X-Files: I Want to Believe Movie Reviews

Hey, in case you haven’t heard, the second “X-Files” movie, “I want to Believe”, which features the long-awaited reunion of Dana Scully and her paranoid partner Fox Mulder, opens today in theaters all across America. Now the question is, is this the sequel we’ve all been waiting for ever since 1998’s somewhat incomplete “Fight the Future”? Not so much, says the movie critics at Rotten Tomatoes, where the film currently has (as of this writing) a fresh rating (i.e. thumbs up) of 28%. 28%!!! To put that in a little perspective, Paris Hilton’s combined movies have a rating of 25% freshness rating at RT.

The most common complaint about the movie seems to be the one thing director/writer Chris Carter was aiming for — a standalone “X-Files” story (i.e. Monster of the Week) that wouldn’t confuse non-fans of the long-running series. Well Chris, looks like it worked — the movie didn’t confuse non-fans, but it also didn’t have the fans jumping with joy, either.

Perhaps a reviewer for Bloody-Disgusting said it best:

The film is a slow burn, but the fire never catches on. It’s all talk, no action and is guaranteed to leave the audience with the worst case of blue balls they’ve had in years.

The Dark Horizons guys weren’t so into it, either:

Cheaply shot, discernibly under-written, decently acted, unimaginatively directed, and ultimately pointless.

Ouch. And these are the fanboy websites! These are the sites that are supposed to love the movie!

So who liked it? Some guy name Brian Orndorf seemed to think it was great:

Believe is not a feature that provides instant results; instead, even with a handful of faults, it gets under the skin, offering the faithful a rewarding odyssey with these unlikely knights of the unknown.

And the Salt Lake Tribune’s writer was all over it:

The movie delivers the same bracing blend of intelligence and adrenaline that made The X-Files such an enjoyable TV series.

“X-Files 2: I Want to Believe”, starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly, Callum Keith Rennie, Adam Godley, Xzibit, and Mitch Pileggi, and directed by Chris Carter, opens today.

more “X-Files: I Want to Believe” images at our movie gallery