Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Erased


By: Robert Murphy

What would you do for one chance to travel through time and correct a mistake that you made in your past or change the future for the better by righting a terrible wrong? Well for some unknown reason Satoru Fujinuma posses this kind of ability where when tragedy strikes those around him he can travel backwards to moments before it happens and hopefully prevent what is about to occur. He dubs this ability revival and even though he generally feels disconnected from everyone and everything around him, he does everything in his power to help those in need. This becomes painstakingly more perilous however when a murderer from his long repressed childhood comes back and murders his mother, this sending him on the longest revival trip he has ever gone on to try and change not only his current future but the future of those around him as well.


Initially Satoru was a character that I thought would not prove to be an overall engaging one since I had seen his like so many times before. As the story progresses however viewers begin to see more and more as to why the present Satoru felt so separated from those around him. He was so lackadaisical and couldn't quite muster up the drive to do anything in his life, even with his true passion of manga writing, and there was just something missing from his life. Many people out there can probably relate and this ended up working in his favor in a lot of ways but when viewers meet his younger self it also adds some more depth to his character. Satoru's hero complex kicks into full swing once he sets himself on the path of protecting Kayo, a young girl in his class, who was the first victim in a series of murders in his home town. Satoru believes that she is the key to preventing everything in the current future and if he saves her then he saves his mother, his friends and himself from a horrible fate. 


Even before Satoru travels back in time and enters the body of his younger self, the story had major appeal going for it. The mystery as to who was causing all of these misfortunes in Satoru's present was a deeply engaging one as this person was one step ahead of him and absolutely everyone else in the story. Everyone was working against Satoru it seemed, except for a young girl by the name of Airi who believed in him and his innocents, but she too ends up getting caught in the cross hairs. Once in the past the situation is just as perilous as a young Satoru tries to piece together just who is responsible for the impending murders and tries to help Kayo and the other girls in the killer's sights. It becomes delightfully endearing as well seeing as Satoru and his friends are all young children attempting these grand feats of hiding out to protect Kayo. It's cute and you almost forget that Satoru is a thirty year old trapped inside of his younger self, that is until he stops to remind himself of this at a humorous moment of attraction he feels for Kayo.

After a pinnacle moment for the story, Satoru is left to clean up loose ends and try to ultimately make sure the killer will no longer prove to be a problem for anyone close to him. However, this proves to be the dragging moments for the show since the mystery itself is just about solved and in terms of viewership everything already seemed wrapped up. That being said the finale for the show was extremely satisfying to see as it shows how Satoru has come full circle as a character. He has been changed by all the experiences with his past life and he no longer feels the emptiness he once did. He wasn't pretending to have friends, he actually made them and they stood by him. He wasn't just trying to be a hero, he actually became one and felt as though he was just like his childhood hero that brought his friends together and fought evil. The future looked bright and it made the drag for the three preceding episodes feel worthwhile.  


There is a certain artstyle to series that captures all of the drama happening as well and it is truly beautiful. Satoru is shown the moments of an impending revival when a blue butterfly flies nearby and for those of you who have played Life is Strange it will ring remarkably similar, not that I'm knocking the show for this. Erased also cleverly use old time film reels to depict timelines of the situations at hand as well as use it to show moments of connection being severed/created during points of Satoru's revival. Outside of these factors, the animation itself is simply top notch, even though many points in Satoru's past take place in a cold winter setting it is brought to life with many bright colorful moments. A particular highlight in one episode show Kayo and Satoru traveling to a remote spot from his childhood, there are foxes that come and dance around them and other wonderful sights, but the best is when they reach a seemingly desolate tree that comes to life when they stand under it. The stars bring it to life like a massive Christmas tree and it truly shows the height of the shows animation prowess. 


The overall themes of the show go to some intense places such as child abuse, isolation, murder, loneliness and a whole lot more and it adds to the wholly engaging experience that is Erased. The series had an engaging presence right from the get go and despite a brief drag near the end, there was a solid presentation all the way through. This is capped off by wonderful themes, animation and not to mention one heck of an opening theme song for a show that will hit viewers on multiple levels.


