The X Files

1998 "Fight the Future."
7| 2h1m| PG-13| en| More Info
Released: 19 June 1998 Released
Producted By: 20th Century Fox
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
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Mulder and Scully, now taken off the FBI's X Files cases, must find a way to fight the shadowy elements of the government to find out the truth about a conspiracy that might mean the alien colonization of Earth.

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Director

Rob Bowman

Production Companies

20th Century Fox

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The X Files Audience Reviews

Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.
Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
eric262003 What could expect from creator Chris Carter's "X-Files: Fight the Future"? We've got lethal aliens attacking dating back before human civilization came into fruition. Then there's a federal building getting bombed. Government conspiracies run are a prominent feature here. Alien viruses are beginning to materialize. Bureaucratic officials are coming in to look into the case. But the most important feature here that stands among the rest is the search for the truth.Even though there are many aficionados who are die-hard fans of one of the longest running television shows in North America, and though I was a fan of the show, I never regarded myself as obsessed with the show. When this movie came out in 1998, I knew what I was walking into, but I still came in with an open mind and accepting for what I had paid for. The transition from the small screen to the big screen was very smoothly executed, and while still remaining true to the series in all its shape and form.Keeping to the tradition of the series i tact, we have our two FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigating paranormal traces, UFO and alien findings and conspiracies brought on by the government. Since its debut in 1993, creator Chris Carter gave us a series that inspired us to look deeper in the world we live in and realize that there's more truth underneath than what is seen through the naked eye.The movie follows up as their fifth season comes to the end and we find Mulder and Scully piece together an enigmatic connection between alien attacks, a federal building bombed, a deadly alien virus and government conspiracies. The intentions of keeping its viewers guessing was intended by Carter who also produced, wrote the screenplay and co- wrote the story and director Rob Bowman who during its run has directed several episodes of the series. The heart of the series between the good chemistry Duchovny and Anderson is still strong plus the fact that Mulder and Scully remain platonic to each other making their partnership all the more believable. Even when the government issues to have the X-Files division shut down, the duo still remain by their side. When Scully's life is in danger, Mulder does everything he could to rescue her. And for those trying to get into the series, the character development is well executed. And the idea of trust what you see over what you hear is told brilliantly. Continuity is an essential commodity in keeping the movie true to the series and here it's executed perfectly. We ask ourselves why is the Cigarette-Smoking Guy (William B. Davis) the pivotal man behind the conspiracy? Why is the Well-Manicured Guy's (Sir John Neville) purpose? Why are the Lone Gunmen on the government's trail? Martin Landau is a standout in his performance as Dr. Alvin Kurtzweil an man who has a link to Mulder's father's past and Blythe Danner is also remarkable as FBI Judge Jana Cassidy who adds on more conspiracy theories than what the government has in store.If there were any weaknesses to the story the graphic images of violent alien attacks, cringing autopsies, and noise enhanced explosions deterred what could've been a potentially uplifting film. some of these attacks look like they were taken out of the pages of "Alien" and was only there just for the sake of adding shock value. All in all "The X-Files: Fight the Future" is great for those who have been a fan of the series and can be seen as a collectible for those who love a good sci-fi thriller. It's great that it has returned recently and Mulder and Scully are still just as effective today as they were when they started back in 1993.
n-mo X-Files episodes almost always fell squarely into one of two categories: the Monster-of-the- Week standalone case file story, or the "Myth-Arc" episodes that explored the cover-up conspiracy Mulder and Scully spent their careers discovering. A feature film adaptation of a TV series, to succeed (from an artistic point of view), generally needs to scoop up and coalesce as many elements as possible to give a good snapshot of the "spirit" of the show. X-FIles: Fight the Future tries to do that but was doomed to fail from the start: the MotW and Myth-Arc episodes were of such radically divergent spirits that with other leads they almost (but not quite) could have worked in separate universes altogether.Ultimately they went the road of the Myth-Arc type, though they tried to incorporate some MotW motifs in there as well, notably with the subplot of "Scully in danger" that became a staple of the MotWs beginning with the very first one ("Squeeze"). But it seems almost like an afterthought tacked on to the end, and given how far the overall story had come by this point novice viewers simply weren't going to make sense of this. Understandably the film had to tie into the show, but this was far from the most satisfying of the Myth-Arc installments. If only the show's earlier seasons had gotten higher ratings the seasons 2-3 trilogy of "Anasazi," "The Blessing Way" and "Paper Clip" would have made for a much more understandable feature film, despite their solid Myth-Arc qualification.Back to this one. In general the plot is thin and in some places incoherent: the progression of events surrounding Mulder getting the blame after being the only one who made the right guess and Scully's reassignment hearings isn't logical at all. The production team and the actors are, of course, as good as ever but they really don't have a lot to work with. Setting the film across multiple locations was clearly like a last-ditch attempt to make something big out of a story that, despite spanning vast areas of the globe, ultimately feels so small.Ultimately this film has its place - though not especially high up there - in the X-Files continuity and canon, but is scarcely "worthy" as a feature film. It doesn't stand alone and it certainly isn't "epic." It's still true to the spirit of the show but without capturing the fullness of that essence. In the end, it leaves a fan like myself just... indifferent.
zkonedog For nearly all successful television dramas, there comes the conflict of when the show should end. For most of the X-Files' first few seasons, show creator Chris Carter imagined the show running five seasons, then spinning off into a series of motion pictures (much like the original series of Star Trek). However, with the Fifth Season of the X-Files garnering the best ratings in the show's history, it became obvious that the FOX network would do anything it could to bring its most successful hour back.Now, what does that above statement have to do with this movie? During the promotion of the movie, the creators touted it as giving "all the answers", essentially the be-all, end-all of the X- Files' many plot lines. Because of the show's tremendous popularity, however, the writers/producers could not put all their cards on the table quite yet. Despite clearing up many questions surrounding the Syndicate's involvement with the alien colonists (more specifically, how colonization will occur), this movie did not, by any means, provide ALL the answers, and was heavily criticized (even in these reviews) for it. In fact, just as many loose ends were brought up as were tied off.So, why does this movie still get a five-star rating from me? Because, despite its false- advertising, the movie still contains every aspect that made previous seasons of the X-Files so great: thrilling action, mind-bending plots, and witty, sardonic humor. Plus, as fans found out in the next two seasons, the X-Files still had many more great stories to tell. Ending the series with this movie would have cheated its loyal fans out of some more great drama. Though I will admit that the show drastically changed when it returned after the movie, many viewers (including myself) find the later seasons to be just as thrilling as the earlier fare.Overall, this is a great movie for any fan of science-fiction. As unbelievable as this may sound, this movie was the first X-Files fare of any kind I ever saw (imagine my confusion!), yet it still hooked me enough to become an avid follower, proving that you don't have to be an uber-fan to appreciate this film.
tiskec Who doesn't like Fox Maulder and Dana Skully? The X-Files has to be the best TV-series of the 90's. In fact, it's still hard to beat. It's one of the best acted and mystery shows I've ever seen. There are very few, if any TV shows that could match up. I liked the Genuine feel of the show. Also, the scripts get really deep into detail of the current case (X-File) they're both working on. Each case involves some unsolved, unanswerable conclusion which pertain to myths and legends. The show is also very scientific and uses strong facts in each episodes story-line. Not only was the writer of the X-Files very imaginative, but knowledgeable and intelligent as well. Super intelligent to interweave scientific facts into a mystery based FBI-fictitious script. I would definitely recommend this TV series to anyone. The X-Files never fails to entertain. That's for sure.