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X-Files: I Want To Believe - Ultimate X-Phile Edition (The)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Shane Roberts & Noor Razzak (21st January 2009). |
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The Film
 After FBI agent Monica Banan (Xantha Radley) is abducted, investigating agents Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) and Mosley Drummy (Xzibit) are contacted by an ex-priest Father Joseph Crissman (Billy Connolly) who is claiming to have had psychic visions giving him clues to Banan’s whereabouts. Not having any experience with or believing in paranormal phenomenon they contact two ex-agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who used to investigate the X-Files. I want to start by saying that I’ve been an "X-Files" (1993-2002) fan since the very beginning, almost since before the beginning actually when I saw (in July or August 1993) a segment on "Entertainment Tonight" covering new season shows and "The X-Files" was the only show of its type at the time. After previewing a scene of some FBI agent called Mulder in an early episode featuring a possible UFO abduction and then describing it as a cross between "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977) and "Silence of the Lambs" (1991) I was pretty sure this thing was going to be something popular. I mention this because I seem to disagree with a lot of other (so called) long time fans including professional critics and online film buffs who struggled to find a good thing to say about this film. Sure, it’s one of the smaller scale standalone creepy killer/monster stories rather than a continuation of the epic alien invasion storyline (like the first film) that a lot of people were hoping for and expecting. Funnily enough, during the series it was the horror episodes that were often the best and most popular apart from the early ones, it was the alien conspiracy that caused a drop in popularity in the later seasons because of its convoluted and frustrating storyline that was stretched out with not enough resolution. Creator, director and co-writer Chris Carter obviously chose a smaller, more character driven story partly because of his budget, but mainly because he wanted to concentrate on the Mulder/Scully relationship knowing that regardless of the popularity or box office return this would probably be the end of "The X-Files" (there’s an extra scene during the end credits that says as much). The performances are predictably strong from the leads Anderson and Duchovny as they know their characters so well but there’s also great supporting turns from Billy Connolly who, as Father Crissman, makes a man guilty of reprehensible crimes quite sympathetic, and Callum Keith Rennie who has been so good in his recurring role as a Cylon in "Battlestar Galactica" (2004-Present) and is again playing a villain and is excellent. Of the other two main characters FBI agents Whitney and Drummy Amanda Peet is really good with what she has to work with but her character is underwritten and Alvin “Xzibit” Joiner is totally miscast. He was okay in films like "xXx 2: State of the Union" (2005) and "Gridiron Gang" (2006) but there’s just no way he’s believable as a highly trained government agent… unless the FBI are hiring gang bangers now. After 200 odd TV episodes "The X-Files" feels naturally at home on the small screen and hopefully now that this film is on disc it will find its intended audience and be appreciated for what I think it is, not a classic episode but a really solid one and a pretty good, if a little disappointing, end to a great show. This Blu-ray disc includes two versions of the film, the original "Theatrical cut" and an "Extended cut" that runs three and a half minutes longer and includes an alternate closing credit sequence.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.40:1 this image is mastered in high-definition 1080p 24/fps and has been created using AVC MPEG-4 compression. Much like all new releases this HD image is incredibly good. The picture is about as perfect as you can get; it's sharp and wonderfully detailed right down to the stubble on people's faces, textures look good and skin tones appear natural. Grain is minimal, blacks are deep and feature no noise, shadow detail remains consistent throughout and colors look accurate to the aesthetic palette of the film. The image is clean without a single flaw that I could detect, Fox has done a brilliant job with this reference quality image.
Audio
Three audio tracks are included in English DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 surround mastered at 48kHz/24-bit as well as French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its DTS-HD track. The film is not your typical summer blockbuster, which means there's little in terms of spectacle action scenes, the film's sound is more focused on mood and tone and the mix brilliantly does so. Dialogue is clear and distortion free, ambient and environmental sounds are well mixed within the sound space and helps to immerse the viewer. The film's iconic music also comes across well and adds a further layer of depth. Optional subtitles are included in English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin and Korean.
