X-Files: Fight the Future
I remember watching this film the night of the premiere. Despite having missed a number of episodes in the fourth and fifth seasons due to a fading interest in non-mythology episodes, I was drawn to the possibilities of a big-screen resolution to any number of questions. OK, so answers were few and far between, but that was easily my favorite film of 1998. Before I bought any of the episodes on video, I had the film. Ironically, this was the final addition to my franchise DVD collection!
As an aside, as one might expect, "Fight the Future" was very important to my interpretation of the mythology. Even though I've been threading my ideas about the mythology throughout my reviews for the episodes, the intersection between the film and the mythology begs for a deeper analysis. So I touch on the tapestry of the mythology along the way. For those who have read my fan fiction (or may be interested), a lot of elements are outlined in the various sections for the film.
Here's my review page for "X-Files: Fight the Future":
http://www.entil2001.com/series/x-files/ftf/ftf.html
Overall, the question is whether or not the film succeeded in what it tried to accomplish. The answer is a qualified “yes”. The film introduced the series and the characters to a much wider audience; the number of fans who cite the film as their first experience with “X-Files” is a testimony to that fact. It also marks the end of the series’ mythology as it was first conceived; none of the extensions to the mythology arc following the film seemed nearly as well-considered.
The writing, as noted, is a matter of feast or famine. “Fight the Future” has some of the best character work for Mulder and Scully, because it is the logical extension of the best moments between them over the course of the first five seasons. But the Syndicate and the conspiracy scenes aren’t given enough context to make sense, and the third act is riddled with plot holes the size of the “mothership”.
Afforded the opportunity to shine on a wider canvas, Duchovny and Anderson deliver iconic performances as Mulder and Scully. If the characters were somewhat less complicated to allow for fresh audience members, then the actors gave the performances the context necessary for the more experienced fans. One can watch the film simply for those two performances.
With more money and time to spend on the production, the film looks like the idealized form of the series. While the plot doesn’t always allow for huge effects shots, there are some beautiful moments, enhanced by color and light textures that look like nothing else on film. Some shots are oddly underwhelming (the first shot of Cancer Man comes to mind), but those are rare moments.
In terms of content, this film has something for everyone. The ‘shippers within fandom essentially got what they wanted, within reason: confirmation that Mulder and Scully had thought about taking their relationship to the next level. Mythology fans were given most of the major answers and enough room to maneuver to keep several theories alive and well.
The biggest problem is the fact that the series couldn’t fully integrate the film into the continuity because the writers couldn’t assume that the television viewers had seen the film. Thus it seems extraneous, given that the series went on for four more seasons and dealt with all the issues raised in the film in some other (often redundant and inferior) fashion. The result is a good film for X-Philes that is, unfortunately, all too easy to overlook.
As an aside, as one might expect, "Fight the Future" was very important to my interpretation of the mythology. Even though I've been threading my ideas about the mythology throughout my reviews for the episodes, the intersection between the film and the mythology begs for a deeper analysis. So I touch on the tapestry of the mythology along the way. For those who have read my fan fiction (or may be interested), a lot of elements are outlined in the various sections for the film.
Here's my review page for "X-Files: Fight the Future":
http://www.entil2001.com/series/x-files/ftf/ftf.html
Overall, the question is whether or not the film succeeded in what it tried to accomplish. The answer is a qualified “yes”. The film introduced the series and the characters to a much wider audience; the number of fans who cite the film as their first experience with “X-Files” is a testimony to that fact. It also marks the end of the series’ mythology as it was first conceived; none of the extensions to the mythology arc following the film seemed nearly as well-considered.
The writing, as noted, is a matter of feast or famine. “Fight the Future” has some of the best character work for Mulder and Scully, because it is the logical extension of the best moments between them over the course of the first five seasons. But the Syndicate and the conspiracy scenes aren’t given enough context to make sense, and the third act is riddled with plot holes the size of the “mothership”.
Afforded the opportunity to shine on a wider canvas, Duchovny and Anderson deliver iconic performances as Mulder and Scully. If the characters were somewhat less complicated to allow for fresh audience members, then the actors gave the performances the context necessary for the more experienced fans. One can watch the film simply for those two performances.
With more money and time to spend on the production, the film looks like the idealized form of the series. While the plot doesn’t always allow for huge effects shots, there are some beautiful moments, enhanced by color and light textures that look like nothing else on film. Some shots are oddly underwhelming (the first shot of Cancer Man comes to mind), but those are rare moments.
In terms of content, this film has something for everyone. The ‘shippers within fandom essentially got what they wanted, within reason: confirmation that Mulder and Scully had thought about taking their relationship to the next level. Mythology fans were given most of the major answers and enough room to maneuver to keep several theories alive and well.
The biggest problem is the fact that the series couldn’t fully integrate the film into the continuity because the writers couldn’t assume that the television viewers had seen the film. Thus it seems extraneous, given that the series went on for four more seasons and dealt with all the issues raised in the film in some other (often redundant and inferior) fashion. The result is a good film for X-Philes that is, unfortunately, all too easy to overlook.
posted by John Keegan | 19:22
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home