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XChange

XChange

List Price: $14.98
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Thrill Ride Unlike Baldwin's Usual DTV-Originals...
Review: As long as you can keep pace during the first 10 minuets, as long as you can remember who's body has been Xchanged to who's and which one was stolen..this unique Sci-Fi action flick is smart and interesting. Kim Coates (Who I remember most from his supporting role as 'Gronky' in 'The Client' (1994) and Lethal Tender (1997), has his best role yet as the rich corporate leader who becomes the evil character when his body is exchanged with another to facilitate a buisness trip to CA. Toffler (MacLachlan) who in his new body on the West Coast panics when learning of the theft and misuse of his exchange in NY. He steals a deactivated clone (Baldwin) and then runs from police and the corporate terrorist (Coates) who has control of his body. The movie does'nt produce any Academy Award winning performances, but its' no surprise to anyone who willingly watches it..who cares. The film is full of cool and odd special FX usually involving dangerous weapons that are an impossibility in real life. The scenerio is interesting in it's originality, when the characters can be tracked by the XChange program through the use of computerized ID tags that every human in this era must carry. One of my particular favorite things are the advanced computer systems in people's homes that can do anything by voice command, but are still glitched in comical ways. Along with the sexy big B* who heads the XChange corporation and finds time out of her corporate kill-and-mangle schedual to get wildly (loved and adored) in her bed, while discussing plans at the same time with her evil boyfriend...the movie produces 5 or 10 interesting characters with unique motives and strengths to carry it's futuristic story and suspense through the usual 'good guy runs, bad guys get killed and good women who have sex with them' scenerio. XChange is a better movie than ANYthing else Stephen Baldwin has done, belive me his movies are aweful. Most are the just the common Patrick Bergen-Like B-Movies that can't be taken seriously because of there cheezyness, predictability and ultimately their explicitness which knocks them out of the mainstream and sends them right to the Blockbuster Video rack. XChange though is a good thrill ride thats' sexy, smart, action/filled (I would'nt say packed) and certainly well-casted.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Attack of the Clones
Review: Director Allan Moyle who helmed "Pump Up the Volume" directed this sci-fi blast. It's an interesting film that keeps us mostly engaged. The film opens with a "smart bullet," a weapon that looks like a missile that can hang in the air seeking its target, that swoops down and takes out one corporate executive, an internal body explosion. Stefan Toller is the character who is played by three actors. He starts out as Kim Coates who has appeared in "Waterworld" and "Black Hawk Down." Toller is called into his boss' office who is "floating," which is the term used when a body transfer is done. Toller sees his boss in the body of the hunky trainer lounging behind the desk while the trainer sweats and strains on the exercise equipment in the boss' body. Toller gets told that there's a meeting in San Francisco in two hours which he must attend. Despite Toller's objections to "floating," he heads off to Xchange to be projected into Kyle MacLachlan's body. Now Toller as MacLachlan heads off to the corporate meeting where we find that the son of the corporate exec who was killed as the film opened is about to take over the company. MacLachlan has to stay overnight in San Francisco, reminding us of some airlines' travel restrictions, which is enough time to head to a pick-up bar and have wild crazed sex in another's man's body. "So, is that your full-time body?" the nymphomaniac asks at the bar. As fate would have it, when MacLachlan returns to xchange back with his own body, he finds that it has been taken by a terrorist and that if they can't find it within a week, he'll die. Brave guy that he is, he gets to the clone room. Numerous clones work around the cities and all look like Stephen Baldwin. Baldwin, who as an actor has worked in more so-so flicks than most would in a career (Friends & Lovers, Slap Shot 2), then becomes the Stefan Toller's 3rd host, but only has 2 days before the clone disintegrates. Baldwin, of course heads back to New York to find his body. In the process we encounter more cool devices like the monofilament, a string that can cut through anything, including Balwin's own finger. Canadian actress Pascale Bussieres does a nice job. While certainly not a perfect movie by any stretch of the imagination, Xchange has enough originality to keep you entertained. Kim Coates does a particularly nice job of playing Toller and the terrorist at different points. Enjoy!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Attack of the Clones
Review: Director Allan Moyle who helmed "Pump Up the Volume" directed this sci-fi blast. It's an interesting film that keeps us mostly engaged. The film opens with a "smart bullet," a weapon that looks like a missile that can hang in the air seeking its target, that swoops down and takes out one corporate executive, an internal body explosion. Stefan Toller is the character who is played by three actors. He starts out as Kim Coates who has appeared in "Waterworld" and "Black Hawk Down." Toller is called into his boss' office who is "floating," which is the term used when a body transfer is done. Toller sees his boss in the body of the hunky trainer lounging behind the desk while the trainer sweats and strains on the exercise equipment in the boss' body. Toller gets told that there's a meeting in San Francisco in two hours which he must attend. Despite Toller's objections to "floating," he heads off to Xchange to be projected into Kyle MacLachlan's body. Now Toller as MacLachlan heads off to the corporate meeting where we find that the son of the corporate exec who was killed as the film opened is about to take over the