The closest many modern-day Americans get to genuine wonderment is horror films and sci-fi thrillers about aliens and conspiracy theories. This fast-paced and genuinely gripping film belongs to that genre. It will please the many avid fans of the cult television series created by Chris Carter on which it is based, and it will probably pull in others who have questioned what all the X-Files fuss is about.

FBI agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) have been assigned to an antiterrorism unit. They are in Dallas when a federal building is blown up. Then Kurtzweil (Martin Landau), an author of several books on conspiracies, gives Mulder some information which leads him to some bodies infected with a lethal virus and a genetic farm that specializes in bees and corn. An evil Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis) is part of a group of men who are involved in a secret alien colonization plan. Mulder and Scully's investigations take them from the corridors of Washington, D.C., to the frozen wastes of Antarctica where a big surprise awaits Mulder's eyes.

Rob Bowman directs The X-Files: Fight the Future making the most of the twists and turns in the screenplay by Chris Carter. This sci-fi thriller delivers the goods and leaves us eagerly awaiting the more TV episodes and movie sequels.