The Film
This second feature film based upon the popular Fox TV series finds former FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny)--a disgraced borderline nut-job--and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) pursuing civilian life with varying degrees of success, only to be called back into duty when another fed goes missing. Their expertise in unexplained phenomena comes in handy when fallen pedophile priest (Billy Connolly) claims to have psychic powers that can help solve the case. Mulder embraces the weirdness, Scully remains skeptical, and their relationship is profoundly challenged as the mystery unravels.
This was not a particularly epic tale that was begging to be told, especially if we've already seen the somewhat similar Silence of the Lambs (this movie adds a sci-fi twist), rather it plays like an extended, big-budget television episode, but with X-Files creator Chris Carter at the helm, the pacing is brisk and the plot engaging. The Blu-ray offers both the Theatrical Version and Extended Cut of the movie, a difference of about four minutes.
Check out Joe Lozito's original review of I Want to Believe here.
The Picture
I "believe" the movie was shot in a combination of Super 35 (film) and HD video, presented here at 2.4:1 with a definite softness to the image. There is video noise/grain throughout, intensely bright scenes can look a bit artificial, and darks can be alternately mushy or twitchy, with textures of any real depth (grass, looser-weave clothing) that can appear as if tiny bugs (sent by aliens?) are scurrying all over the surface. This is a 50-gigabyte Blu-ray disc so we can't really blame any of the problems upon excessive compression.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundstage is exploited in frequently subtle ways, all channels working together without a lot of flash. Sure, there are helicopters hovering loudly behind us, dogs barking in the background and other environmental touches, but it's more "alive" with quiet presence than ear-catching. Mark Snow's musical score is well-utilized for dramatic effect, in outstanding fidelity, and dialogue is always clear, but as I said I Want to Believe plays a lot like a TV show, except with a more favorable ratio of standing-around-talking to action. A D-BOX Motion Code is provided right on the disc, for home theaters with D-BOX gear installed.
The Extras
Most of the bonuses are shared by both the theatrical and extended versions of the film, with a couple of exceptions for technical reasons. On the extended cut only, the audio commentary from director/writer Chris Carter joined by writer/producer Frank Spotnitz is also available as a BonusView Picture-in-Picture commentary as part of the In-Movie Features, which also include scene-specific "making of" clips (we're pulled out of the movie for them, then dropped back in) plus storyboards and concept art on screen, all with a running index of what's available at any given moment. The 5.1-channel isolated music in Dolby Digital is exclusive to the theatrical, but it's actually a weird sort of hybrid M&E (music and effects track), with sounds like footsteps and doors opening in there, too
All the rest is accessible from either version: three Deleted Scenes in high-definition, the feature-length "Trust No One: Can the X-Files Remain a Secret?" documentary (86 minutes, HD), the eco-friendly "Chris Carter: Statements on Green Production" (six minutes, HD), "Body Parts: Special Makeup Effects" (eight minutes, HD), the "Gag Reel" (ten minutes, HD) and Xzibit's minimalist "Dying 2 Live" music video with static scenes from the movie (four minutes, HD). In addition to the still galleries and trailers, the disc serves up "The X-Files Complete Timeline," from pre-history thru 2008, with sections for Seasons One to Nine of the show plus both movies, an amazing, accurate multimedia presentation indexed by episodes, characters, keywords/themes and more, as well as the interactive "Agent Dakota Whitney's Files" which lets us click through various detailed dossiers. A BD-Live update is available so we can create a virtual "agent" ID, hook up with other fans and solve new cases. After the update, we can access the BD-Live content via the disc's special features menu. A funny Easter egg is also hidden in the menus.
Disc Two is a DVD containing a Digital Copy of the Extended Cut for iPod, PC and portable Windows Media players.
Final Thoughts
2008 was a strange time to release another X-Files movie, considering that the show went off the air in 2002 and the last movie was a decade ago, but if it made perfect sense it wouldn't be a mystery, would it? Stranger still is the iffy video quality, but the depth and quality of the supplements make me want to explore.
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