company. MacLachlan has to stay overnight in San Francisco, reminding us of some airlines' travel restrictions, which is enough time to head to a pick-up bar and have wild crazed sex in another's man's body. "So, is that your full-time body?" the nymphomaniac asks at the bar. As fate would have it, when MacLachlan returns to xchange back with his own body, he finds that it has been taken by a terrorist and that if they can't find it within a week, he'll die. Brave guy that he is, he gets to the clone room. Numerous clones work around the cities and all look like Stephen Baldwin. Baldwin, who as an actor has worked in more so-so flicks than most would in a career (Friends & Lovers, Slap Shot 2), then becomes the Stefan Toller's 3rd host, but only has 2 days before the clone disintegrates. Baldwin, of course heads back to New York to find his body. In the process we encounter more cool devices like the monofilament, a string that can cut through anything, including Balwin's own finger. Canadian actress Pascale Bussieres does a nice job. While certainly not a perfect movie by any stretch of the imagination, Xchange has enough originality to keep you entertained. Kim Coates does a particularly nice job of playing Toller and the terrorist at different points. Enjoy!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Really loved it
Review: It had quite good twist and turns. It kept me interested for the whole movie.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Out of Time. Out of Bodies.
Review: Not a bad sci-fi thriller. Imagine if you could exchange bodies with another, your mind in their body and vice versa. That's the premise behind this futuristic thriller. The movie starts off with with a corporate business man in New York having to attend a meeting in LA on short notice, so he must exchange minds with another. He is hesitant, as he doesn't care for the technology, but he is given no choice by his superior. Once his mind is in another body, he sort of enjoys the benefits, but then finds out the person who is now inhabiting his body in New York is really a corporate terrorist and has stolen his body by not returning at the predesignated time for transfer. Seeing as how the body that he now inhabits was stolen from someone else, he must vacate it and inhabit the body of a clone (Stephen Baldwin). The clone bodies are used for dangerous work, and are extra strong but only have a very limited life span, so if he is unable to find his own body and transfer his mind back, he will perish. I thought this was pretty well done, the plot lines, the intrigue. The story is of a much higher caliber than you would usually see in a lower budget movie like this, and all the actors seem to perform very well in their parts. That being said, there were a few of parts in the movie that were unnecesary. The car chase scene near the end where they are racing along the docks and knock over some poorly positioned yet highly explosive barrels seemed to have no reason for being there whatsoever. Also, the couple of scenes showing the guided missle flying around above the city were not needed, and only took away from the element of suprise when that particular thread of the story came to fruitition. A few weaknesses, but I thought overall the movie was well directed and the story moved along nicely with thought given to the characters and plots. Given some of Stephen Balwdins past movie roles, Fled, Bio-Dome, The Flinstones In Viva Rock Vegas, Slap Shot 2, I wasn't expecting much from this movie, but I plesantly suprised. I would probably give this movie 3 1/2 stars had I had the option.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Out of Time. Out of Bodies.
Review: Not a bad sci-fi thriller. Imagine if you could exchange bodies with another, your mind in their body and vice versa. That's the premise behind this futuristic thriller. The movie starts off with with a corporate business man in New York having to attend a meeting in LA on short notice, so he must exchange minds with another. He is hesitant, as he doesn't care for the technology, but he is given no choice by his superior. Once his mind is in another body, he sort of enjoys the benefits, but then finds out the person who is now inhabiting his body in New York is really a corporate terrorist and has stolen his body by not returning at the predesignated time for transfer. Seeing as how the body that he now inhabits was stolen from someone else, he must vacate it and inhabit the body of a clone (Stephen Baldwin). The clone bodies are used for dangerous work, and are extra strong but only have a very limited life span, so if he is unable to find his own body and transfer his mind back, he will perish. I thought this was pretty well done, the plot lines, the intrigue. The story is of a much higher caliber than you would usually see in a lower budget movie like this, and all the actors seem to perform very well in their parts. That being said, there were a few of parts in the movie that were unnecesary. The car chase scene near the end where they are racing along the docks and knock over some poorly positioned yet highly explosive barrels seemed to have no reason for being there whatsoever. Also, the couple of scenes showing the guided missle flying around above the city were not needed, and only took away from the element of suprise when that particular thread of the story came to fruitition. A few weaknesses, but I thought overall the movie was well directed and the story moved along nicely with thought given to the characters and plots. Given some of Stephen Balwdins past movie roles, Fled, Bio-Dome, The Flinstones In Viva Rock Vegas, Slap Shot 2, I wasn't expecting much from this movie, but I plesantly suprised. I would probably give this movie 3 1/2 stars had I had the option.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Smart sci-fi but still a "B"
Review: Stephen Baldwin & Kyle MacLachlan star in this mind-transfering, clone-filled B flick which may be a bit too fictious to swallow. Stefan Toffler goes through a series of "bodies" before he is able to rescue back his own from terrorists all on a 48 hour time limit. Traces of a "modern day D.O.A."?

