Film Mostly Clicks With X-Philes

The reviews are out there. . . .

And so far, “X-Files” aficionados like the “almost-kiss” between special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, they have many theories about the mysterious black oil, the Antarctica station and the departing spaceship, and--most important of all--they plan to go back to the theater again and again.

Judging by messages and reviews posted on the Internet by so-called X-Philes over the weekend, “The X-Files” movie passed its most serious litmus test--the one with die-hard fans of the series.

Followers of the Fox show that debuted five years ago with labyrinthine plots about two FBI agents investigating paranormal activity, X-Philes have spawned thousands of Web sites. Some are built around favorite characters from the series, including “Cancer Man Tells All” and “The Lone Gunmen’s Conspiracy Sites.”

The Internet is their medium of choice for swapping conspiracy theories and deconstructing plot turns in the series. It is even noted that when you rearrange the letters in the name of “X-Files” creator Chris Carter’s production company, Ten Thirteen, you come up with “The Internet.”

Now, the X-Philes will be counted on to drive the film’s box office in coming weeks, especially given that the movie has received an underwhelming response from many mainstream film critics.

Going in, “The X-Files” movie’s creative team had to perform a delicate balancing act, trying to bring in new fans while not alienating their biggest supporters, people who come to the theater with a strong working knowledge of the series and don’t need to be told who the Well-Manicured Man is or why Mulder is nicknamed “Spooky” by his colleagues.

“This movie is a major league hit!” wrote Steven Harris, president of the X-Files Fan Club in a posting on an “X-Files” Web site. “I thought they kept the conspiracy theory-mythology material to a minimum for non-fans while offering some new details for regular watchers.”

While many echoed Harris’ sentiments, there were dissenters--”X-Files” intimates who thought the movie had a been-there, done-that feeling.

“‘The X-Files’ movie is nothing but a two-hour TV movie you have to pay for [with] no great special-effects either,” said one disgruntled fan.

“I think hard-core X-Philes will be disappointed with the movie because they’ve expected five years’ worth of well-thought-out and intricate questions to be answered in a two-hour movie,” said another.

But others quickly disagreed, adding that the film actually raises new questions that future seasons of the series will perhaps answer.

“The . . . film lives up to every expectation I would have dreamed, delivering answers to some of the long-posed questions from the series’ run as well as opening up a whole slew of new ones,” said a fan.

Web sites put feedback into two categories--”with spoilers” and “without spoilers.” The spoilers discussed in-depth key plot points in the movie.

One plot point that had X-Philes talking was the kiss-or-not-a-kiss between Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Mulder (David Duchovny). Many fans of the show have been waiting for the two to become involved romantically.

“The only real question I have to ask,” posted one fan, “is when Mulder was giving her mouth-to-mouth and she says, ‘I had you big time,’ what exactly was she referring to there?”

Another fan of the film was more succinct: “What happened to getting to see Mulder’s butt?” she wanted to know.