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David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly, Xzibit ... see more see more... , Callum Keith Rennie , Adam Godley , Alex Diakun , Nicki Lynn Aycox , Fagin Woodcock , Marco Niccoli , Carrie Ruscheinsky , Spencer Maybee , Veronika Hadrava , Denis Krasnogolov , Patrick Keating , Roger Horchow , Stephen E. Miller , Xantha Radley , Lorena Gale , Donavon Stinson , Dion Johnstone , Sarah-Jane Redmond , Christina D'Alimonte , Vanesa Tomasino , Luvia Petersen , Babs Chula , Marci T. House , J.P. Finn , Beth Siegler , Stacee Copeland , Tom Charron , Brent C.S. O'Connor , Annie Abbott , Matt Adler , Wendy Cutler , Holly Dorff , Nicholas Guest , Claudette Wells , Bridget Hoffman , Karen Huie , Rif Hutton , Terence Mathews , Bob Neill , Paul Pape , Angelo Vacco

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprise their roles as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully with this long-delayed big-screen continuation that revives the series six years after it headed off the air in 20... read more read more...02. Creator Chris Carter returns to direct, co-writing the script with series veteran Frank Spotnitz for 20th Century Fox. Billy Connolly, Amanda Peet and rapper Xzibit co-star in the stand-alone sequel. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Flixster Users

34% liked it

247,327 ratings

Critics

32% liked it

159 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 44 min.

Directed by: Chris Carter

Release Date: July 24, 2008

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DVD Release Date: December 2, 2008

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Stats: 14,462 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (14,462)

  • jmanard52
    February 3, 2010
    jmanard52
    So-so two hour tv episode. . the entire plot was even more absurd i think in retrospect. . you def did not need any xfiles knowledge prior to this.
  • Deano78
    March 12, 2011
    Deano78
    I was a big fan of the TV series but missed some of the last two series. This is definitely set after the end of the last series, both agents are now doing other work and are no longer in the FBI, until they called upon to help with an X file type case. This could be viewed as a ... read morestand alone film on it's own if you never saw any of the TV series (Really?!) However it just plays more like an extended episode and not really the type of story line the fans want to see in an X files film. It's ok but wont satisfy fans that loved the show so much. There might be a 3rd next year!
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    January 28, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    Follow up to S Files: Fight For The Future is a different change of pace than the first Sci Fi Horror film that was so terrific to watch. Elements that made the first film so good are here, but they're watered down to make it less strainfull viewing on the viewer. The plot is mor... read moree simpler and feels more like an episode of the X Files, at least thats how they could have done it. Moulder and Scully are called back in service to help investigate a series of bizarre disappearances. The film is a fairly decent film, but there is a feeling that the script could have been reworked a bit before being being green lit. The acting is decent enough to keep you interested and the story is intriguing, but it misses a little something to make it a much better, more developed plot for the film. Obviously this sequel would not be as strong as the first X-Files film, but the filmmakers manage to make an entertaining Sci Fi/mystery horror film. A good film to watch, but the sequel suffers from a lack of creative original ideas. The film could have played out as a two part episode of the show. This type of storyline could have been better off as an episode than an actual film. But the film is entertaining somewhat, it's good enough to entertain you, but it doesn't do anything phenomenal with the overall script.
    The film overall lacks the Horror Sci Fi elements that made the first one great. Still watchable. Just expect something average while watching this film.
  • SirPant
    January 7, 2011
    SirPant
    I want to believe tackles some fairly big issues, I have to say I was quite pleasantly surprised. I missed the last few series of the X-Files but it didn't seem to matter, I'm glad they've moved the story on, this is still the X-Files, just a bit grown up. There are a few changes... read more I didn't like, it's a shame M & S didn't work together so much but it's forgivable, just as long as they make another one soon!
  • stevenecarrier
    August 24, 2010
    stevenecarrier
    Obviously, "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" is not a film for casual viewers since nine seasons of a television series and a previous feature film precede it, but as it stands, with all that baggage, it's a powerful experience. What fans get is more of an epilogue to the characte... read morers than a full blown 'x-file' case, which is fine, because the deep characterizations are emotional, complex and riveting. Gillian Anderson turns in one of her finest performances and the film is so well shot, edited, scored and directed that it enhances the mood and the creepiness of the case. I really enjoy this rich ending to an always rich and detailed series.
  • MissMorganLeee
    July 27, 2010
    MissMorganLeee
    Slow and Long. I got distracted and I just couldnt really pay attention. I do wish they still had the original series on tv...
  • guaybanex
    July 16, 2010
    guaybanex
    Unjustly ravaged by critics, its biggest crime is that it's about 10 years too late. Plodding direction aside, the actors slip into their roles nicely, the story is creepy and strange and the show's ability to always make you question any paranormal event is still there.
  • garyX
    May 17, 2010
    garyX
    The FBI bury the hatchet with Mulder when they need his help investigating the kidnap of a federal agent. Being a bit of a long term X phile I was quite looking forward to catching up with my favourite paranormal investigators again, especially since they decided to dispense with... read more the frustratingly over convoluted alien abduction storyline. I have to admit to a slight tingle when I heard that theme tune again and smiled at the sly references to the show when Scully and Mulder appear on the screen together again for the first time. All the best episodes of the show were usually the off-beat stand alone episodes that were done with witty irony and a sense of humour, but the plot to I Want To Believe unfortunately goes down the overly familiar serial killer road and aside from the macabre reason for the killers actions, it didn't really feel like an X-File at all. But by far the worst decision made was to separate the pair, with Mulder acting alone while Scully is sidelined in a tedious and irrelevant subplot as she once again goes through one of her periodic crises of faith. The fact that they are now involved also removes the sexual tension and amusing love-hate bickering which was always the real reason why the show worked so well, it being replaced with a dull domestic soap opera. It's well shot and the pair are still appealing but the plot is so very generic I couldn't help being rather disappointed. In the end it's just another serial killer movie.
  • ScoopOnline
    December 8, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    After watching the first one I hoped they wouldnt produce a sequel. I rented this one on DVD and like I expected, dissapoiting like the first one. I think sometimes some TV Shows shouldnt be filmed.
  • binky013
    December 1, 2009
    binky013
    For both this movie and the first feature-length X-Files film some ten years before, Fight the Future, the claim is made that you need know nothing about the original TV series in order to understand either movie. That's a question -- or rather a claim -- that I ca... read morennot come to terms over. I have seen every episode of the TV series multiple times, so I am in no position, objectively speaking, to argue either for or against that claim. From the moment you see Scully or Mulder on the screen, the entire mythology wells up in your consciousness, so you are absolutely aware of their history, and you cannot help but make connections with the fabled TV show. I would be very curious to meet someone who'd never seen the TV series and find out if that person believes that the two movies stand alone.

