Cinema: Call This The Why Files

Mulder and Scully look great on the big screen, so why does the film seem less than the show?

From the beginning, the show was swathed in conspiracy; it begged to be suspected of as much far-fetched chicanery as it imputed to all those Trilateral geezers who look like Clark Clifford. Take our hero, Fox Mulder--his first name is the same as the network that owns the show. Mulder's FBI boss, the skinheaded Skinner, is a dead ringer for former Fox chief Barry Diller. And just what is the name of the show? The X Files, as the logo clearly states? Or The X-Files, as the publicity indicates?

So you can imagine the anxious speculation when Chris Carter's terrific series,...

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