X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE - No, You Don't!

THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE (sci-fi thriller)
Cast: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amamda Peet, Xzibit and Billy Connolly
Director: Chris Carter

Time: 105 mins

Rating: * 1/2 (Out of 4)

Duchovny and Anderson

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? Like 'Sex In The City', here's another remake of a hit TV series. And unlike 'Sex In The City', this one sucks big time. Why? Because fans of the series will find it lame, tame and predictable, and non-fans will be wondering what the fuss (over the sci-fi series) was all about.

It is supposed to be a big screen version of the X-Files but instead of giving us a plot that we can chew into, we get something that looks like a mediocre 45-minute TV episode s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d to almost twice its length.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? At the start, we find Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) no longer with the FBI. Scully now works at a hospital, trying desperately to save the life of a boy with brain disease; while Mulder is in 'hiding' from the authorities. The FBI, led by agent Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) and Agent Mosley (Xzibit) are looking for a woman agent who has gone missing and they have the help of a priest (Billy Connolly as Father Joseph) to trace the agent.

The FBI agents have trouble believing Father Joseph - and yes, they need Mulder to help with the case. And Mulder needs Scully to 'help' him with his case!

HITS & MISSES: The 'X-Files' were supposed to be creepy tales involving extra-terrestrials and strange phenomena. Here, the biggest puzzle (for the audience) is why they need to have Mulder back in a case that merely involves credibility. Sure, the box-office lure of X-Files is the combo cast of Duchovny and Anderson but the plot is just something like a case from 'CSI'. There's no twist, no real climax and nothing to justify a big screen remake. Just cliches that seem to have been borrowed from 'Silence Of The Lambs' and 'Seven'.

Director Carter continues the relationship between Scully and Mulder - and again it leads to the same 'conclusion'. The one performance that stands out is that of Connolly who provides the mystery of the title 'I Want To Believe'.

THE LOWDOWN: The Truth Is Still Out There. But Who Cares?