Journey to the Truth: Fight the Future - Part II (The Rewatch, First Half)
Returning to Fight the Future today is both nostalgic and satisfying. Yes, I went to the first matinee on June 19th amidst the frenzied hype, eager to see Mulder and Scully larger than life. Over the years, I can't tell you how many times I've seen it. (More than Amanda Nelligan has seen Star Wars? Okay, probably not.) But sitting down and looking into the film, the script, and the details has been revealing for something I felt I already knew so well.
I live for this kind of information. I've grappled with how to break it down and present it to you because it's a lot. A lot-lot-lot. So I'm splitting the movie after M&S are chased through the cornfield and before Scully returns for her second OPR hearing. Just a heads-up.
35,000 BC on my first watch: Am I in the right theater?
Stevie in the cave: CC uses too many 'butt' insults. That is a 'Quarantine Bubble' litter.
Scully on the roof: GA had an allergic reaction to the sunscreen they were using when filming this scene. The Syndicate chose the wrong medium for their virus.
Mulder finding the bomb: After you've seen the movie once, you realize that the guy leaving the vending machine room as Mulder enters is the bomber (aka Dark-Haired Man aka DHM). The thing I never paid attention to is all the other times he shows up. We've actually already seen him. He impersonated a prison guard in The End to kill the chessplayer's assassin. I'll point him out as he pops up again along the way.
Scully during the evacuation - then: GA gave interviews about watching back some of what was filmed early on, and she felt like her performances had been 'overacted'. Because the screen is so big, she needed to adjust to a less is more approach. (I don't have any of these interviews anymore. I'm going off my own fallible memory. For whatever reason, I've always associated it with her, "Just pick up the phone and make it happen." and "There's no time!" lines.)
The bomb vending machine - then: Hey! That guy from Millennium is going to diffuse the bomb. - now: Hey! That guy from Lost is not going to diffuse the bomb. Oh hey! Isn't that also DD's friend from Darkness Falls? (Yes, Jason Beghe, uncredited) Also, if the machine isn't plugged in, how is it lit up? I read a little bit about bombs, and I guess this isn't an error, but I still don't really get it.
Also, check out pic 4 from the Post I. Everyone is looking at the bomb. Mulder is gazing at Scully.
Script re: bomb - No little terror strike. This is Oklahoma City. Or do we say, Independence Day? (CC hated that movie, which was also about aliens and UFO's on Earth. It also has an X-Files reference, but it isn't snarky. An unscripted line, "I love the X-Files, too. I hope I get to see it.")
OPR - Who are these people? The Office of Professional Responsibility oversees internal misconduct and reports to the Attorney General's office within the Department of Justice. Both Skinner and Jana Cassidy are Assistant Directors, so presumably, the other panel members hold similar positions.
Waco and Ruby Ridge: Both are events that involved the FBI and escalated into hostage situations which resulted in the loss of lives.
'Remediation' and reassignment - reversing or stopping damage ("cited a history of problems relating back to 1993." You know that's gotta sting.)
My heart is breaking for them. They're off the X-Files already. All their work has gone up in flames. But it's not until they are being separated that Scully is ready to give it up.
Time out to thank the movie budget for wardrobe. I adore this suit of Scully's. Everything she wears in FTF is amazing, partly because it fits and shows off her hourglass figure. Partly because they aren't polyester. And those chonky heels? Fabulous. Check out Mulder while you're at it. Blue shirts under his suits? Since when? I'll even take sweaty windbreaker Mulder. You know. If I must.
Which leads me to hair. We knew S4/S5 hair was peak when taking both M&S into consideration at the same time. I feel like they got tricksy with us in S5 by changing it up a bit but still managing to get reshoots and everything done with hair that looks fresh and good. Subtlely different. Mulder's hair, in particular, isn't back to the curtain bangs and almost seems to have extra wave to it. I digress.
Casey's Bar - Mulder also urinates on the Independence Day poster, while Kurtzweil mentions being a 'fellow Traveler' with his Dad (I love that this script was written so much earlier than that episode.)
Mulder at Scully's apartment at 3 am - This scene's dialogue was leaked, but I didn't see it until the movie was almost out. I also didn't believe it, mostly because Mulder isn't much of a drinker. Besides, if Mulder did show up at Scully's door at 3 am, the fans wanted him getting her undressed.
Mulder bluffs their way into the morgue, calling him 'son.' I remember how young you looked in the Pilot...son.
Completely 'edematous' - tissue that is swollen due to the accumulation of excess fluid in the spaces between cells (and apparently, this is mispronounced by GA).
Again, from the script: "she is resigned, if not resolved," to get some answers from the body in the morgue. Do you think Mulder left her the car?
Hanta virus - This was in the news a couple of months back. (I get excited when X-Files intersects with the real world.) You don't want to catch it, but gestating an EBE is arguably worse. The real question that nobody is asking is, 'What happened to the fourth fireman?' I'd like to think Captain Miles (aka the Sheriff from Our Town) would eventually do a head count or... something. (They would lie to him, but M&S would look into it and...yada yada yada.)
I admit that I never paid much attention to the temperature thing. Bronschweig mentioned it earlier. Now, as he goes to administer the vaccine, he finds that the creature has left the fireman's body. He notes in the script a temperature in the cave of +6 while he is instructing the technicians to set the bubble litter to a steady -2. Do we see that? I might have to look again.
I also saw that he does actually manage to inject the vaccine during his attack. I wonder if anyone ever uncovered the hatch to look. CSM and WMM both seemed confident their weak vaccine would work, and Marita gave them proof of that. But hers took quite a while to take effect...
Speaking of, the Syndicate gather and it's nice to see they all made the movie. I love the addition of Strughold from the Season 3 mines (with lots and lots of files, among other things). The seque on his line is perfect, "That with which he can't live without."
Cue M&S doing what they do best. Deduction, interviewing witnesses, long car rides, Mulder leaps of faith and quips. Add in some phantom tanker trucks, f-bombs, and blooper reels. Finally, I feel like we're on track. The signs at the tracks say, "Some have tried, Some have died. Turn back -- No Trespassing."
Cornfields in the desert with big white Jiffy Pop domes. Inside the dome, there are 3000 bees ready for filming. GA and DD had the collars and cuffs of their clothing glued to their skin to keep the bees out. The irony.
There is a moment when Mulder is pulling his jacket over his head, and his silhouette always reminds me of a flamingo. Pic #8 above isn't perfectly timed, but it's pretty close. You're welcome.
Then they are back out in the corn, this time with black helicopters. GA was not a fan of running behind DD and getting whapped in the face by the leaves. I did note that she keeps one hand up in front of her face the entire time she's in the field.
Tell me you can't hear him when you look at that last pic. 😂
If you're up for more, I'll be posting the second half later today. It increases the number of pictures I get to post. Thanks for reading!
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