I’ve been a fan of the “X-Files” for a couple years now. No, I haven’t been watching from the beginning.

But the show’s smart writing, dense story lines and sometimes infuriating ambiguity has sucked me in. Half the time (well, maybe three-quarters of the time) I have no idea what the hell is going on, and that’s part of the fun.

Now comes “X-Files: Fight the Future,” the movie event that picks up where the television season left off a few weeks ago. The question is, will people who aren’t fans of the show be able to follow the movie? Sure — even though they will be a bit lost at times. But then, so will fans of the show.

The best thing about the movie is the best thing about the television program: the relationship between Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny’s characters, FBI agents Scully and Mulder. There is a real chemistry there. Yet, you never do hear them use each other’s first names.

It is nice to finally see a movie that relies on the story to entertain you, making the audience think. Other summer blockbusters rely more on lame dialogue, weak characters and replace a decent story with special effects, which sets up one of the funnier gags in “X-Files: Fight The Future.”

At one point, Mulder is seen relieving himself in an alley on a poster of the schlock-fest “Independence Day.”

Not to imply the special effects in this movie aren’t impressive. They are — particularly in an early scene where an office building explodes, or the exciting sequence with Mulder and Scully running across a frozen glacier as it collapses behind them.

No, it’s not that the special effects aren’t impressive. It’s just that here, the effects are used correctly: to add to the story rather than replace the plot.

The plot involves a big government conspiracy, cave men, an alien virus, the Black Oil, jellified corpses, huge white domes in remote locations full of bees and fields of corn growing in the desert.

Scully and Mulder rush to put the pieces of the puzzle together and sort of succeed.

In addition to having an interesting story and plenty of thrills, there is a lot of humor in “X-Files: Fight The Future.” A particularly funny moment comes when star Duchovny pokes fun at himself and his own style of acting. He says something like, “This is how I look when I’m panicked,” and just stares blankly. This self-deprecating humor is one of the movie’s biggest appeals.

The film is guilty of a few too many “oh-isn’t-that-convenient” moments. I’m talking about those huge coincidences films throw at us and expect us to swallow. Like when someone defuses a bomb by randomly picking the right wire to cut out of 20 choices.

Or when a character guesses a computer password because he knows the computer owner had a dog growing up which was named Moose. Gee, that must be the password.

There are several moments like that during the movie. Early on, Mulder stumbles across a bomb hidden in a soda machine. Isn’t it lucky he was in the right room, in the right building, at the right time? Or when Scully and Mulder accidentally stumble across the white tanker trucks they were looking for all night.

These little problems did next to nothing to detract from my enjoyment of the movie, however. At times I was confused. At other times, I was thrilled or amused. And sometimes I was all of them at once.

“X-Files: Fight The Future” is really just a huge episode of the television show. Like I said, it picks up where the last season left off and sets the stage for the fall season.

Well, actually this movie is more like an entire season of “X-Files,” concentrated into a two-hour movie. Some things get answered, new plots get developed, certain plot lines get tied up and it ends without solving everything.

The movie is a definite must-see for fans. But it can still be enjoyed by those who have never seen the show.

After seeing this movie, I was reminded of something Pee Wee Herman said in “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.” (I’m often reminded of quotes from Pee Wee Herman. Maybe I should seek professional help.)

Once Herman’s bike is stolen, he has this to say about the mystery: “Certain questions get answered, others pop up. It’s like trying to unravel a big cable knit sweater that somebody keeps knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting …”

Hopefully, series creator Chris Carter will keep knitting “The X-Files” for years to come.

4 stars out of five

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Mike Milik is a senior in advertising from West Des Moines