Writing a review for The X-Files, past or present, has always come from a different place. After watching The X-Files: I Want to Believe for a second time on The Ultimate X-Phile Edition on DVD, the long awaited second movie of the popular '90s series, all of the conflicting issues I had with the show resurfaced. Still, although you'll find many reviews that label I Want to Believe a terrible movie, this isn't one of them. It's much more complicated than that despite the fact that I loved seeing Mulder and Scully together again for another investigation. For one, it made me realize how much I miss the series and wish it was still on the air. And what goes down in the third act of the film is as memorable as any imagery from the series. So in looking back on I Want to Believe, there's some cool, crazy, and macabre stuff that I'll never forget.

However, there are two problems that I now see after two X-Files films. First, The X-Files doesn't lend itself well to feature film format. Moviegoers had issues with Fight the Future and they also had similar issues with I Want to Believe. In the manner that the show's mystery, suspense, and tension has always played out, it's better suited for TV where a lot of required and signature X-Files exposition feels less heavy. Attention span on the small-screen is different than what many people want from a theater experience. The X-Files falls somewhere in an awkward middle. After seeing so much negative reaction to the film, the second problem is that I Want to Believe is once again derivative of what dogged the series in the '90s. It's the conflicting perceptions of what The X-Files was in its first few years on Fox and what it grew into mid-run before coming to a close in 2002. It's what fans wanted I Want to Believe to be and what they ended up with in the end, which is more in line with The X-Files in seasons 5 and beyond. However, if you loved that side of The X-Files, you'll undoubtedly have a good time and believe again. But The X-Files has never been that simple.

Did you believe?

If you were a fan of the series that ran for nine seasons on Fox from 1993 to 2002, then you already know how passionate people were (and still are) about the mythology, the over-arching government conspiracy surrounding an alien invasion, the stand alone supernatural direction of the series, and the many transformations and makeovers The X-Files underwent during its run. In its first few seasons The X-Files became the most popular sci-fi series on TV in large part due to its puzzle-like mythology that slowly revealed a reality that aliens were colonizing the Earth with what appeared to be the help of the government. Halfway through it's run, at the height of the show's popularity, creator Chris Carter made the decision to move away from over-arching alien storyline to split the focus between the alien conspiracy plot and new, stand alone supernatural stories. It was a decision that would dog The X-Files forever, one that created a rift in the show's fanbase, who were left hanging as they waited week after week for the alien conspiracy plot to continue. That's not to say they weren't cool, because they were. There were just two different versions of The X-Files at play at the same time.

Looking back with more clarity, it's easy to see what happened. Carter turned The X-Files into a modern day remake of the short-lived '70s series Kolchak: The Night Stalker, which focused on a newspaper reporter who investigated mysterious crimes conventional investigators wouldn't touch. Just as Carl Kolchak investigated vampires, werewolves, mummies, and zombies, FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully began to search for the truth behind various "Monsters of the Week" storylines. However, after hooking fans with the alien conspiracy, the switch became a hard sell to the fans. So when The X-Files went to the big screen in 1998 with the release of Fight the Future, fans were salivating for more alien mythology. However, although fans received the conspiracy plot on the big screen, the small-screen side was falling apart. When the production began to fracture on many levels, with salary disputes, Duchovny wanting to move on, and a move from Vancouver to L.A., The X-Files became just that... a TV X-file, complete with its own unique mythology.

What can you believe?

Is The X-Files: I Want to Believe as good as it could have been? That depends on what you're looking for. I'm a fan of the series; I've watched every episode at least once and I Want to Believe fits well within the X-Files universe. How well, as compared to some of the best episodes of the series, is for you to decide. And if you're a fan of Amanda Peet and Xzibit, who play two new FBI agents, that'll play a factor, too. But there are things in my mind that I was hoping for that didn't come to fruition, which made the experience feel exactly like The X-Files of old. And yet the movie takes a hard left turn in the third act to serve up a few gruesomely cool surprises.

