Xchange (2000)

Director:

Allan Moyle

Writers:

Christopher Pelham (written by)
Léopold St-Pierre (additional writer)

Release Date:

20 May 2003 (Kuwait)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Out of Time. Out of Bodies.

Plot:

In the future, where it's faster to travel by exchanging bodies with someone at the destination, a man's body is hijacked by a ruthless terrorist.

Plot Keywords:

Terrorist | Identity Swap | Futurism | Loud Sex | Business Manager

Cast

Stephen Baldwin	...	Clone #1 / Toffler 3
Pascale Bussières	...	Madeleine Renard
Kim Coates	...	Toffler / Fisk 2
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Fisk / Toffler 2 (as Kyle Maclachlan)
Tom Rack	...	Mr. Finerman
Arnold Pinnock	...	Dickerson
Charles Edwin Powell	...	Quayle Scott (as Charles Powell)
Judah Katz	...	Lister
Sean Devine	...	Rix
Janet Kidder	...	Alison De Waay
Larry Day	...	Walt Simons
Andreas Apergis	...	Chan
Lisa Bronwyn Moore	...	Glowacki 2
Jayne Heitmeyer	...	Proponia
Amy Sloan	...	Glowacki 1

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, violence and language.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Iceland:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Germany:16 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Coolbrook Media

Goofs:

Continuity: When Toffler and Renard arrive at the hotel (to find Fisk) Toffler's timer shows "8:14 timer3" (8hours 14minutes). After being hit over the head and kidnapped Toffler wakes up in a warehouse near the harbour and the timer shows "0:31 timer1". They get away at "0:23 timer1", cross the bridge at "0:05:53 timer3" and transfer him back into his own body at "0:00:46 timer3". Apart from the change of the timer number, was he really unconscious for 7hours 43 minutes?

Quotes:

Fisk 2: [Fisk's mind is currently in Toffler's body] You're breaking your arm!
Toffler 3: I don't feel a thing

Movie Connections:

References High Fidelity (2000)

Soundtrack:

Ring

Nice enough b grade science fiction thriller

Though hardly great stuff, I had a decent enough time with Xchange, it delivered some thrills, some laughs and an unexpected dose of nudity. The plot is petty cool, with a businessman using a new technology of transferring ones consciousness into another someone else's body in order to travel fast, but getting into a spot of bother when a terrorist pilfers his body when he leaves it. As well as this interesting concept there are a few sweet gadgets as well, though there aren't too many action scenes or violent moments. Mostly this film relies on wit, invention and a relatively decent cast, though it does hot up with a fairly exciting finale. Castwise we have firstly Kyle McLachlan, who is oddly subdued, lacking the magnetic appeal of say, Agent Cooper or Orson in Desperate Housewives, but still perfectly watchable. Sadly he isn't in it too much and Stephen Baldwin is the hero for the bulk of the film and he's reasonable enough if a tad uncharismatic. Kim Coates does well as the bad guy, I never heard of him but he holds the attention well, and the main women are Pascale Bussieres, who is quite a looker in a curious sort of way and also has an intensely appealing accent, (French I'd say, though it may in fact be French Canadian given that the film was made in Canada) and Janet Kidder, who is also quite a looker, though doesn't have a cool accent. There are a few sex scenes, providing some nice sights of fine female flesh, though sadly there is not too much in the way of violence or gore. Though the few mildly grisly moments are pretty nifty, which helps out a lot. All in all, this is unremarkable stuff and unlikely to rock anyones world, but it is a good watch, with a good streak of wit and a decent measure of fun throughout. Not one to hungrily seek out or get too excited about then but provided your expectations are low, this should deliver a fair enough fix of low key sci fi thrills.