Good:

- Saturo's development as a character made him truly enjoyable

- An engaging story

- Tough to swallow themes that are handle very well

- Wonderfully animated


Bad:

- A bit of a drag near the end with the episodes feeling like they don't accomplish too much till the end


Scully Rating: 8.8 out of 10 

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

House of Cards (Season 4)


By: Robert Murphy

When you're in politics, there is no room for the weak. Frank (Kevin Spacey) and Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) both know this and together they have brought everything and everyone that has stood before them to their knees. But, what happens when their skills are now used against one another as the end of House of Card's third season left viewers watching Claire walk out on Frank to pursue her own goals. These two won't let one another go quietly though and what follows is a series of events that leaves their entire dark history crashing down around them. 


After the events of last season things had felt somewhat restrained compared to the level of intensity brought forth in the shows first season. Season four of House of Cards brings viewers back to the nail biting grittiness of it's roots as the Underwood campaign becomes a battle like no other. Frank, of course, has always been the shows leading man and it has always been known that Claire may be just as formidable as he is when you get down to it. This latest season however sets out to prove this fact in it's first half, Claire may not have all the leverage of the Presidency at her disposal but she proves that Frank's overwhelming power and his goals for a second term can all be used against him. Spacey and Wright have always been fantastic together since day one of the series but as everything is stripped away and they battle it out, a whole new intensity is brought forth.

What's more was a whole new cast of characters enters the fray as Frank and Claire set up their pieces on the board for battle. Ellen Burstyn joins the show as Claire's ailing mother who absolutely despises Frank but might despise her daughter just as much. There's also Neve Campbell who plays a political consultant to Claire as she runs for some sort of office of her own. These are just to name a few but where it all comes together is when the show mixes the old with the new. As I said this a season where the past comes back and the massive amount of bones, tears and blood that have made the Underwood's path to success a reality will start to unravel. The interesting part is it's a story that was thought to be all wrapped up and done with but it slowly creeps up on the Underwood's bit by bit when the formerly silent Tom (Boris McIver) returns to find the answers hidden away in the Underwood's closet.


Some more returning cast members do not have as much going on though along the way. In the efforts to bring up the past I believe a bit too much comes out of the wood work and not enough is done with those who use to be major players. Remy and Jackie in particular are merely used when the story feels the need for it. Even the surprising turn up of Ramond Tusk doesn't prove to be an overall powerful thing and really he is only used as a puppet for the Underwood's tug of war early on in the first half of this latest season. And normally it wouldn't be so bothersome if these people didn't use to be key players in the larger story that was happening before. It isn't to say that all the former cast suffer from this especially when Tom (Paul Sparks) makes his return into the Underwood's inner circle or the ever loyal Doug (Michael Kelly) tries to hold the crumbling Underwood party together, but more use could have been pulled out of some of these other former cast members.


When the dust finally settles in the halfway stretch for the fourth season, Frank and Claire finally come to terms with a true adversary in their campaign for re-election. Heather Dunbar (Elizabeth Marvel) never truly posed much of a threat in my mind when it came to Frank and that was because she, and similarly the third season as a whole, were too restrained to fight back. This all changes when the Republican favorite William Conway (Joel Kinnaman) and his full on campaign against Frank as an American golden boy, a former soldier, loving father and husband comes into play. It's the whole nine yards, but with a twist. The golden boy has just as much valor as Frank and he has his own more modern approach to taking the presidency. Conway is a master at using new forms of technology such as Instagram, web broadcasting and some of the more controversial methods such as site monitoring to fuel his apparent narcissism and goals to take the presidency. 

This overall makes a potent combination for the season as a whole as it starts out with Frank and Claire batting it out with one another and them coming back stronger than they ever had before. The crippling reality though is that despite their best efforts there was an unknown force bubbling under the surface waiting and building up everything that it needed to take down the Underwood's. It's a powerful blow and mixes wonderfully with all the topics that this season had going for it, including an ISIS type terror group dubbed ICO. 


The biggest surprise for this latest season is how much of a whole story feels to have come out of everything that unfolds here. Since the first season of the show, Frank and Claire have steam rolled over everything in their path and nothing has put them in their place. They've silenced everyone that's attempted to stop them, but now seeing the past come back to haunt them makes things feel like the road may eventually come to end for the Underwoods. That being said a fifth season has already been renewed for the series that will still undoubtedly prove to bring even more of a darker side of the Underwood's out into the open. Especially with the spine tingling finale viewers are sent off with. 


