The X-Files 2

[Steph Cowley]

Don't know if anyone on here likes the X-Files but I'm a huge fan.
Have been waiting for a sequel to the first film for nearly 10 years, X-Files 2 is released on August 1st. AFAIK the plot hasn't been released yet, but a lot of rumours that it's conspiracy theory based are going around.
Creator Chris Carter and actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are back, as well as Mark Snow providing the score. If it's anything like the earlier seasons of the show it will be great.
But an X-Files movie is an X-Files movie and it will be good to see it, and who knows, perhaps it will provide a way back for the TV show.

[Claret & Blue Army]

Used to avidly watch it until they started mucking around with the main cast

[Steph Cowley]

I lost interest when Mulder left and Doggett and Reyes came in, although I still kept watching until the very end. I didn't pay that much attention to season 9 but I started watching it again the other day (waiting for my Season 1-9 + Movie Collector's Edition Boxset to arrive) and despite the lack of Mulder it is actually a lot better than I remember it. But nothing beats good ol' Mulder and Scully, and all the best eps are in the earlier seasons.

The rumours about the new film have changed in the last few days. It's now thought to be a stand-alone scary "monster-of-the-week" type film.
I enjoy both the "monster-of-the-week" and the Mythology (conspiracy-ish...Black oil, super soldiers etc) episodes, but the "MOTW" are mainly easier to follow, and would make for a better stand-alone film that anyone, even those who have never seen any episodes, could see and understand.

Now I've just got to find time to watch seasons 1-9, and the movie, before Aug 1st. Maybe I'll take a week off work for an X-Files marathon.

[Claret & Blue Army]

I generally preferred the type of episodes which featured the sort of hick backwater village type set ups, rather than the big corporate conspiracies. Not sure whether they were easier to write for but the end product was far superior

[Steph Cowley]

So The X-Files 2: I Want To Believe was released the other week, and it's an awesome movie! Worth the 10 year wait between the 2 movies and the 6 year wait since the show ended. It was like back to the good old days of the greatest episodes. It's good to have them back, even if just for the one movie....I know they all wanna make X-Files 3 though. Just hope it's not a 10 year wait this time!

It had a kind of very out-there storyline, but it wouldn't be The X-Files if it didn't. It kinda ended a bit quickly too, but I can understand that, I think 2 hours+ would have been too long for the casual viewer who just wanted to see a good movie.

I can't understand why it's flopped so bad (actually, I guess I can, it's cause an unbelievable amount of people actually listen to movie reviews instead of actually going to see a movie and deciding how good it is for themselves! it's like Hollywood not being able to form their own new stories....people can't form their own opinions)
So I'm still annoyed that there seems to be the whole mob mentality "they didn't like it so I don't either even though I haven't actually seen it" etc thing going on with it. But at the end of the day we still have a second X-Files film 6 years after the series ended....it's better than nothing. But, disappointment factor should not be part of the judging of the quality of the film itself.

You certainly need some intelligence to follow the film. One of the main things people are saying is wrong with the film is the sub-plot:

SPOILER: Click to show

So, the boy, Christian, who has Sandhoffs. He is Scully's patient, and throughout the film they go back to this so called "boring and not needed" sub-plot. Not needed? I've never heard so much rubbish. Without that sub-plot, Scully would never have researched stem cell treatments online, she would never have printed off the info about the experiments with putting a dog's head onto another dog's body and having them live (the "out-there" part of the film) and without all that the woman would have died, Mulder would have died, the Russians would have gotten away with it, and we wouldn't have got the awesome but all too short scenes with Skinner.
Ok Scully needing that research was a bit of a coincidence, and the printer stopping exactly on those pages was a bit unlikely....but it's not like that sort of thing doesn't happen in almost every movie. So yes, to the less intelligent people who think the investigators magically found out about the Russian doctors experiments (they are psychic, no doubt ) the sub-plot was "boring and not needed" But anyone with any intelligence would see that in actual fact it was some very creative writing from Chris Carter.

The sub-plot also added to both Mulder's and Scully's characters. It showed how much they have changed (or maybe not changed in Mulder's case) It gave them something else to focus on. It caused Scully to question herself. And it gave them an opportunity to discuss their son William (albeit briefly)
It was a touch of genius, yet it's why most people are saying the film is rubbish.

So, if you were/are a fan of the show, you should go and see the film. But don't expect aliens, super soldiers, the black oil and conspiracies.....expect a good thriller in the style of the "monster-of-the-week" episodes (Think Tooms, Squeeze, Leonard Betts etc) with a hint of the out-there/supernatural thrown in.

And one more thing.....if you stay until after the credits there is a small (but quite possibly very important) extra scene.