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: horrible sci-fi thriller
Review: Stephen Baldwin(The Usual Suspects, One Tough Cop), Kim Coates(Battlefield Earth, WaterWorld) and Kyle Maclachlan(Hamlet2000, One Night Stand) in the same movie together is a good idea but this movie is horribly bad. Though some moments are as ok as others it explores into mind exchanging, hence the title XChange. Maclachlan is on the run and he goes to the nearest body flip, so he has the doc switch him to Stephen Baldwin and Baldwin has 50 hours till he decomposes and Kim Coates is the head badguy on the run trying to track him down. Bad acting with twists and nonstop moaning and groaning. The redhead who helps out Baldwin is hot though. If your a fan of any of the 3 I suggest you watch it and dont ever watch it again.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: a good idea
Review: the movie has a very good base idea but it is not what you would hope to see.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Xchange DVD - A sleeper hit
Review: This film explores the implications behind the possibility of being able to transfer/trade consciousness with another person over long distances.

Like other bellweather sci-fi titles, big box-office and otherwise (Bladerunner, Gattaca, Dark City, Matrix), this film will be appreciated later, as a small buzz becomes gradually larger over time.

The technology has to do with using the internet to transplant consciousness from one human being to another. Protagonist New Yorker Stefan Toller has to be in San Francisco in 2 hours for a meeting, so he arranges to "xchange", .i.e. trade consciousnesses with a San Franciscan who needs to be in NY. Enter Xchange Corp., which, using equipment reminiscent of Total Recall, makes the xchange happen. Toller enters the body of Kyle McLachan, and is now loose in SF, making his meeting date.

While in SF, he also discovers the Jekyll/Hyde possiblities of the xchange -- he goes out to the club scene, and has a plot-driven sex scene (there's the R rating), with a woman who is also xchanging out of NY. She also mentions the concept of trans-gender xchanges, and describes the thrill of that experience.

The downer to this utopian fantasy, is that when it's time to go back to NY, Toffler finds out that his body in NYC is on the lam, and that the San Franciscan who is using it, is a terrorist.

The remainder of acts 2 and 3 of the movie are of Toffler getting his own body back..., using a loaner clone body to fly back to NY, and ultimately tracking down the terrorist, and reclaiming his own physical identity.

At that point, the writing is fairly standard suspense/action fare, with the usual twists and turns of a good suspense yarn.

However, this film is solid throughout, and presents a well-crafted and consistent vision of the xchange concept. So, high marks for well-thought-out sci-fi yarn, and good action sequences and solid acting all around. (and check out the very cool homing, orbiting killer drone buzz-bomb.)

Add this film to your sleeper list, and enjoy.


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