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News / Columns / Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus: File The X-Files Under "Disappointing"
Plus, Step Brothers is really stupid -- in a so-so way.
by Tim Ryan | July 24, 2008
Discuss Article | Blog Article | Email To A Friend
This week at the movies, we learn that the truth is out there (The X-Files: I Want to Believe, starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) and that step-sibling rivalry can be treacherous (Step Brothers, starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly). What do the critics have to say?

After a long layoff, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are back in The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Unfortunately, critics say the famed paranormal investigators have found themselves in a middling police procedural, one that would be better suited to the boob tube. The plot finds Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson), now retired from the FBI and living together; they come out of retirement to solve a case of a missing agent, with help from a defrocked priest (Billy Connelly) who is having visions of the vanished lawman. The pundits say X-Files lacks the evocative atmosphere of the series, and too slavishly follows a hackneyed serial-killer plot while skimping on suspense. At 31 percent on the Tomatometer, The X-Files may leave both diehards and neophytes Wanting more. (Check out this week's Total Recall, in which we cover our favorite movie conspiracies.)

"Turns out The Truth was on Wikipedia all along."

Step Brothers may be the latest in a string of comedies about juvenile man-children whop refuse to grow up, but critics say it's got enough crazy laughs to be worth another go. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly star as two aggressively slothful middle-aged dudes whose parents get married. The two are forced to move in together, and their mutual antipathy threatens their parents' happiness. The pundits say Step Brothers is not the place to turn for sophisticated comedy -- it's loaded with sophomoric smuttiness and surprisingly violent slapstick -- but the antics are so relentless that resistance may be futile futile for some, especially if you have a soft spot for the hi-jinks of Ferrell and Reilly. It's currently at 53 percent on the Tomatometer.

A brain teaser for you: which of these men drives a Dodge Stratus?

Also opening this week in limited release:

  • Man on Wire, a documentary about a Frenchman's plot to tightrope walk the Twin Towers in 1974, is at 100 percent.

  • The Order of Myths, a doc about racially segregated Mardi Gras celebrations in Alabama, is at 100 percent.

  • Back to Normandy, a doc that interviews the participants in Rene Allio's lost 1975 classic Moi, Pierre Riviere is at 87 percent.

  • Boy A, a drama about a recently-released convict's uncertain attempt to readjust to society, is at 80 percent.

  • Brideshead Revisited, a suspenseful adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's famed novel starring Emma Thompson and Michael Gambon, is at 78 percent.

  • American Teen, a quasi-doc about the lives, loves, and tribulations of five high schoolers, is at 68 percent.

  • Neil Young's CSNY: Déjà Vu, a doc about the famed supergroup's 2006 tour, is at 62 percent.

  • Bustin' Down the Door, a doc about a group of Australians and South Africans who changed the surfing landscape in the mid-1970s, is at 60 percent.

    Crosby Stills Nash & Young: neither burning out nor fading away.

    Recent Gillian Anderson Movies:
    -----------------------------------------
    39% -- Straightheads (2007)
    87% -- The Last King of Scotland (2006)
    91% -- Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2006)
    60% -- The Mighty Celt (2005)
    82% -- The House of Mirth (2000)

    Recent David Duchovny Movies:
    -----------------------------------------
    65% -- The TV Set (2007)
    64% -- Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)
    27% -- Trust the Man (2006)
    10% -- House of D (2005)
    44% -- Connie and Carla (2004)


Related Items
Movie: Step Brothers
CSNY Déjà Vu
Man On Wire
Order of Myths
Back to Normandy
Boy A
Brideshead Revisited
Bustin' Down the Door
American Teen
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Comments (1-14 of 14 posts) | Reply
jokerboy1991 writes:
on Jul 24 2008 04:45 PM

Eh... I will still se X Files tomorrow, Ebert gave it 3 1/2 stars so maybe it could be good... And I will definately see Step Brothers this weeked.

(Reply to this)
451195
IBelievedInHarveyDent writes:
on Jul 24 2008 04:55 PM

I..I DRIVE...I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS!!

