The X-Files Movie - Special Edition

I think the term cliffhanger should be renamed "let-down" because the X-files series has explored the notion of there being something more to the FBI heirarchy than we are led to believe yet when we get too close, it sizzles and goes off on it's season tangent only to explore the notion again at the next "let-down".

What better way to salvage the series than to bring the dynamic duo to the big screen with a promise of "All things will be answered". Well, they are answered, but only with more questions. I suppose it's their own fault that the x-files is a series of TV shows rather than an epic sci-fi movie as you could summarise the plot of this movie and the previous episodes that it stemmed from into the space of 3 hours and have one hell of a cool movie.

Alas, we find Mulder and Scully on the trail of an FBI conspiracy leads them deeper into a world of the Extra Terrestrial. Mulders theory of an alien virus becomes fact when a program to equip bees with the virus for transportation goes wrong as scully is bitten. It is now a race to find the cure that only certain 'men' know of and to find Scully before it's too late.

I can't go into any more detail without reciting the previous episodes or revealing more of the plot that isn't meant to be.

Ok, overall, it's a good looking disc but not great. Color balance, saturation and hue are all spot on and I'd go so far as saying that saturation may be a little weak in some areas of the movie.

Black level is fine and gives the image a true film-like look which is great for enjoying it at home on your own big screen. Shadow detail is fine yet at times the amount of detail in the darker areas seems lacking.

The downside of the transfer is the image is a tad soft. I guess I was spoiled when I had the chance to check out the Shawshank Redemption on the new Sony 10HT projector and then comparing this same disc to the x-files at home makes it very obvious that the transfers' only sharpness comes from slight edge enhancement.

In our reviews, transfers are all relative and this one is just below the calibre of a reference disc. On the plus side, we do have a win over region 1 with our disc benefitting from both a PAL transfer and 16x9 enhancement so we've almost doubled the resolution of our American cousin.

Well, well, this seems to be one of those rare 5.1 soundtracks from Fox of late, found amongst the bass lacking 5.0 efforts. Thankfully, it lives up to it's channels and provides a consistently entertaining soundtrack for the whole 2 hours.

The opening scene in present time is a smorgasboard of activity as we have helicopters circling around us in contrast to the roof top wind ambience and subtle nuances that make good foley work a joy to listen to. Jump forward to the massive bee hive and we have yet another 360 degree sound field as the hum and then buzz completely surrounds you.

Not to be outdone, the .1 channel provides some excellent supporting effects to the rest of the soundtrack which gives the orchestral music score the extra kick and any explosions that extra 'neighbour annoyance' factor.

Don't fret as the dialogue is clear throughout and there is no sign of the dreaded audio synch problem on this one.

Probably one of the first Fox discs in region 4 to contain more than just your basic collection of extras (a trailer).

• Audio Commentary - Chris Carter and Rob Bowman provide the usual behind the scenes insight into this series and how it effects the film. Although not speaking together but rather having segments of their recordings inter-twined during the entire movie. A fairly decent amount of information but nothing that the viewer hasn't already picked up during the regular tv series.
• Featurette - Just under 27 minutes of the making of. If you ever caught this on TV late on night before the theatrical release then this is the same deal. The usual "how did we do this scene" footage intermingled with cast and crew interviews and segments from the final product.
• Theatrical Trailer - standard.
• Animated menus - These are nicely themed menus with the usual haunting X-files theme in the background.
• DVD-ROM content - Nothing much but the PC Friendly software is included which gives you the option to play the movie or visit the online website. Nothing you couldn't do without this software.

If it wasn't that fact that it left more questions unanswered than we went in with, or that it asked some new questions, then we could have semi-closed this chapter and continued on. Whatever happened to Brian Thompsons character?

Then again, I really did lose interest in the show of late and the movie helped make the decision to do something else more creative with my hour on a wednesday night. As a stand alone movie, it doesn't achieve much, as a continuation of the season that was, it achieves A and B but throws in C, D and E.