Movie Review: The X Files (1998)

The movie stars David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, William B. Davis and Blythe Danner.

I came across this film on one of our movie channels a few days ago and, since my wife is a big X Files fan and we were looking for a movie to watch later than evening anyway, I decided to record it.

It was my first time actually seeing this movie and, not being a big X Files fan myself (I've only seen maybe a few episodes and the 2008 sequel to this film), I wasn't really sure what to expect from it. As it turns out, it was better than I was expecting.

The film itself is obviously geared more toward the die-hard fans, with a variety of characters from the television series that the average non-fan would have troubles identifying. As a result of this, I'm not sure it would be a film that everyone would enjoy. However, as I did watch it, I found it had some redeeming traits to it.

One thing, in particular, I liked about this film was the pretty interesting sets and special effects. While I wouldn't say they were the most believable I've seen, they were effective. This included mutated bodies that made me regret eating while watching the film and a pair of unique buildings that turned out to be giant beehives. 

I also thought the overall plot was OK. While it was very similar to what I would expect to see from a series' episode, the main story, along with some of the mystery and suspense related to it, also worked in film form much more than I thought it would.

Probably my only real complaint about the movie is the ending, mostly because it just seemed a little too easy for Mulder (Duchovny) and Scully (Anderson) to escape and get the win in the process. Considering the end part of the film takes place in Antarctica (where some great science fiction/horror films, such as The Thing, took place), I really was, at minimum, expecting the location to play more of a role than it did.

As I said before, the movie is geared more toward fans of the series and might not be something everyone will enjoy as a result. However, in my case at least, I thought it was decent enough to be worth watching once.

My Grade: B