Good:

- Frank and Claire Underwood, better than ever

- Story coming full circle with all the Underwood's have done

- New cast and old mix together wonderfully

- Conways making true adversaries for the presidency


Bad:

- Some old favorites like Remy, Jackie and Tusk feel under used


Scully Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Monday, March 21, 2016

Homeworld (Remastered)

Zach Goodier



As a newcomer to the franchise, I had no idea what to expect from this game, and I found myself pleasantly surprised with what I found. You play the commander of a mothership. During your test runs, circumstances arise that leave you as the last hope for your civilization. Desperate, you decide to return to your races ancient home: Hiigara. However, pirates, unexplored space, and a formidable empire stand between you and your home. As you engage in the 16 mission story, you will be tested in a variety of ways that challenge your ability to adapt your fleet as new threats arise.

Even the backgrounds look amazing, and they only get better in later levels.

The story isn’t overly engaging, it simply helps you understand what is going on, and setting up each level. Your ship has an AI and support crew that help with things like research and fleet management, but these characters are simply voices, nothing more. Where this game aims is to deliver strong gameplay, and this it does exceptionally well. Animation and models are all beautifully rendered, with your ships having their own look and feel. Enemy ships are distinctly different, based on who you’re up against, and they all offer unique challenges.

Your mothership is your home, and carries the survivors of your race in stasis. It also produces all your other ships.

One of the major things this game does is carry your fleet over between levels. This means that whatever ships you have remaining following your completed mission, will be the ships you start out with next level. This results in a mechanic that makes you seriously consider what ships your fleet is fielding, and whether your fleet can react to new threats well, or if you are overspecializing in an area. Either method can work, and each carries its own challenges. If your fleet is generalized, then you will have to likely move more slowly to identify threats and position/build yourself accordingly. Specialization results in a fleet that might be exceptional at handling certain types of threats, but obviously would be lacking in every other area.

Outside of the actual game, story is conveyed with various stills and narration.

Ship models are all appealing, and the relationships between ships in combat are interesting, with battles feeling truly life-like, as ships rip into each other. While certain ships specialize against certain enemies, they never feel like single-purpose tools, like they can in other games. Even if a ship specializes in as an anti-fighter corvette, it can still be useful against other corvettes and smaller ships, because lighter armor on most corvettes offers less protection. This keeps things feeling realistic, rather than having to build a particular type of ship to overcome each enemy ship. This is why the game’s flexibility leaves you options in how you want to approach most situations. However, it does challenge you by making certain methods ineffective, so it is still up to the player to adapt.


Good:

-Wonderful models and animation.

-Has that “rock/paper/scissors” dynamic, but doesn’t make it so extreme to make ships broken.

-Having your fleet carry over to the next level adds a new dynamic to how you play.

Bad:

-Story and characters are lacking, but this is an RTS above all else.



Scully Rating: 9 out of 10.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Marvel's Agent Carter (Season 2)


By: Robert Murphy

The world of high stakes espionage can be a rather fraught with danger around every corner but Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) takes it all in stride. The plucky Agent Carter isn't able to spend too much time off of her feet after her last heroic adventure before she is off to the sunny shores of LA to solve a new mystery involving all the glits and glamour the city is famous for. But, the story isn't as grand as you would hoped it to be given it's flashy setting and returning main stage contenders. 


As to be expect Hayley Atwell gives a commanding performance as she returns to the Peggy Carter character and all the doubts about her abilities as a female agent have effectively been dispelled here. People now treat Peggy with the respect she deserves, well except for Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), but aside from that she leads the charge once again in this latest adventure with the same take no nonsense attitude as before. But her character also gets a much deeper perspective this season as it's not all just fight scenes, smart come backs and British enthusiasm. Viewers get some insight into what Peggy was like before she joined the war and before she became so determined to never give up the fight. We also see Peggy reach a breaking point and let all her emotions out, everything she keeps pent up and hidden under a sweet smile.

Peggy's respected colleagues and adversaries also make their return along with her but some don't show too much in the way of growth. Mr. Jarvis (James D'Arcy) was a much welcomed return and he has actually been doing some secret agent training of his own since his adventures with Peggy last season. His character is ready for more missions and excitement once Peggy arrives on the sandy shore but the addition of his wife Ana (Lotte Verbeek) into the actual story proves to give his character new perspective as well. The scenes between Peggy and Jarvis become quite heated this time around and were frankly the highlight of this latest season. But outside returning Howard Stark, who only appears in a few spots like in season one, the rest of the cast is predominantly lacking in development.


