The X Files: DIY Sex Change

Over the years there have been some captivating duos, Starsky & Hutch, Batman & Robin and even Jay & Silent Bob but none of them dealt with the ghouls of the night. During the 80's we all knew to call 'Ghostbusters' but during the 90's, something happened, FOX picked up a show that would become a worldwide phenomenon and whose names we would never forget; Mulder & Scully.

But ten years after the first feature film, the team returns with what could be their oddest outing yet. Known for being tight on its chronology and following a link of ideas searching for 'the truth' , the show stepped over boundaries that other writers only dreamt of. What added extra zest to the mixture was that not all stories were sci-fi bound and sometimes our friends at the FBI dealt with serial killers as well as aliens!

The new film entitled 'I Want To Believe' falls into the same category of the classic 'Monster of the Week' episodes, which don't follow the 'mytharc' of the show but instead allows the story to act as a stand-alone thriller. A good idea, I say, for Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz (Creators) as not only are the older 'X' fans going to enjoy this but also those unaware of the characters, stories and ideas established from the series.

So the film starts and to be able to see both David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reunited on screen together brings an instant smile. Mulder's grown a beard and Scully's working for a Christian Charity Hospital, how on earth are they going to don their FBI jackets again? Here enters Billy Connolly (Scottish Comedian) as the Rev Crissman, a 'recovering' paedophilic priest, of course he is a man of the cloth and the shock factor, he used to touch kids, I am sitting there just hoping there was a reason for that...

The story moves at differed paces throughout, fast for the capture of the FBI agent, slow for the reintro of our protagonists, slower for the Rev C and too fast for the introduction to the villains of the film... some Russians in a lab. This film does sound awfully clichéd, doesn't it? But it pays off when it comes to the chemistry with Mulder and Scully, they actually share a bed together... hang on they are together! It seems that over the nine seasons of the show, they never actually allowed the 'love' relationship to blossom but in the film we see that not only are they together but they bicker like an elderly couple over nearly everything!

There are a couple of faster scenes when Mulder is running around trying to find the Russian stealing organs which did keep you on the edge of your seat until the anticlimax of the death of another FBI agent... So to the end of the story, it turns out that female parts are being stolen from abducted women and attached to a man who is married to the man who was stealing organs and someone was touched by Billy C's character and someone dies of cancer and there is a car crash and another old character returns and all in all you are wondering, what?

Yes, this just seems to be an ad for Russian DIY Sex Change and yet I came out the cinema feeling all in all satisfied with the outcome. (I was slightly upset there were no aliens!) The acting from DD and GA was top notch and the support acting was skilled enough to keep the film rolling. Amanda Peet just made me want to watch 'Studio 60', Billy Connolly kept making me shout out his name in a bad Scottish accent and I was just wondering when Xzibit was going to 'pimp' Mulder's ride.

I would recommend you see this film, it's fun for the summer, it's easy to take the mick out of and after all that, you may actually enjoy it.