My Review (Contails Spoilers)

[Guest Frank L.]

I haven't been here for a while. Nice to see it hasn't changed. :)

Just saw The X-Files movie and I have to say I am disappointed. In another review I read (before I saw the movie): "after 6 years, this is what they came up with?" I feel the same way. The story wasn't scary or really interesting. As for the script, I expected a lot more from Carter and Spotnitz. It just isn't well-written. Lots of loose ends and plotholes. The 'Scully trying to save a child' storyline was only there to mirror the acts of the villains. And I thought this when it was announced, and after seeing the movie I still do: why did they cast Xzibit? He's a bad actor. Any other unknown actor with some acting lessons could've pulled off the part. Xzibit didn't.

Amanda Peet was good,

but they killed her character for no reason at all.

I also wish the movie had a better ending. There is no setup for another movie. Mulder and Scully are still 'drifting', without anything to do. That's a feeling I had thoughout the movie. Mulder and Scully didn't have anything to do. They are as lost as the audience, in a case that didn't really make sense. At least not as much as I hoped.

I do hope they make another movie. I hope they make Mulder and Scully more dependant on each other. There should be more chemistry, more moments between the two. Not just banter about a life they want, but can't get. I believe Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz are capable of so much more. At least, I want to believe.

(I'm sorry about that corny last line, but I couldn't help myself)

[Guest Laurent.]

Lots of loose ends and plotholes.

Maybe I missed a few, but I didn't spot many plot holes. Or at least none that can't be easily filled by my imagination! In fact, a lot of details of the story are very well hidden. I think it was brilliantly written.

Would you mind elaborating on the plot holes and poor writing?

[Guest Frank L.]

A few things I was unhappy with:

- Suddenly all charges against Mulder are dropped, because he has to evaluate a priest?

- If the Russians didn't want to get caught, why bury the severed arms, instead of incinerating them?

- No real motivation for the Russians. We have to guess at it. Why women? Did they find them by looking at their medical bracelets? Aren't there many kinds of these bracelets? How did they know those women had the rare bloodtype they were looking for?

- Why did the priests' eyes start to bleed? I had the feeling it was just put in because it's a nice and scary image.

- Mulder just happens to stumble upon the man they're looking for. And the man in the shop said there was going to be bad weather, but that didn't happen. That could've created some (extra) tension.

- Scully has to Google for stem cell procedures? That's ridiculous.

- The 'Samantha conversation' was lame. There was no connection to her. I don't know why they brought that up.

- Amanda Peet's character dies and we never hear anything about her again. It's like she never even existed.

- Skinner was used badly. He just pops up 10 minutes before the end as 'some FBI bigwig'.

One of my favorite scenes was the one where they're in bed together (and no, I'm NOT a shipper). But even that scene was destroyed by the awful mention of William. Carter and Spotnitz knew they had to mention him, but they didn't want to do anything with it.

It seems as I'm enjoying this: bashing the movie. I'm not. I wish they'd made a great film. I have been one of the biggest XF fans in the world. And I'm not just saying that. It's true. I have been obsessed for many years. I used to read episode guides and essays on the mythology before going to bed. I still can give you summaries and names for all the episodes. But this movie wasn't good and it sure wasn't The X-Files I used to love.

[ethsnafu]

Dear FrankL,

I have edited your post to obscure the plot points you discuss as I am unsure how many of our members are yet to see the film and are still endeavouring to remain spoiler free. Whilst it is logical to assume that a review thread will contain spoilers it is perhaps better to err on the side of caution as members frequently wander into topics without realising that spoilers are to be found. I am sure it is only a matter of time before all have seen this and such precautions will not be necessary.

Best wishes,

Eth

[Guest Frank L.]

Yes, ofcourse. I'm sorry I didn't do that myself.

[Guest betweenthelines]

I didn't have a problem with

Scully using Google. It's possible that she was trying to find information to give to the boy's parents. Not to mention that Google Scholar is a recommended tool for research . . .

That said, I do agree that the

Samantha scene was strange. Mulder found out what happened to her (in an episode called 'Closure' no less) so why must we hear about her again?

[Guest Laurent.]

Frank L: I agree with some of your points, especially how Mulder stumbles upon the bad guy in the shop.. what are the chances of that happening?

But I covered some of the other points in my analysis of IWTB, it's being discussed in several posts here.

I'll copy/paste some short arguments here, but I'd like it if we could move the argumentation to the other thread if you want to reply. Just for the sake of clarity.

In my last two posts on the other topic, I covered the William/Samantha mentions and Skinner's appearance.

About Skinner, he was brought in because no one cared about Mulder in the FBI (logical, Peet's character even said she wasn't very popular for bringing him in) and Skinner was the one man in position of power M&S could still trust, here's what I said:

The other point I wanted to discuss is Skinner's involvement. A lot of regular fans (as opposed to obsessive fanatics) thought the character came out of nowhere just for the sake of reunion. I think his short appearance manages to give the character some sort of emotional closure, similar to what Mulder had in FTF. Here's the parallel I made:

-In the second season of the show, Scully is abducted in front of Mulder. Mulder tries to find her, yet fails, but she is eventually brought back to him.

-In Fight the Future, Scully is kidnapped again and this time, Mulder gets to save her and it all ends with a "hug scene" in the snow.

-In the second season after the movie, Mulder is abducted in front of Skinner. Skinner tries to find him, yet fails, but he is eventually brought back.