Daniel Sousa (Enver Gjokaj) is now in charge of operations on the west coast with a whole new squad of fresh faced agents under his command. Which is not a good thing since they're all lacking in experience, this leads him to call for aid when a mystery involving frozen corpses begins to unravel. Jack Thompson (Chad Michael Murray) being the natural jerk that he is sends Peggy to help Agent Daniel out in this matter, which stirs up sorts of feelings best forgotten when he left New York. The problems begin when Peggy arrives on the scene, Daniel at first has a whole new story going for him with a new girlfriend and a new job. It's a fresh start for him that he needed but he ends up right back in the same rut he was before when Peggy arrives. The two flirt and become infatuated with one another and an odd love triangle forms with one of the other new characters that just didn't fit Peggy or the show. Agent Thompson is just the same as he was before as well, viewers saw a great episode last season that gave insight into him as a person but these new characteristics never stick. What's more is he becomes somewhat off a completely off the wall bad guy this season and it never pans out.


As for the new cast members things are just as split for the series. The creme of the crop is undoubtedly Whitney Frost (Wynn Everett) who battles it out against Peggy Carter this season. Her character is all around interesting as she pretends to play the Hollywood dream girl by day but underneath it all she possess a genius like no other on the show. She unfortunately has to hide it do to the same stigma Peggy put up with in the first season, she a female agent and Whitney a female scientist, neither are taken seriously. Whitney however breaks away from this mold early on and is a driving force for the story. Right alongside Whitney is new show comer Dr. Jason Wilkes (Reggie Austin) who is the aforementioned third member of Peggy's love triangle. But, even though his character continuously flirts with Peggy, he isn't a one trick pony. His level of expertise into "zero matter" proves to help drive the story as much as Peggy and Whitney do making him a great addition. 

Other additions to the cast falter though as Matt Braunger (playing an annoying scientist) and Lesley Boone (Peggy's receptionist friend from season one) attempt to join in on the action in multiple episodes. The humor is definitely strained with their additions and I was never quite sure as to why the show felt the need to involve these characters when there was so many other members already in play. Kurtwood Smith making a surprising addition to the cast as the head of the FBI that is old friends with Jack Thompson. Ray Wise who returns as the Roxxon Oil CEO that has a habit of getting knocked out by Peggy. And Bridget Regan as the former member of the Black Widow experiments who ends up aiding Peggy after she is captured in the first episode of this new season. If more time had been spent including these characters rather than Braunger and Boone then I could have found more enjoyment with certain episodes.


In the end, Agent Carter's second season feels like an experiment into different ideas for the show to eventually follow up on with zero matter being an otherwise engaging part of the story that could have made the story truly compelling. But, this season struggled to find balance between telling an engaging spy story with the original humor brought forth in it's first season. What's more is new characters and returning ones do not fit the bill for their performances with character either falling back into old patterns or just not being engaging at all. Wynn Everett and Reggie Austin save the day in many regards alongside Haley Atwell's always commanding Peggy Carter but much more could have been done to improve the shows follow up second season.


Good:

- Haley Atwell as Peggy Carter is captivating once again

- Evertt, Austin and returning James D'Arcy all lead to great moments for the show

- Zero matter was an interesting new element for the Marvel universe

- Old Hollywood coming to life


Bad:

- The plot has trouble balancing the humor and the action 

- Most new characters fall flat and old ones return to their usual routines


Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Far Cry: Primal


Zach Goodier








The latest addition to the Far Cry franchise has you playing a character set in the earliest days of civilization. Mammoths and sabertooth tigers are aplenty, with additional threats from rival tribes. Your people, the Wenja, have been scattered to the wilderness by rivals, and having just arrived from distant lands, you must begin a quest to rally your people, defeat your rivals, and survive extinction.

It's good to be Beast Master. You can tame all sorts of animals, and use them as mounts and allies in the world.
We
Things in Primal are much like they were in previous titles, with the characters you meet often being crazy in one form or another. Here, things are certainly a little different, with the prehistoric setting making things like politics and motives being nonexistent for the most part. This is reflected in the story, for what little there is of a main story. That isn’t really a major knock against the game, but if you want compelling characters like you had in 3, and arguably 4, then you’ll be sorely disappointed here. There is only the struggle to survive against rivals, who do have leaders, but they don’t really captivate you like Pagan Min or Vaas did.

Some characters have moments, but they mostly fall somewhat flat compared to previous games.

The gameplay is what’s important here, and that is a solid experience. You can spend resources you collect upgrading your village to unlock side-quests, and upgrade your arsenal. This makes resource collecting somewhat essential to face the increasing difficulty of missions as you progress. Your weapons are limited to clubs, spears, and bows, which can all be upgraded  and/or have alternate versions which may be better suited for different situations.