Extras
Fox has packed this "Ultimate X-Phile Edition" with extras that include an audio commentary, a 3-part documentary, deleted scenes, two featurettes, a gag reel, two theatrical trailers, a series of galleries and a collection of exclusive extras such as a picture-in-picture commentary, an interactive chronology as well as BD-Live content and finally the second disc includes a digital copy of the film. Below is a closer look at these supplements. DISC ONE: First up is the feature-length audio commentary by screenwriter/director Chris Carter and co-writer Frank Spotnitz. These two provide a rather informative and interesting track even though Spotnitz doesn't add too much. Carter drives the track commenting on returning to the "X-Files" world one more time, comments are made on the script and story that was chosen as well as reuniting with the cast and crew among other things. Overall it's a fairly good, if ordinary track. It would have been nice to include the participation of the lead stars of the film though... Following that are 3 deleted scenes which include: - "Cheryl Cunningham Begs Scientists To Let Her Go" runs for 1 minute 30 seconds, this is basically an extended scene where Cheryl tries to get the scientists who have caged her to let her go by pleading that she wants to live. - "Father Joe Visits Scully At Hospital" runs for 1 minute 13 seconds, in this scene Scully confronts Father Joe about being in the room of her patient. - "Mulder Escapes From Car Wreck" runs for 3 minutes 7 seconds, Mulder digs his was out from under his overturned car in the snow and crawls to safety. The best extra on this disc is the "Trust No One: Can The X-Files Remain A Secret?" 3-part documentary, this in-depth feature can be viewed in parts or together with a 'play all' option. The documentary segments include: - "You Can Go Home Again" which runs for 29 minutes 1 seconds, takes a look at the development of the film and it's story, the filmmakers take us into the lengths they went to to keep the script as secret as possible so that there were no leaks. The clip features some informative interviews and footage from the pre-production stage. - "Misinformation" runs for 28 minutes 38 seconds, takes a look at the production of the film as we get a look at the shooting and best of all the fake stories the filmmakers leaked to the Internet to mislead people about the film's story. - "Don't Give Up" runs for 28 minutes 21 seconds, in this final section of the feature we learn about the film's post-production process, which includes editing and music among other things. "Chris Carter: Statements on Green Production" is the first featurette which runs for 6 minutes 16 seconds. Faced by our environmental crisis, films have traditionally had high wastage after production; but for this film the filmmakers endeavored to keep the production green and we get a look at how they achieved that in this clip. "Body Parts: Special Makeup Effects" is the next featurette which runs for 8 minutes 12 seconds and takes a closer look at the prosthetic and special effects used to create the various gory body parts for the film. We get a closer look into the effects shop and the talents that created these effects. Although brief this is a very cool clip. The disc also includes a fairly standard gag reel that runs for 9 minutes 49 seconds, and it includes the same old stuff; actors flubbing lines... it's pretty boring. Next up is the "Dying 2 Live" music video by the film's co-star Xzibit which runs for 4 minutes 3 seconds and doesn't really inspire any confidence in the performer, nor does it really fit with the whole "X-Files" style. Following that is 4 galleries, these are fairly in-depth galleries especially the Storyboards, the only problem I have with these is that the load time between images is slow and cumbersome, these include: - "Collectibles" which features 89 images. - "Concept Art" which features 16 images. - "Storyboards" which features 153 images. - "Unit Photography" which features 50 images. The film's original U.S. theatrical trailer is included on the disc and runs for 1 minute 26 seconds and the film's International theatrical trailer which runs for 1 minute 40 seconds. There are some Blu-ray exclusive extras on this disc that include: There's a Fox "BonusView" picture-in-picture commentary by screenwriter/director Chris Carter and co-writer Frank Spotnitz for profile 1.1 players or greater. Here you can view an cool video track that plays over the film. Delve further into the production with the features that include more interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. "The X-Files Complete Timeline" interactive chronology is a profile 1.1 or greater accessible extra that allows viewers to explore the complete timeline of "X-Files" history from. You can search by year, season or character in this detailed feature that will appeal to fans. There's some BD-Live content for profile 2.0 players only in the form of "Agent Dakota Whitney's Files" interactive portfolio, here you can page through the files of the FBI in incredible detail. The disc includes D-Box motion code enabled for those with the equipment to access it. The disc also includes a start-up bonus trailers for: - "Fox Digital Copy" spot which runs for 1 minute 3 seconds. - "Babylon A.D." which runs for 1 minute 57 seconds. - "The Day The Earth Stood Still" which runs for 1 minute 54 seconds. DISC TWO: This second disc includes a digital copy of the film for your portable media.
Overall
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