-In I Want to Believe, Mulder is in danger again and this time, Skinner gets to save him and it all ends with a "hug scene" in the snow.

And about the William & Samantha mentions:

Both characters needed something, a motivation, to force them into the story of IWTB. Why does Scully care enough about the young boy's life to defy the priests and go against her hospital's administration? William. Why is Mulder so obsessed with disappearance linked to the paranormal? Samantha.

They both have lost so much (almost every single fight they've been in) and that is their motivation. Not giving up; that's what the movie is all about. Putting the faith themes aside, they want to believe that they can save these people lives even though they've lost loved ones before. They want to believe that their obsessions are not useless. That's what drives these characters. It had to be mentioned!

In the same optic, I know that "Samantha's effect" on Mulder's behavior was well described by Scully in one scene. But I prefer the way that Scully's motivation are explained, and it's a lot more interesting in fact. I just love the scene where Christian's mother ask Scully to give up on the treatment as she does not want to let her son go through the pain for nothing. She tells Scully that she would understand if she had a child (ouch! & a great look in GA's eyes). Scully then explains that she (wants to) believe the treatment could work... and that's enough to change the mother's decision and in fact, it would be enough to change almost any parents opinion. Thus explaining why Scully, who's so personally involved in the case because of William, is ready to go through such great length to save Christian's life. A motivation reflected (through a dark, disturbing mirror nonetheless) in the kidnapper's intentions.

Whaddaya think?

edit:

As for the russians' motivation; the dying man had lung cancer, inoperable I guess, so out of love, his husband kidnaps innocent people so that he can have a body transplant. Mulder says that their was several bodies buried in the snow... someone pointed out that if you look closely to the article Scully finds, it says that the transplanted bodies cannot last very long. So they have to make several painful procedures, kind of like what Scully has to do with Christian.

Father Joe's bleeding eyes; my best guess is that their is some symbolism to it. Maybe a link to stigmata. Or it's just to show that their is indeed a paranormal force at work and to add a bit of a "cool" and "shock" factor to the movie.

And I also agree with your first two points.

[Guest Frank L.]

Frank L: I agree with some of your points, especially how Mulder stumbles upon the bad guy in the shop.. what are the chances of that happening?

But I covered some of the other points in my analysis of IWTB, it's being discussed in several posts here.

I'll copy/paste some short arguments here, but I'd like it if we could move the argumentation to the other thread if you want to reply. Just for the sake of clarity.

In my last two posts on the other topic, I covered the William/Samantha mentions and Skinner's appearance.

About Skinner, he was brought in because no one cared about Mulder in the FBI (logical, Peet's character even said she wasn't very popular for bringing him in) and Skinner was the one man in position of power M&S could still trust, here's what I said:

And about the William & Samantha mentions:

Whaddaya think?

edit:

As for the russians' motivation; the dying man had lung cancer, inoperable I guess, so out of love, his husband kidnaps innocent people so that he can have a body transplant. Mulder says that their was several bodies buried in the snow... someone pointed out that if you look closely to the article Scully finds, it says that the transplanted bodies cannot last very long. So they have to make several painful procedures, kind of like what Scully has to do with Christian.

Father Joe's bleeding eyes; my best guess is that their is some symbolism to it. Maybe a link to stigmata. Or it's just to show that their is indeed a paranormal force at work and to add a bit of a "cool" and "shock" factor to the movie.

And I also agree with your first two points.

Wow, that's the best analysis I've read so far. Knowing this, I can say that I really liked the Mulder/Scully moments in the film, but wasn't interested in the

'Frankenstein'

storyline. About the

bleeding eyes

, you say: "my best guess is...". That's one of my biggest problems with IWTB: not much is clear. I know... it's still The X-Files, most of it is unexplained. But the script could've cleared up a lot of things.

About Skinner, I agree with your argument, although they could've introduced him earlier. If only by name. Amanda Peet's character could've said in the beginning of the movie: "Skinner mentioned you, that's why I wanted you on this case", or something along those lines to Mulder.

I absolutely love your remarks on William and Samantha. The dialogue is still unnecessary, but the scene where Scully tries to persuade Mulder to help on the case does show her picture. That is an indication why Mulder goes back. I hadn't thought of the Mulder-Samantha, Scully-William connection. Nice work! The movie just got better for me.

[Guest Laurent.]

About Skinner, I agree with your argument, although they could've introduced him earlier. If only by name. Amanda Peet's character could've said in the beginning of the movie: "Skinner mentioned you, that's why I wanted you on this case", or something along those lines to Mulder.

I absolutely love your remarks on William and Samantha. The dialogue is still unnecessary, but the scene where Scully tries to persuade Mulder to help on the case does show her picture. That is an indication why Mulder goes back. I hadn't thought of the Mulder-Samantha, Scully-William connection. Nice work! The movie just got better for me.

Good idea about Skinner! I think they wanted to bring him in with a "BANG! SKINMAN IS BACK!" feel... but that way it seemed a bit forced. Especially because fans did not know if he was still alive or working for the FBI. A mention from Peet's character would have nicely cleared things up before his appearance.

I'm glad you like the movie better now. There is so much to analyze in this movie. The only sad part is that the "first viewing entertainment value" is not that impressive... But the more I look into IWTB, the more I like it. I can't wait for the movie to come out on dvd now!

[ethsnafu]

Hi gang,

I have edited the title of this thread alerting members to the spoilers within. This should make it easier for you all to post without having to worry about obscuring the points you wish to make.

Best wishes,

Eth