THE X FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE

RYAN: “The X Files: I Want to Believe” is the second movie based on the popular TV series starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, who are both back.

CAROLINE: Neither of us watched the show, but this movie pretty much stands on its own and we heard it didn’t require knowledge of the TV series. But as I was watching it, I definitely felt like I’d be having a better viewing experience if I were more familiar with Mulder and Scully and what they’d been through in the past.

RYAN: Yeah, I kept wondering about their past relationship with each other, how involved they’d been romantically, etc. You pretty much figure it out but I would have liked to know their history better. I found myself thinking, “Wow, I should really have watched this show.”

CAROLINE: I have many observations to make. The first is that David Duchovny is still very hot, but Gillian Anderson not so much, not that she was ever known for her hotness. I found her annoying in some scenes though. She has this speech affect with the letter “S” that really bugged me.

RYAN: What most burst my bubble about this movie was that I was so excited to see a science fiction film, but it’s much more of a thriller with a character who claims to be psychic.

CAROLINE: That was about as paranormal as it got. I was expecting aliens. Isn’t that what the TV show was all about? This movie was much more like “Untraceable.”

RYAN: It’s definitely “Silence of the Lambs”-ish, and very disturbing and gross in some scenes.

CAROLINE: I wouldn’t say I didn’t like the movie, but I wasn’t quite as engaged as I’d hoped to be. The story was decent, but so not what I expected. Basically, it just felt like a longer episode of what the TV show must have been like. And I thought it took a long time to get to the meat of it. So to speak.

RYAN: Ew. I didn’t mind that, because I liked the whole trying-to-figure-out-what’s-going-on aspect. One thing I didn’t love was the editing of the film. It bounces back and forth too quickly between Mulder and Scully’s plot lines. I was like, “Can’t we just stick with one character for a chunk of time and then go to the other?”

CAROLINE: I’m a little surprised at the movie’s PG-13 rating given all the bloodiness and severed limbs. I love how in this day and age in our country sex and profanity are the biggest taboo and will get you an R rating, whereas scenes of torture and mutilated body parts are fine for PG-13.

RYAN: It’s ridiculous. I love Amanda Peet who’s also in the movie. She’s hot and she did a great job as a tough FBI chick.

CAROLINE: She was fine but I’m sort of annoyed by her after seeing her on Letterman this week bitching about how cold it was to shoot in Canada. I was like, “Honey, get over yourself. You’re a movie star. Cry me a river and deal with the chilliness.”

RYAN: Seriously. I suspect she knew it was going to be cold when she read the script. Bottom line?

CAROLINE: I’d recommend this movie for fans of the TV series. I’m actually interested in going back and seeing some old “X Files” episodes just ‘cuz I enjoy David Duchovny so much and I appreciate the whole FBI angle. Maybe I’ll rent the DVDs.

RYAN: The show airs on Sci Fi Channel.

CAROLINE: Ooh, good to know! I have to say, this movie really wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be much more alien-ish and supernatural. Instead, we just got an FBI murder movie.

RYAN: I think it’s a clear case of the movie not living up to our expectations, though I don’t regret seeing it. It’s not a waste of time or anything. And I’m sure fans of the TV show are eagerly anticipating it, much like how we felt about “Sex and the City: The Movie.” But I was definitely hoping for more of a science fiction movie. Maybe I had it all wrong, and the original show was more like “Law & Order” with a supernatural twist.

CAROLINE: I used to see aliens in the commercials though.

RYAN: Oh well. It is what it is.