When it began you may have thought this paranoid adventure's destiny, in say fifteen years time, was a slot after The Waltons on a Sunday afternoon. A laughable cult to be derided like The Invaders, Land of the Giants or, indeed, Lost In Space. Wrong. It has matured into the most revered SF phenomenon since Star Trek and as those champions of hair, ZZ Top, once proclaimed it's 'got legs'.
Forsaking opening credits or a slow build-up, director Rob Bowman propels us on to a roller-coaster ride of moderately daft spooky shenanigans and grand effects. All the same elements from the TV series are here, shadowy high-ranking figures controlling the planet - "These people have been secretly negotiating a planned Armageddon", plenty of furtive glances and hellish beasties from the dawn of time. Plus we have the two small box giants, Mulder (David 'Mondeo Man' Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian 'the FHM pin-up' Anderson), coming across marvellously well on the big screen.
In fact, for a show which thrives on a claustrophobic feel, this wide-screen treatment is cleverly handled. Bowman arms his two leads with a witty, edgy script, and pits them against the pervading evil through a combination of Aliens, James Bond and Alfred Hitchcock action sequences.
Ultimately, The X-Files is very entertaining and thankfully devoid of any product placing or blessed meteors.
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