The X-Files: From Franchise Phenomenon to Self Parody

2008-07-31 05:18:20

By Todd Murphy. ALL ABOUT MOVIES.NET

Fifteen years after the successful first broadcasts of the science-fiction phenomenon “The X-Files”, the second feature film based on the popular television series is released. The idea of seeing Mulder and Scully on the big screen as they investigate paranormal phenomena is always tantalizing to say the least. At the height of the success of the show, the episodes were cinematic in themselves and demanded constant viewing to keep up with the show’s engaging mythology episodes. After a long hiatus of six years while series creator Chris Carter and Fox settled a financial suit, The X-Files is back on the big screen and should have been cause for celebration for fans everywhere. However, about a quarter of the way through the new film, I Want To Believe, it becomes apparent that this film is not going to come close to delivering on its cinematic potential or what The X-Files is capable of giving us. When it gets to the half way point in the film, you realize you’re watching a film that has the production quality of a television episode. By the end of the film you think to yourself, “is this all they could come up with after six years in development?” Sadly, the new film is of the same quality as those episodes released in later seasons of the series; uninspired, unimaginative, flat, small-scale and un-engaging. Taking its queue from the monster-of-the-week stand alone episodes, “I Want To Believe” does not even deliver the scares the series made so popular and famous. In the end, the film, just as with the final four seasons of the television series, does much to tarnish the reputation of this iconic franchise that should have been allowed to go out on top instead of sputtering out in a whimper before the finish line.

When Chris Carter first created “The X-Files”, he ushered in a new era of science-fiction that had not been seen since the 1960’s with the phenomenon that became “Star Trek”. Although the shows have nothing in common aside from being classified in the science-fiction genre, they both established a sub-genre type with iconic characters that would be remembered forever; when a franchise becomes that big, more people are required to keep its creativity fresh and original. The disturbing aspect about the downward trend in quality of The X-Files is that creator Chris Carter oversaw all of it. As with Star Trek, the keeper of the flame, who in this case also ignited it, needed to hand it on to someone else. How do characters such as Batman and Superman endure for so many decades? New people come in and invent something fresh and original with those characters that has never been seen before. Have a look at Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight; the new Joker is still the Joker but not as we remember him. The problem with The X-Files is the problem that most franchises face when new blood is not brought in; it becomes stale, lacks originality and becomes boring. In this climate, the audience loses interest. Given how long the X-Files kept limping along after it lost its audience in those last few seasons, it’s a wonder that any one is still interested in this once unstoppable franchise.

The first X-Files film, Fight The Future, had its cinematic moments but ultimately it frustrated the fan base by not providing any more answers to the series’ complicated alien conspiracy mythology. By doing so, and despite its attempts to engage the cinematic canvas with grander visuals and themes, it just made itself another episode in the series with the only difference being it was released theatrically in to cinemas. The first X-Files film is a solid effort looking back at it, but it’s also a metaphorical bench post for the entire franchise. The first five seasons, including the first film, represent some of the best science-fiction ever made. Following the film from the sixth season of the series to “I Want To Believe”, the franchise deteriorates in to a pale shadow of its former self, almost to the point of self parody. Rather than going out on top, The X-Files started churning out episodes that left a bad taste in your mouth because of their lackluster, unimaginative quality, and thereby tarnishing its own stellar reputation as a franchise. I personally stopped watching the show regularly around the middle of the seventh season and I had not seen most of the eight or ninth seasons until I picked them up cheap on DVD; what I saw didn’t impress me. The T-1000 as Mulder’s replacement? Destroying the alien mythology arc only to replace it with a new one? Actors starting to look bored in their roles, having lost their interest in the novel story-telling that was a feature of the early seasons of the show? It’s inevitable that if the same creative team works on anything for too long, they’ll run out of steam. Season six onwards for The X-Files demonstrates this perfectly.

As a result of all this, the franchise that was once touted as one of the most important science-fiction shows ever made has lost its appeal and everything about the new film “I Want To Believe” encapsulates this notion. The film itself is nothing special or cinematic, and only the hardcore fans turned up to watch it. What could have been an opportunity to reignite the franchise is wasted on a retread of old ground. The X-Files became so dense in story that it needed to free itself from the confines of its history. In some senses, Chris Carter tried this in making “I Want To Believe” with its stand-alone episode structure but the film has no more scale than a double-episode from season eight or nine; it does nothing to ignite your interest nor remind you why The X-Files was so great in the first place. All I could think of when the end credits rolled on “I Want To Believe” is that the whole endeavor should be put to bed before some real damage is done to an otherwise brilliant franchise.


For the original article, click HERE.

Todd Murphy is a film analyst and staff writer/reviewer for the film and DVD review web site, ALL ABOUT MOVIES.NET.

Todd is also an administrator for the dating advice site APPROACHING SEXYWOMEN.COM and the financial web site, WEALTH-ADVICE.NET.