Your rivals offer unique challenges with uses of things like poison and fire.

The graphics all look great, with various locations offering wildly different experiences, between the frozen north to the almost tropical south, there is a lot to experience, and getting around never feels like too much a drag.

Your village starts tiny, but finding lost Wenja will make it grow into a prehistoric metropolis.

This game is very enjoyable, with enough ways to upgrade your experience throughout, and a nice pace that keeps things exciting while letting you slow down from time to time to enjoy things, the gameplay is very enjoyable, and you will have plenty of quests to enjoy. The story does fall a little flat, and with a lack of interesting characters, you may feel there isn’t as much life to this world as you would prefer. This means that despite the fun gameplay, it doesn’t leave a lasting impression on the story side of things, which is a shame. Still, having a prehistoric playground like this is very satisfying.



Good:

-Awesome gameplay.

-Upgrades to both your character and the village are deep and enjoyable.

 -Beautiful world and graphics.

Bad:

-Not much story here.

-Lack of compelling characters.





Scully Rating: 8.0 out of 10

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Gods of Egypt


Zach Goodier



Gods of Egypt is an action/adventure film starring GoT’s Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Horus, the god of air, and Brenton Thwaites as Bek, a mortal thief seeking to right wrongs committed against him, and against all humans. Gerard Butler plays Set, who usurps the throne in order to rule over all of creation. Horus, who fought Set, had his eyes taken when he was beaten, leading to his exile. Bek, sometime later, breaks into Set’s vault and steals the eye in order to help Horus take the throne and save Egypt from Set’s cruel rule.

One look at this pic and you should realize Horus is another Lannister.

What ensues sounds great on paper, but quickly begins to fall somewhat flat. Nikolaj does a great job as Horus, but he basically follows the Jaime Lannister pattern of being an elitist D-bag early on, who then suffers a massive setback that leaves him helpless, before going through an on-screen gradual redemption where he changes his ways and becomes a much more likeable character overall. So, he was basically type-cast for this role, but it still works fairly well. Gerard Butler makes for a decent villain, but it feels like Set is never really fleshed out all that well, we just see him being a terrible person and know he has to be defeated, and that’s about it.

This says everything you need to know about Set: he's big, scary, and tough.

The action is exciting, and that’s where the most excitement will be had in this film. Gods can transform into armored figures that more closely embody the depictions of the gods we know from Egyptian mythology. In these forms, gods like Horus can fly, and they can fight each other with their full power. However, this leads in to one of the weaker parts of the film: the CGI.

Scenes like this try to mix CGI with actor's faces, and it just doesn't quite look right, B for effort, though.

The special effects are somewhat “hit or miss,” with some scenes, like twin giant snakes, looking fairly good, but other scenes fall flat with mediocre CGI that makes you very aware that you’re watching a couple of actors leaning back and forth in front of a green-screen. This somewhat hurts the experience on the visual side, which is kind of important, since most of the supporting cast feels weak, either due to lame acting or a lack of screen-time to work with.

Geoffrey Rush plays Ra, another under-used character that could have been more interesting.

This movie goes for the flash, but instead of going off like fireworks all the way through, it ends up being a mix of a couple fireworks, some sparklers, and quite a few weak party poppers that leave you with mixed feelings about the overall impact. This isn’t a bad movie, but it certainly isn’t a good one, neither.

Good:

-A few high-points with CGI.

-Jaime Lannister being another Jaime Lannister-type guy.

Bad:

-A few low-points with CGI.

-Mediocre acting and uninspired characters throughout.





Scully Rating: 5 out of 10

Monday, March 7, 2016

The X-Files: Season 10


By: Robert Murphy

There is always an issue with trying to capture lighting in a bottle seeing as it was already impossible the first time it happened, so when people try to reboot a series that has long since gone off the radar, it can be hard to get the same spark. It doesn't hurt however that series creator Chris Carter returned to work on the tenth season of The X-Files rebooted return to television as well as lead actor David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. The series was earmarked for a six episode run of the cult classic that depicted two FBI agents that were assigned cases involving strange phenomenon or suspected elements of the supernatural. But, by the end of the final episode there are for more questions than answers and viewers are left to question if there is more. Just like the show always has.


