"The X-Files: I Want to Believe," the sequel to the 1998 "X-Files" movie and the hit '90s TV show of the same name, should really be called "The X-Files: I Can't Believe THIS Is What They Came Up With."

"X-Files" creator Chris Carter and longtime writer Frank Spotnitz had a few years off to dream up new adventures for everyone's favorite male-female FBI detective team. All seemed good on the surface. After the TV series went from occasionally brilliant to often boring (not unusual for a show that lasted for several seasons) and the first film proved turgid, some time away from Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) would seem to be what everyone needed.

Well, maybe they should have spent a few more years kicking ideas around. Because "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" feels like more like "The X-Files: CSI" with some psycho-religious babble thrown in.

After a female FBI agent turns up missing in rural West Virginia, Mulder — who has been in self-imposed isolation since being hounded out of the FBI for his unusual beliefs and methods — is called back to duty by an FBI official (Amanda Peet) who thinks his particular skills are required. It seems a child-molesting priest (Billy Connolly) has been having visions related to her disappearance.

Meanwhile, Scully — also out of the FBI and now a surgeon at a Catholic hospital — is brought back into the mix because she's the only one who knows where Mulder is. Of course, despite her protestations, she teams with her old partner to uncover the awful truth behind the disappearance of the FBI agent and, as it turns out, many others.

The best episodes of the TV show married the marvel and mayhem of what may be just beyond humanity's vision with the romantic tension that grew between Mulder and Scully. But the conspiracy became more complex and harder to follow, Mulder and Scully's relationship followed its course, and everything became less intriguing.

Freed from all the conspiracy back story, Carter could have imagined something astonishing for "The X-Files: I Want to Believe." But as the film unfolds, it becomes clear that it's at best the equal of some of the stand-alone TV episodes that weren't directly related to the conspiracy.

It's good to see Duchovny and Anderson back together, but that doesn't make up for the fact that the whole we-have-met-the-enemy-and-he-is-us story line falls flat.