The X-Files: I Want to Believe

The X-Files: I Want to Believe returns FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully to duty years after they left the bureau. When a fellow agent disappears, a former priest named Joseph Crissman comes forward claiming that visions are showing him images connected to the case. Mulder, long in hiding, is brought back to test whether the man's claims are genuine, while Scully, now working as a doctor, is drawn into the investigation as it widens. Chris Carter, who created the television series, directed the film and wrote the screenplay with Frank Spotnitz; both also produced it. It stands as Carter's first feature as director, followed later by The After and The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprise their roles as Mulder and Scully, with Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly, Xzibit and Mitch Pileggi among the supporting cast. It is a second cinematic outing for the characters, following an earlier film, and its story is built to work on its own. Made for thirty million dollars, it earned around sixty-nine million worldwide, a modest return for a release tied to a well-known franchise. On IMDb it holds 5.9 out of ten from roughly ninety-six thousand votes, and on TMDB 5.9 from a smaller sample; critics averaged five out of ten across 167 reviews, so audiences and critics landed in broadly similar territory, with viewers showing only limited enthusiasm.