Network TV was the place to be on the small screen back in the mid-to-late ‘90s, before streaming services started churning out series en masse. This was the era of The X-Files in its prime, with David Duchovny’s Agent Fox Mulder and Gillian Anderson’s Agent Dana Scully as pop culture icons. They came to the big screen in the summer of 1998 with The X-Files: Fight the Future, which combined the best parts of the show’s mythology for longtime fans with blockbuster scale for newcomers. I rewatched it for the 25th anniversary, and realized some things that didn’t quite hit home in 1998.
Now, I’m not going to claim that June 2023 was the first time that I rewatched Fight the Future since seeing it in the theater as a preteen, and there’s a well-worn VHS copy of the movie somewhere to prove it. A lot has happened since the theatrical premiere on June 19, 1998 – including a second movie and a semi-successful Fox revival – but there’s still a lot to enjoy from this film.
1. The Movie Is One-Of-A-Kind
While theatrical films based on TV shows were released before Fight the Future and have been released since, the first X-Files movie was part of an ongoing network TV show rather than a sequel to a series that had already ended, a la the Star Trek, Downton Abbey, and Veronica Mars franchises. In fact, fans will remember that the film picked up where Season 5 left off in May of ‘98 and set up the premiere of Season 6 in November of ‘98. I didn’t fully appreciate that network TV achievement as a kid, but I’m certainly impressed now.
2. The Theme Song Hits Different In A Movie
Any fan of The X-Files going back to the ‘90s or who binge-watched via streaming more recently could probably whistle the theme tune from memory, and I maintain that the song from Mark Snow makes the TV show’s opening credits positively iconic. Fight the Future has a slightly elevated version of the song, and there’s something about hearing it (and the reprise in the soundtrack) on the scale of a film that just hits differently, even though I was just watching on my TV screen in 2023 as opposed to during a theatrical experience a la 1998.
3. I Still Hate That Damn Bee, 25 Years Later
Bees are a big deal in Fight the Future, to say the least. Duchovny and Anderson filmed with what she described to EW back in '98 as "buckets of bees" for the scene of Mulder and Scully being swarmed on top of the mysterious facility, but… well, any diehard fan of The X-Files undoubtedly knows the exact insect that I’m talking about when I say “That Damn Bee.”
Let me set the scene: Scully has decided to quit the FBI, Mulder is dropping heartfelt confessions that he’d probably never make if not on the verge of losing her, and an emotional hug is literal millimeters from turning into a kiss… until That Damn Bee stings her, she has a reaction to the alien virus it transmitted to her, and the plot takes off again.
As an adult, I understand why they couldn’t kiss in the movie, and even the preteen version of me probably shouldn’t have fallen for the fake out, but That Damn Bee is still the real villain of The X-Files: Fight the Future, if you ask me. The Cigarette-Smoking Man isn’t half as good at ruining Mulder/Scully moments, and I guess there are some grudges that take more than 25 years to get over!
4. I Can Pretty Much Quote The Whole Movie
I have no idea how many times I’ve actually seen this movie or how much of this was just a result of imprinting on the movie at a young age, but I discovered in my latest rewatch that I could pretty much speak all the lines along with the characters, ranging from Dana “THERE’S NO TIME!” Scully to Fox “I can say ‘shit’ now that I’m not on network TV!” Mulder to the Cigarette-Smoking Man and his very genre un-savvy “He’ll never make it!” about Mulder.
Now, if you want to tell yourself that I can’t quote the entire hallway scene before That Damn Bee from memory with a clear conscience, you can, but you’re wrong. What can I say? Maybe The X-Files: Fight the Future is simply that with which I can’t live without… and if you read the bizarre second half of that sentence in Armin Mueller-Stahl’s accent as Strughold, then you too may have seen this movie too many times!
5. I Don’t Really Care About The Plot Holes
Was this the greatest film in the history of film? Of course not, although I’d certainly rank it above 2008's The X-Files: I Want to Believe, the second film in the franchise. Still, as I rewatched the movie for the 25th anniversary to write this, I took note of some plot holes that I’ve been able to overlook before. I also realized that I don’t really care about them and can still love the movie.
Who called in the bomb threat to Dallas, and why was there no subtler way to dispose of the infected corpses? No idea. Was Scully somehow the only person who was stung by one of the carrier bees? That seems unlikely, but okay! How did Mulder and Scully get back from Antarctica? Even the show goes on to make fun of that question! Did Byers wear a magical stretching suit that Mulder was somehow able to fit into his clothes without splitting every seam? Apparently!
And, I’m fine with it, even 25 years later. If I could suspend the hell out of my disbelief for the two revival seasons in 2016 and 2018 while also telling myself that the brutal reveal about what the Cigarette-Smoking Man did to Scully isn't canon, then nothing can ruin my enjoyment of Fight the Future.
6. The Show Is Worth A Rewatch
For reasons ranging from seeing Mulder and Scully together in action again to hearing that movie version of the theme song, the final credits rolled on my rewatch with my realization that the whole show, rather than just a particular episode here and there, is really worth a rewatch as well, especially in its glory days. Does that mean that I’d want to revisit every episode, and that every mid-'90s episode has aged well? Definitely not, and I’m probably not the only fan who would much rather rewatch one of the vampire episodes than any other.
But, The X-Files was a great show that I believe holds up for the most part… and luckily, all eleven seasons are available streaming with a Hulu subscription, with the show earning a spot on our list of best horror TV series to watch on Hulu.
