The X-Files: I Want To Believe

THE PLOT: Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) used to specialise in investigating the unexplained - as fans of the cult TV series will know.

But they haven’t worked together for years - he’s a bearded recluse these days and she’s a hard-working doctor at a Catholic hospital.

But when Father Joe (Billy Connolly), a convicted paedophile and supposed psychic, leads the FBI to a severed limb buried in the snow, agent Mosley Drummy (Alvin ‘Xzibit’ Joiner) asks Scully to re-establish contact with Mulder, believing he is the best man to advise them on the mysterious case.

Scully reluctantly agrees, and soon finds herself partnering Mulder, providing invaluable insights to Assistant Special Agent in Charge Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet), an ardent fan of their work.

While Mulder is fascinated by Father Joe’s visions from God, Scully remains sceptical. But with the body count rising, he remains their only red-hot clue.

THE VERDICT: The truth is out there . . . so you might as well know from the start. This is not a bad movie at all.

Thankfully, this sequel steers clear of the extra-terrestrial mumbo-jumbo which drenched the confusingly dull first big-screen outing, opting instead for a grittier, more grounded storyline.

There’s much more attention paid to the relationship between Mulder and Scully, and there’s no disputing the smouldering on-screen chemistry between the lead players, who slip effortlessly back into their most famous roles.

Larger-than-life Connolly is somewhat miscast as the odd priest, while Peet deserved a meatier role as the feisty new cop on the block.

This movie is at its best during the first hour, which features a promising opening and occasional flashes of brilliance. But the final third gets a little bogged down in bickering, and struggles to sustain the tension.

You don’t need to have been a loyal follower of the 1990s TV series to understand what’s going on, although newcomers to this universe of government conspiracies may struggle to make sense of some of the peripheral plot strands, like a reference to Scully’s son or the reappearance of a familiar face (described as “some big man from Washington”).

If the movies keep improving at this rate, X-Files 5 will be unmissable!

Review by the Shropshire Star’s Carl Jones - Star rating: 7/10

• Release Date: Friday 1 August 2008
• Certificate: 15
• Runtime: 104mins