    Having said all of this, and if you're still following me, I have to say that as a wholly contained story -- which is what I truly want to believe -- I actually prefer Fight the Future to I Want To Believe. Let me quickly add that my favorite episodes of the TV show have nothing to do with conspiracy theories, Mulder's sister, alien abduction, or creepy black-blood crawly body invasion thingies. I absolutely came to hate those episodes over the full course of the series. What I prefer are the nearly self-contained episodes that present some odd phenomenon, have Mulder and Scully jump on the case, and have the story resolved by the end of the 60-minute episode or the end of a two-episode story. Most of these self-contained episodes are really very well-wrought gems.

    So why, you may very well ask, do I prefer the first movie, the one that deals with all the stuff I like least about the X-Files? This is a question which I cannot actually answer, specifically, but I think it may have something to do with Billy Connolly's character and with Dana Scully's terminally ill little patient. I like the weird Dr. Frankenstein transplant aspect of I Want To Believe, but I have a very strong suspicion, from a writing standpoint, that the whole Billy Connolly character may have been invented near the end of the creative process in order to fill out a story that may have been a little too thin and too short to begin with.

    Ask yourself this: What does Scully's very very very secondary -- almost tertiary -- story about the boy who needs radical stem cell transplant surgery have to do with the overall story? I would submit that if that whole sub-plot disappeared, the movie would be none the weaker for the loss. Just shorter.

    That leaves us with the crazy Russian Frankenstein types. What if Mulder and Scully stumbled across a frozen pile of body parts all by themselves, without any help from pedophile priest psychics? Or let's say an average guy doing a little beer drinking and ice fishing runs across this gruesome stockpile, starts reeling in an arm here and a head there. What would you have then? Well, I think you would have a pretty nifty little 60-minute TV episode.

    So the reason why I like the first movie more is simply this: It reads like a full-length feature story with all of its parts very well integrated. I Want To Believe, on the other hand, reads like a great TV episode that someone wanted to flesh out, by accretion of parts, by hashing stuff together into a full-length feature. You cut out the excess window dressing, and you'd have yet another very good self-contained TV show episode.

View All The X-Files: I Want to Believe (The X Files 2) Reviews

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones
December 9, 2008
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

Only a fan would be inclined to tolerate this dunderheaded mystery. Full Review

Richard Roeper
July 28, 2008
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

The movie gets into some pretty freaky territory in the third act, but for this casual fan of the series, it's a strong effort featuring some great characters.

Claudia Puig
July 25, 2008
Claudia Puig, USA Today

There may be no going back, as much as we might want to believe otherwise. Full Review

Peter Howell
July 25, 2008
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Astute readers will note that I have abstained from making cheap cracks about the I Want to Believe title, an almost superhuman feat given this movie's abundance of sheer nonsense. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
July 25, 2008
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

In the end it's all about these very full and rewarding lead characters. Full Review

Stephanie Zacharek
July 25, 2008
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Carter doesn't try to meet or exceed fans' expectations so much as create an intimately scaled dramatic universe for his fiercely beloved characters, Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, to inhabit, circa 2008. Full Review

Peter Travers
July 25, 2008
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

In not knowing who it needs to please, I Want to Believe pleases no one.

James Berardinelli
July 25, 2008
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Rather than providing a springboard to a movie franchise, this film puts the final nail in The X-Files' coffin. Mulder and Scully can now fade into pop culture history. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
July 25, 2008
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

The X-Files: I Want to Believe is atmospheric and moves briskly, but it's basically TV writ large. Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman
July 25, 2008
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

Most important, we get to see two gifted actors passionately revisit the roles that may forever define them. Full Review

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