Is it better than what the series offered in the final two seasons? Absolutely, especially since both the characters of Mulder and Scully and actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson were given the freedom to mature. The baggage that plagued the series in its final years is gone in favor of the actors and characters reuniting with a clean slate. And since both Mulder and Scully have moved on in the movie in the same manner as Duchovny and Anderson in real life, an awkward organic chemistry exists in the film that's highly believable. They're not the same Mulder and Scully from the TV series. Mulder lives in the past while Scully has already made the decision to put it behind her. However, after all they've been through, Scully's often unbelievable and overbearing skepticism has transformed into a sense of mutual yet unexplainable understanding of shared experiences much like a war veteran who remembers the atrocities on the battlefield. Does she finally believe? The better question would be whether we can believe in anything?

Believing in the Ultimate X-Philes:

In terms of the Extended cut of I Want to Believe, which is included as an alternate menu selection, there's not much to talk about. A number of brief cuts have been added that amount to be an overall addition of under five minutes of extra footage tacked on to a variety of scenes involving Scully, Mulder, and some of the more intense and disturbing sequences. If some were cut for ratings purposes, it's easy to see why since some of the film's subject matter will make you squirm in your seat. Either way, both versions aren't drastically different.

As for the special features beyond a digital copy of the film, a series of brief featurettes collectively add up to over 30 minutes of X-Files introspection that cover not only the challenges of bringing the cast and production team together, but also filming in Vancouver, being an environmentally friendly production via "Chris Carter: Statements on Green Production", the special effects of creating body parts, a decent gag reel filled with a lot of blooper time, deleted scenes, Xzibit's "Dying 2 Live" music video, still image galleries and theatrical trailers. Throughout the featurettes, Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson provide on-set thoughts on a variety of topics related to why they came back and how the feel to be back in character after so many years.

As for commentary shop talk, creator/director Chris Carter and writer/producer Frank Spotnitz team up to walk fans through each scene while sharing secrets from the production as they delve deep into the mythology and lore of The X-Files and how they arrived at the current storyline. Diehard fans already know that both Carter and Spotnitz are mild mannered, low-key, matter of fact dudes, so the direct tone of the track won't be a problem. For the casual fan, the volume of X-Files history and information might be a bit overwhelming. Still, it's great to hear how they approached the new film and to get even more insight into the show's history after so many years.

The best bang for your buck can be found on Disc 2 in the form of an awesome 90 minute documentary called "Trust No One: Can 'The X-Files' Remain a Secret?" Even if you didn't like how I Want to Believe turned out in the end, you'll definitely be able to appreciate what went into keeping the film and its plot secret from the public so it wouldn't be spoiled. It also covers how the new production was a marriage of the old Vancouver crew and L.A. crew, with interviews from several crew members who reinforced just how much of a family the entire production became. Even some of the crew who thought that Duchovny or Anderson would have forgotten all about them were surprised. But in terms of a production's effort to keep the film a secret, it provides a huge dose of entertainment value that stands on its own away from the feature film. If you've ever been a fan of the series, you'll definitely fall in love with it. It many ways, it'll make you wish The X-Files never left the airwaves.

Believe it, or not?

Overall, whether you do believe is the big question with The X-Files: I Want to Believe. It depends on what type of X-Files fan you are and what you want from an X-Files movie after so many years. If you were a fan of the series in its mid-run, the movie will be more up your alley than X-Files purists. As for The X-Files: I Want to Believe Ultimate X-Phile Edition, it feels very much like what's become the trademark of the series - it gives you a lot of great entertainment but there's always something that leaves you wishing for something more from the early years. In the case of the actual "extended cut", there's not much. But the featurette lead-in to, including, "Trust No One: Can 'The X-Files' Remain a Secret?" makes up for a lot of lost territory not covered in the film, especially for the fans that still miss the series.