I watched the TV series sporadically up to Season 4, but am now rewatching from the beginning and thoroughly enjoying (currently on Season 2).
Watching the film as a newcomer is a bit pointless- it's the equivalent of tuning into a TV show finale a few seasons in when you've not watched any of the previous episodes. The elements that the TV fans take for granted because they'd invested 5 years into the show- the bond between Mulder and Scully, the whole mythology/alien conspiracy (which I was never a fan of- aren't given sufficient explanation.
Some explanation of Mulder and Scully and the general show's premise is shoehorned in- Mulder is the maverick agent intent on exposing the government's cover-up of extra-terrestrial life and his work partner Scully is the scientific rationalist. The show swapped between Monster of The Week episodes (self-contained episodes that you really could just dip into as a casual viewer) and mythology arc (my least favourite- the whole government conspiracy angle), which require you to be a regular viewer in order to really get anything out of it.
To its credit, the film's tone fits into the main series- indeed, it could have been a double or triple episode and no one would have batted an eyelid. The characters behave consistently to the TV series. However you want a film to be more than a bigger budget TV episode.
The almost-kiss scene between Mulder and Scully felt odd (probably more of an in-joke for fans) as there's nothing in the film to support a romantic angle. Quite the opposite- they feel like old friends. For a non-viewer of the TV show, it's the old film cliche that a man and woman can't be friends, and for a viewer, the scene just didn't have the emotional build-up to justify a kiss.
The plot itself? Basically bees are transporting a killer alien virus for which there's not a proper vaccine yet, so naturally the government want to keep it hush-hush whilst Mulder and Scully (but particularly Mulder) want to expose it. It seems like a sci-fi show would lend itself well to a big budget but the lower budget TV episodes create much more menace.
If you've never watched the show before, you'd be better off watching a few episodes of the TV show instead of the film. If you watched the TV series but never got around to seeing the film- just prepare yourself for a long episode that whilst not dreadful falls short of the show's highs.
Watching the film as a newcomer is a bit pointless- it's the equivalent of tuning into a TV show finale a few seasons in when you've not watched any of the previous episodes. The elements that the TV fans take for granted because they'd invested 5 years into the show- the bond between Mulder and Scully, the whole mythology/alien conspiracy (which I was never a fan of- aren't given sufficient explanation.
Some explanation of Mulder and Scully and the general show's premise is shoehorned in- Mulder is the maverick agent intent on exposing the government's cover-up of extra-terrestrial life and his work partner Scully is the scientific rationalist. The show swapped between Monster of The Week episodes (self-contained episodes that you really could just dip into as a casual viewer) and mythology arc (my least favourite- the whole government conspiracy angle), which require you to be a regular viewer in order to really get anything out of it.
To its credit, the film's tone fits into the main series- indeed, it could have been a double or triple episode and no one would have batted an eyelid. The characters behave consistently to the TV series. However you want a film to be more than a bigger budget TV episode.
The almost-kiss scene between Mulder and Scully felt odd (probably more of an in-joke for fans) as there's nothing in the film to support a romantic angle. Quite the opposite- they feel like old friends. For a non-viewer of the TV show, it's the old film cliche that a man and woman can't be friends, and for a viewer, the scene just didn't have the emotional build-up to justify a kiss.
The plot itself? Basically bees are transporting a killer alien virus for which there's not a proper vaccine yet, so naturally the government want to keep it hush-hush whilst Mulder and Scully (but particularly Mulder) want to expose it. It seems like a sci-fi show would lend itself well to a big budget but the lower budget TV episodes create much more menace.
If you've never watched the show before, you'd be better off watching a few episodes of the TV show instead of the film. If you watched the TV series but never got around to seeing the film- just prepare yourself for a long episode that whilst not dreadful falls short of the show's highs.