first , i am not a big fan of the x - files tv series .
i have nothing against it particularly , i just do n't happen to watch it .
having said that , i can now say that i liked the x - files pretty well
.
for us non - fans , there 's nothing big going for it , but there are a lot of little things .
the movie opens on an ice cave in north texas in 35 , 000 b . c .
two proto - humans enter the cave and find a space alien cocooned inside .
the alien breaks free and kills one man in a struggle while the other is seemingly captured by the bloody ooze from the alien .
the movie jumps to the same cave today where a boy ( lucas black , from sling blade ) is captured by the same black ooze .
we then cut to fbi agents scully and mulder ( gillian anderson and david duchovny ) , who have been pulled off of their previous assignment ( investigations into the paranormal ) and put onto the bomb squad detail .
a caller has threatened a federal building in dallas , texas .
on a hunch , mulder checks out the building across the street , and ,
would n't you know it , he turns out to be right .
the fbi finds the bomb in time to evacuate but not in time to defuse .
five people die in the blast , and when mulder learns who the victims were , a light bulb goes on over his head .
the two agents team up to investigate , against fbi orders , the links mulder has made .
their search leads them back to the north texas cave , all across the country , and even to antarctica as they get closer and closer to " the truth .
"
the plot , and " the truth , " are uninspired .
i got the feeling that what i learned was supposed to shock and amaze me .
it did n't .
the possible existence of aliens on earth has been explored so many times before in movies that one could hardly count them .
but the point of the x - files is not what the truth is , but
the extent to which it has been hidden .
it 's a slightly more interesting angle , but it still raises expectations about that " truth " too high .
if this were the whole film , i would say the movie was mediocre , perhaps even boring .
but there are other qualities that make me like this movie
well enough to recommend it .
the pacing of the film was brisk enough to hold my interest . before the audience can get tired of one location , the agents follow a hot tip to another location , and so on and so forth .
the locations are not all computer - generated sets , either .
there are some artificial settings , but the desert night of nevada , the edge of suburbia in texas , and the endless fields of snow in antarctica ( actually somewhere in north america . ) make this fantastic film feel more real .
ward
russell 's cinematography is very good .
the overall look is dark and ominous , appropriate to the intended tone of the film 's plot .
russell is able to make something as innocuous as a cornfield look foreboding .
when the movie is set in darkness , the picture quality is still rich and detailed .
finally , and specifically , there is an incredible shot at night in which the camera crosses the tracks in front of a fast oncoming train .
i do n't know if the shot is faked in any way , but it looks dangerous , and it looks great
.
the movie 's soundtrack is also used to convey the dark tone of the film .
( skip to the next paragraph if you have yet to see the movie - there is a spoiler in the following sentences . ) during the opening prehistoric sequence , a howling wind dogs the soundtrack , never giving the characters or the audience an escape from the lonely terrible sound .
in one of the movie 's most effective sequences , metallic doors suddenly slam open to release a cloud of buzzing bees .
the visuals of the scene are good , but what makes it so surprising and frightening is the sound .
there was no question as to who the movie 's stars would be .
even so , duchovny and anderson are an interesting pair of actors and a good combination .
both are easy on the eyes and together , they have some good timing , banter , and energy .
there is a hint of chemistry between them , but it never gets in the way of their professional relationship .
they are like a couple of kids out exploring the empty lot at the end of the street .
there might be some romantic interest , but for now they 're more interested in their environs than they are in each other .
no single element really makes this movie outstanding - not even the sense of paranoia that makes the tv show so popular . but enough things were done right that the x - files is one of the more interesting summer adventures to come along .
Output: P