(Reply to this)
359513
swayland7 writes:
on Jul 24 2008 05:08 PM

Peter Travers liked the X-FILES movie, too. It sounds to me like only fans of the show will like it, because it's supposed to be like 2 great episodes put together. It's apparently not a summer blockbuster. Ebert says there aren't any special effects, that it's more thematically provocative and skillfully crafted. Travers says it's all about the relationship between Mulder and Scully. I'm psyched. Travers never leads me astray. To hell with the rest of them. I'm going to see me some more Mulder and Scully for the first time in years, and if it ends up being a good TV-movie on the big screen, that's good enough for me.

(Reply to this)
divinecc writes:
on Jul 24 2008 06:07 PM

Ditto Swayland.

(Reply to this)
swissbanker55 writes:
on Jul 24 2008 06:34 PM

When It comes to X-files I want to see the movie because of how much I like the TV show, I found nothing wrong with the show. I still have to see the first one which I heard was very good (and Probably worth buying).
Now on the subject of the Farrel/ C. reily duo I have no problem with them at all, I just don't like will farrel and john C. reily's movies that much, oh don't get me wrong will farrel was over the top hilarious in saturday night live (If the moon were made of ribs, would you eat it?) but after leap year weekend's disappointment of semi - pro, I'll have to pass.


(Reply to this)
594811
charjun writes:
on Jul 25 2008 12:22 AM

Don't care what anyone else says either- Gotta go see it!! Couldn't agree more Swayland! I hope they will do a third....

(Reply to this)
593790
jsirhea writes:
on Jul 25 2008 12:44 AM

definitely agree with swayland as well. i'm sure diehard fans will go to see it and probably enjoy it. new fans of it, maybe not so much, especially if they havent followed the characters.

i have to say i was completely excited when i saw the trailer.


(Reply to this)
309753
brownitus writes:
on Jul 25 2008 07:00 AM

I just cannot understand why anyone would be the slightest, eency-weenciest bit interested in a Will Ferrell movie. Can someone elaborate on what's funny about him or anything he does? Ah, the mysteries of the universe.

(Reply to this)
JAKEofMIDWORLD writes:
on Jul 25 2008 09:10 AM

I'm just confused that they bash X-Files for following a formula, but Step-Brothers is well recieved. You can't tell me it doesn't follow a formula as well. Will plays the same character every time. I'm sure it has laughs, but I'll rent it. I admit, I'm a big X-Files fan. My wife is too. I know where I'll be tomorrow.

(Reply to this)
JAKEofMIDWORLD writes:
on Jul 25 2008 09:14 AM

I just got to thinking, X-Files was never popular with the majority anyway. What made the show great and what made being a fan great was the underground feel of the whole thing. It was one of the first shows people were talking about on the internet and one of the only to grow in popularity by word of mouth, not critical consensus.

(Reply to this)
reapermad writes:
on Jul 25 2008 11:38 AM

F#$k all the haters out there. X Files is going to rock like a mountain! Do any of you realize that without the X Files and what it did for television, there would be no LOST, 24, CSI, etc? X Files broke the barriers of what true television as an art form can be. The movie will no doubt be a welcome to form for the fans out there. No critic can understand what a real "X Phile" is all about. Long live the conspiracy!!!!

(Reply to this)
Speaker for the Dead writes:
on Jul 25 2008 01:54 PM

This is on my journal too, but since know one reads each others journals, I just wanted to ask why Fox would do this for X-Files. Not only has it been finished for almost 6 years, but, sorry Fox, you can't keep people in the dark about this. If you want to break the box office, you have to let people know what the movies about. Of course fans will go see it, but if you want sucess you need more than fans. More is talked about in my journal, so you'll have to head to Popcorn Flicks to cuss me out(yes, it's advertising but I'm lonely....)

(Reply to this)
306899
dalonoman writes:
on Jul 25 2008 10:08 PM

In reply to this comment (#1921648)
If you don't understand why Will Ferrell is funny... you have my pity.

(Reply to this)
vdominick writes:
on Aug 01 2008 12:32 AM

X files would have had a better chance if it came out during a different time of the year. It is not a good fit for Summer Blockbuster season or Winter Oscar season.

(Reply to this)
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