The shows revival though is a bit of a tricky one to track as it didn't follow the new plot line that it sets forth in the first episode but rather it set out to try and be another season for the show, mixing an overarching story with some other cases thrown in the middle. This would normally be fine since the odd ball cases that Scully (Anderson) and Mulder (Duchovny) would go on were just as interesting as the overall conspiracy that Mulder has been trying to hunt down his entire life. The first episode as well as the finale capitalize on this conspiracy theory but add in real 20th century paranoia to drive it all home. Guest star Joel McHale plays Tad O'Malley who makes a living off of "revealing" the truth about government's spying on us with micro drones, poising us with chemicals through plane slipstreams and perhaps the most popular being the 9/11 attacks being the start of a global initiative against humanity. What this all did perfectly is bring Mulder's theories up to date and catches viewers up to what has been happening behind the scenes since the show went off the air even though Joel McHale didn't quite feel at home delivering all this news. 

It's a great set up to be sure and while many others out there viewed the first episode as a bumpy start, I saw it as a perfect blend of new cult theory meats the old cult theory. What's more is Anderson and Duchovny still proved to have the one screen chemistry that made The X-Files so watchable back in it's hay day, if it weren't for these two at the forefront I'm not sure the show would have ever made it past it's first season. The real issue for the reboot is perhaps what comes after the first episode as the middle chunks to the story are more or less random cases and does not continue this new overarching story. These episodes are not bad in anyway shape or form, in fact the second episode itself is the creepiest and most attune to the shows former format as a boy with strange telekinetic powers searches for something from his past that Mulder and Scully inevitably get wrapped up in. 


The third episode is perhaps the most bizarre of the bunch when guest star Rhys Darby comes down with an apparent case of reverse monsterism, transforming from weird lizard creature to average middle aged man overnight. It's plucky to say the least but overall it felt like a wash of an episode, don't get me wrong Darby does a fantastic job as he describes the woes of being a pathetic middle aged man. Lying about his sex life, forced to get a job and watching pornography. Mulder too has his own crisis in this episode about whether or not his years at the bureau have all been a waste as he looks over old case files and finds out things like a "rockman" siting was just a mascot selling tires. But, this silliness doesn't come together well throughout the episode and with a six episode run, the show did not have the episode to waste on something like this. 


The fourth episode was perhaps the most gruesome display I have ever seen come from the series as a street art inspired monster called the "garbage man" takes out various people in the community that are threatening homeless people. But, the fifth episode proved to be a favorite of mine when two fresh faced young agents come to Scully and Mulder for advice on a terror cell case they are working. Chris Carter obviously drawing a parallel to young Scully and Mulder here by creating clones of their former selves with Agent Miller (Robbie Amell) and Agent Einstein (Lauren Ambrose). But the episode is far more humorous and enlightening than it is pure ridiculousness. The episode shows just how far Scully and Mulder have come after working with one another, Mulder obviously opening Scully up to the supernatural and making her less of a skeptic while Scully has made Mulder more of a believer in her faith and her judgment as a partner in life/work.

And then just as quickly as it started the final episode was ready to rocket the overall story forward in a record time rushing through just about everything that was laid out in the premiere. The sheer amount of information alone is enough to give viewers whiplash in this last episode as an epidemic breaks out causing panic for Mulder and Scully. The ideas themselves were great, watching along I couldn't help but feel that there is some wonderful elements to the story coming full circle, truths potentially coming to light and our main characters finally coming to blows with the "smoking man." It could have been a magnificent send off but it just doesn't follow through, what's worse is it ends in a cliffhanger with no news as to whether or not there will ever be another season down the road. It feels a little cheap and if the story had maybe followed this overarcing story more then viewers could have had a satisfying ending to what was a surprising series of stories in the supernatural. 


The X-Files return to television was something I'm sure many were excited about and it is truly wonderful to see that everyone decided it was worth their time to come back to the show and send it off right. What's more is the charm was all still there as Mulder and Scully feel like they never left one another and had a commanding on screen performance. But, the show itself didn't have the time to pull off what it aimed to achieve as it showed off various ideas for episodes but nothing solid for the overall story. Added on top of that a cliff hanger hanging in the wind and there is just no telling what will come out of this strange effort to revivalist the series. 


Good:

- Mulder and Scully are still perfect together

- Premier episode set forth potentially great ground work

- Episodes rang true to the old school X-Files


Bad:

- Episode three was simply bonkers and felt like a waste for a miniseries

- New story set forth fell flat in the finale

- Cliff hanger ending?


Scully Rating: 6.0 out of 10