Continuity mistake: When Mulder and Scully start frantically running from the bees inside the dome Scully is clearly seen untying her belt twice. (01:01:55)
The X-Files Movie (1998)
Directed by: Rob Bowman
Starring: Martin Landau, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi, John Neville, William B. Davis
Revealing mistake: In the end when Mulder is reading the paper in the park. The paper is clearly a prop. Only the frontpage is real - when he puts the paper away you can see that the rest of the paper consists of blank pages. (01:45:45)
Continuity mistake: As Mulder and Scully enter into the building that houses the bees is seems Mulder's tie gets blown over his right shoulder and then he is seen inside and it is over his left shoulder. (01:00:30)
Trivia: The bees in the dome scene are real (there were about 30,000 of them). David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson were actually in the dome with them, and neither of them wore protective gear, but weren't stung nonetheless.
Trivia: Early on in the film, just after Fox notices that the toilet in the bar is out of order and he goes outside - as he is relieving himself, he is facing a poster for Independence Day - another movie about alien invasion. Chris Carter, the producer of the X-Files, hated Independence Day and so had Mulder relieve himself nearby deliberately.
Special Agent Fox Mulder: After what you saw last night, after all you've seen, you can just walk away?
Special Agent Dana Scully: I have. I did. It's done.
Cigarette Smoking Man: Secure the station. I want everybody else down below. If you're not armed, arm yourselves! We may have a breach.
Special Agent Fox Mulder: Scully, you gotta see this. Scully.
Question: If the "cold drink" vending machine was unplugged and the buttons were unresponsive, WHY did the saboteurs deliberately illuminate the front of the machine? Wouldn't this ATTRACT people to the machine, only to subsequently arouse curiosity when it failed to function (as it did with Mulder)? The more logical approach would be to disable the vending machine (including the illumination) and tape an "out of order" sign on it. People would then just ignore the machine, arousing no suspicion. The illuminated vending machine gimmick looks like an illogical contrivance to advance the plot.
Question: I am a big X-files fan, but there is something in this movie that I think I may have missed in the series - can someone help me out? We are told in the series that Mulder doesn't drink. One time when he is getting drunk in a hotel room on his own, it is because of a strange planetary alignment and he himself finds it odd that he is drinking. My question is, when did he abandon this and start going out and drowning his sorrows on his own? I'm confused - maybe I missed the memo?
Answer: Mulder has just hit rock bottom and is questioning just about everything at this point, so drinking is not really out of character.
Question: What exactly was it about the vending machine that made Mulder realize it was actually the bomb that he and Scully were looking for?
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Chosen answer: If they had put an "Out of Order" sign, or left it unilluminated, someone in charge might try to have it fixed or replaced, or could have checked to see if it's plugged in, etc. By leaving it illuminated, it doesn't look out of place and simply not taking money wouldn't arouse too much suspicion. In my own life, when I've come across a seemingly working vending machine that won't take my money or dispense drinks (but gives my money back), I just find another one instead of calling someone or reporting it. But yes, it is very convenient to the plot that Mulder just happens to try and use this particular machine.