Review: The X-Files: I want to believe

Even die-hard X-philes will be sorely disappointed with the second big-screen installment of the cult TV series, writes Rashid Irani.

The X-Files: I want to believe
Cast : David Duchovny Gillian Anderson
Direction : Chris Carter
Rating : **

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We do still want to believe in the pop-culture phenomenon but the truth is even die-hard X-philes will be sorely disappointed with the second big-screen installment of the cult TV series.

Years after the 1998 original, the sequel reunites the two ex-FBI agents. He (Duchovny) has led a secluded life ever since he left the agency. As for his partner (Anderson), she’s now a surgeon at a Catholic hospital.

The ageing duo is called back into action when a federal agent is abducted. And body parts turn up in the snowy expanse with sickening regularity. Evidently, a serial killer is on the loose.

Debutant director Chris Carter tries to steer the story into pseudo-religious territory. Clues to the whereabouts of the abducted agent are provided by a defrocked, paedophilic priest (Billy Connolly) with psychic powers. Tell us another, please.

These supernatural shenanigans, accompanied by sloppy camerawork and editing, are frequently funny, unintentionally. The narrative is also cluttered with sub-plots like the one involving the fate of a terminally ill child.

Worse, there is zero chemistry between the two lead players. They can’t vault above the been-there-seen-that material, Scottish actor Billy Connolly and Amanda Peet as the FBI agent-in-charge, leave a marginally better impression.
In sum, the new The X-Files is un-X-ceptional.