Jump into any movie message board conversation about “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” and you can see the tension is high.

Defenders, true believers (they’re called “Philes”) and critics have been picking apart the latest vehicle for our FBI heroes Scully and Mulder, who reappear six years after the TV show’s conclusion.

Is this the end of the “X-Files” mystique, the final case for the franchise, which sprung up in the ‘90s to gain cult classic status and, to many, became one of the greatest sci-fi TV shows in history?

Or is the movie a bridge to future “X-Files” magic, a revival that can please the faithful and win new hearts?

That’s the raging debate.

Judging by the public response, it’s likely this franchise goes out with a fizzle and whimper, an unfortunate end for a show that changed television with its great wit, excitement, and intrigue. With sharp characters and great visual sense, it was a one-of-kind show for much of the nearly nine years it ran.

As of Tuesday, “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” had earned a little more than $10 million since opening last Friday, surely not the haul the series creator Chris Carter and 20th Century Fox had in mind.

That put “X-Files” in 4th place for the week, just behind the musical “Mamma Mia!”

As characters go, the ever-skeptical Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and wanna-be-alien-believer Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) have the charm of Bogey and Bacall, only mixed up in a blender with some “Close Encounters” and kooky conspiracy theories to boot.

Scully and Mulder’s great charm is their relationship and the way they sparked enough energy to power their way through some unbelievable, outlandish plots that sparkled with great writing.

One of the big problems with “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” is, in fact, how little time we see the two leads working together during the film. Usually, they’re bickering about whether they’ll keep helping the FBI. In this film, the writing is paltry.

Anderson and Duchovny, though they’ve obviously aged, fit right back into the roles. With what little they’re given in this film, they are still much fun to watch.

Lured out of hiding by Scully, Mulder goes back to the FBI to help with one more case. A pedophile priest is walking through the West Virginia snows, claiming he has visions of a missing FBI agent.

Mulder, sporting a hideous beard straight out of a high school drama department, warms up to the idea. Scully cools. And that’s about it for tension.

Along the way, body parts, a pointless foot chase, and some mad Russian scientists all appear and lead us virtually nowhere. It’s a straight-up monster-of-the-week episode writ large for the big screen.

Not much, right? After six years, that’s it. The film misses the larger mythology and philosophical questions the TV show always handled with so much intelligence, and it doesn’t suggest the mystery that lured “X-Files” fans into the fold.

It’s not just the absence of aliens. It’s that there’s nothing to hang your hat on to make it feel you’re at home with these characters.

Yes, many fans are defending the film, but it’s hard to see what can perpetuate the “X-Files” interest for further installments. And there’s certainly little here to win new fans with such an ordinary story.

Ultimately, it’s a sad film to watch, like saying goodbye to two friends you’ve really loved and knowing it’s unlikely you’ll see them again.