentary can also be viewed through Picture-in-Picture.

A Bonusview Picture-in-Picture track allows you to watch the film with behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, and stills relevant to various scenes spliced into the experience. An Isolated Score track is available as well.

The disc has a very unique BD-Live feature called “The X-Files Dossier.” The highly interactive feature lets users create their own Special Agent and sift through Agent Dakota Whitney’s case files regarding clairvoyance. You can post your thoughts and theories online, and see other users’ info as well. The feature lets users try to solve various cases and is supposed to be updated frequently with new content. Bravo to Fox for truly catering to the fanbase.

“Trust No One” is a massive, 85-minute documentary that is broken into three segments. Interviews with the cast and crew express their hesitation and worries about revisiting the franchise after so long, as well as how they managed to keep the plot a secret from the rabid fans. Most of the time, however, is spent discussing the actual production from the writing process to the filming. With tons of information from the four major players of The X-Files, this will answer pretty much any questions you have about the production. The only thing disappointing about this documentary is that none of the interviews were conducted after the film’s release so it lacks any retrospection.

“Chris Carter: Statements on a Green Production” (6 minutes) is a very interesting and admirable segment with Carter explaining all of the steps they took to be green during the production.

“Body Parts: Special Makeup Effects” (8 minutes) features Makeup artist Bill Terezakis giving a tour of his workshop and explaining some of the techniques he used to create the practical effects seen in the film.

An Interactive Timeline allows you to search through the history of The X-Files and features over 80 video clips.

The Deleted Scenes section runes 6 minutes. The scenes do nothing but slow down the already tepid pacing of the plot.

A 10-minute Gag Reel offers some laughs.

The disc finishes off with the “Dying 2 Live” Xzibit song set to a still montage, Still Galleries, Domestic/International Trailers, and a Digital Copy of the film.

Final Thoughts

The X-Files: I Want To Believe doesn’t represent the best of the franchise, but it’s not the bomb critics suggested either. With a solid technical showing, and plenty of in-depth and unique special features, the disc is a worthwhile purchase for Mulder and Scully fans.