X-Files: I Want To Believe - shoulda been an 'R'.

Of all the movies coming out this summer, there is one movie that probably would have benefited most from getting an R-rating instead of PG-13: X-Files: I Want To Believe.

First of all, the show has been off the air since 2002, so even if you a mere eleven when the finale aired, you're already seventeen now and thus could buy a ticket for any R-rated film. Second of all, after a six year gap between the show and the movie and a ten-year gap between movies, there needs to be something more to entice the casual fans, the ones who quit before the end and never looked back.

The show always pushed the boundaries of acceptable television violence and intensity, so why not give fans a taste of what the franchise could have been like without content restrictions. A PG-13 X-Files 2 has fans curious and somewhat nostalgic. An R-rated X-Files film would do that much more to create excitement. Keep in mind that this film probably didn't cost much more than the $60 million they spent on 'Fight The Future'. It doesn't need to be a four-quadrant smash hit to be heavily profitable (future note - the budget ended up being a mere $30 million).

Obviously, it isn't going to happen. The film has already been rated PG-13 'for violent and disturbing content and thematic material'. But it is a lost opportunity and should be noted as such.

Scott Mendelson