first , i am not a big fan of the x-files tv series . 
i have nothing against it particularly , i just don't happen to watch it . 
having said that , i can now say that i liked the x-files pretty well . 
for us non-fans , there's nothing big going for it , but there are a lot of little things . 
the movie opens on an ice cave in north texas in 35 , 000 b . c . 
two proto-humans enter the cave and find a space alien cocooned inside . 
the alien breaks free and kills one man in a struggle while the other is seemingly captured by the bloody ooze from the alien . 
the movie jumps to the same cave today where a boy ( lucas black , from sling blade ) is captured by the same black ooze . 
we then cut to fbi agents scully and mulder ( gillian anderson and david duchovny ) , who have been pulled off of their previous assignment ( investigations into the paranormal ) and put onto the bomb squad detail . 
a caller has threatened a federal building in dallas , texas . 
on a hunch , mulder checks out the building across the street , and , wouldn't you know it , he turns out to be right . 
the fbi finds the bomb in time to evacuate but not in time to defuse . 
five people die in the blast , and when mulder learns who the victims were , a light bulb goes on over his head . 
the two agents team up to investigate , against fbi orders , the links mulder has made . 
their search leads them back to the north texas cave , all across the country , and even to antarctica as they get closer and closer to " the truth . " 
the plot , and " the truth , " are uninspired . 
i got the feeling that what i learned was supposed to shock and amaze me . 
it didn't . 
the possible existence of aliens on earth has been explored so many times before in movies that one could hardly count them . 
but the point of the x-files is not what the truth is , but the extent to which it has been hidden . 
it's a slightly more interesting angle , but it still raises expectations about that " truth " too high . 
if this were the whole film , i would say the movie was mediocre , perhaps even boring . 
but there are other qualities that make me like this movie well enough to recommend it . 
the pacing of the film was brisk enough to hold my interest . 
before the audience can get tired of one location , the agents follow a hot tip to another location , and so on and so forth . 
the locations are not all computer-generated sets , either . 
there are some artificial settings , but the desert night of nevada , the edge of suburbia in texas , and the endless fields of snow in antarctica ( actually somewhere in north america . ) 
make this fantastic film feel more real . 
ward russell's cinematography is very good . 
the overall look is dark and ominous , appropriate to the intended tone of the film's plot . 
russell is able to make something as innocuous as a cornfield look foreboding . 
when the movie is set in darkness , the picture quality is still rich and detailed . 
finally , and specifically , there is an incredible shot at night in which the camera crosses the tracks in front of a fast oncoming train . 
i don't know if the shot is faked in any way , but it looks dangerous , and it looks great . 
the movie's soundtrack is also used to convey the dark tone of the film . ( skip 
to the next paragraph if you have yet to see the movie - there is a spoiler in the following sentences . ) during the opening prehistoric sequence , a howling wind dogs the soundtrack , never giving the characters or the audience an escape from the lonely terrible sound . 
in one of the movie's most effective sequences , metallic doors suddenly slam open to release a cloud of buzzing bees . 
the visuals of the scene are good , but what makes it so surprising and frightening is the sound . 
there was no question as to who the movie's stars would be . 
even so , duchovny and anderson are an interesting pair of actors and a good combination . 
both are easy on the eyes and together , they have some good timing , banter , and energy . 
there is a hint of chemistry between them , but it never gets in the way of their professional relationship . 
they are like a couple of kids out exploring the empty lot at the end of the street . 
there might be some romantic interest , but for now they're more interested in their environs than they are in each other . 
no single element really makes this movie outstanding - not even the sense of paranoia that makes the tv show so popular . 
but enough things were done right that the x-files is one of the more interesting summer adventures to come along . 
